Assignment: Decolonising Russia
Is Russia Europe\u2019s last empire? Is its invasion of Ukraine a \u201ccolonial war\u201d? Is \u201cdecolonising\u201d the country the only way of ensuring it stops being a threat to its neighbours and world peace?
Since last year, \u201cdecolonising Russia\u201d has become a buzz-phrase in Ukraine and other former members of the soviet union, among many Western strategists and politicians, Russian studies experts \u2013 and Russia\u2019s own liberal opposition and ethnic minorities.
And that\u2019s triggered a vigorous debate about whether the term \u201cdecolonisation\u201d is really relevant to Russia \u2013 and what it means. Is it about challenging the \u201cimperial mindset\u201d of its rulers \u2013 and perhaps of every ordinary Russian? Or perhaps it means dismembering the country itself?
In \u201cAssignment: Decolonising Russia\u201d Tim Whewell dissects a new and vital controversy with the help of historians, policy makers and activists in the former Soviet Union, the West and the Global South.