He cites George Bush Sr’s “Chicken Kiev” speech in 1991, when the president urged Ukraine not to pursue independence,
Huh, don't remember hearing about that before. I'd argue things are different now though. That was an unknown breaking away from what appeared to be a democratic country, while now we're talking about unknowns breaking away from an authoritarian nation.
There is the nuclear arsenal to consider though. I don't know much about how the nukes are distributed through the country, but it's likely some of them would end up in these new unknowns.
I wasn’t aware of these republics within Russia. Fascinating article. I’d love to see these areas creating their own independent communities not under Kremlin domination.
Most of them are rarely in the news, at least since the Chechen Wars were settled more than a decade ago. It's a fascinating topic though.
The republics have traditionally had more autonomy withing Russia than other federal subjects. Most of them were created by the Bolsheviks in return for support from the local ethnic groups during the Russian Civil War. Thus, most of them are named after the ehtnic group(s) that traditionally lived in those areas. Today they have a combined population of around 26 million, almost 18% of Russia's total population.
I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I imagine the republics most likely to seek independence are the ones on the fringes of Russia that still have a majority non-Russian demographic.
Interesting article and context! I knew a considerable number of Russians were not happy with Putin and the war, but I didn’t know there were several regions willing to break free of the country. Thanks!
Thanks so much for all this information. It’s especially relevant with the war in Ukraine. To me, it’s a service you do making us aware of important geography. In high school, I thought geography was such a stupid subject but now it’s so incredibly crucial.
Huh, don't remember hearing about that before. I'd argue things are different now though. That was an unknown breaking away from what appeared to be a democratic country, while now we're talking about unknowns breaking away from an authoritarian nation.
There is the nuclear arsenal to consider though. I don't know much about how the nukes are distributed through the country, but it's likely some of them would end up in these new unknowns.
I wasn’t aware of these republics within Russia. Fascinating article. I’d love to see these areas creating their own independent communities not under Kremlin domination.
Most of them are rarely in the news, at least since the Chechen Wars were settled more than a decade ago. It's a fascinating topic though.
The republics have traditionally had more autonomy withing Russia than other federal subjects. Most of them were created by the Bolsheviks in return for support from the local ethnic groups during the Russian Civil War. Thus, most of them are named after the ehtnic group(s) that traditionally lived in those areas. Today they have a combined population of around 26 million, almost 18% of Russia's total population.
I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I imagine the republics most likely to seek independence are the ones on the fringes of Russia that still have a majority non-Russian demographic.
Interesting article and context! I knew a considerable number of Russians were not happy with Putin and the war, but I didn’t know there were several regions willing to break free of the country. Thanks!
Thanks so much for all this information. It’s especially relevant with the war in Ukraine. To me, it’s a service you do making us aware of important geography. In high school, I thought geography was such a stupid subject but now it’s so incredibly crucial.