“The Russian Empire … retained most of its territory and is still managing to hold together, masquerading a nation-state. … When the USSR fell in 1991 … Russia, however, still retained most of the soviet land, being essentially shrank back to its 17th century borders – … it is still by far the largest country on the planet. …

Consider the Republic of Sakha. An administrative unit roughly the size of India, Sakha is the starting point of the Power of Siberia pipeline that transports natural gas from Sakha to China. The pipeline brings billions to Russia, yet Sakha remains one of the poorest regions in the country with infrastructure so deteriorated that its capital, Yakutsk, is cut off from the rest of Russia during summer: there are no bridges over the Lena River that blocks roads to the city. The infrastructure itself creates a core-periphery relationship between Moscow or St. Petersburg and the rest of Russia, making many in national republics feel like they are living in a colony.”

aus: David Saveliev: The Eternal Empire: Decolonizing Russia. In: Valentin Luntumbue u.a.: Places in the sun. Post-colonial dialogues in Europe and beyond. Brussels: Institute for a Greater Europe 2021, p.140-148.

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