Vadim Shtepa, a regionalist expert, argues that de-imperialization and de-colonization of Russia cannot be achieved solely through hostility towards Russians as an ethnic group. He believes that the joint efforts of Russian regions and non-Russian republics can destroy the empire, as Russians are dnumerically dominant and angry at Moscow.
Many Russian regions are unhappy that Moscow is robbing them and turning them into raw material colonies, making them natural allies of non-Russians who feel the same way. Shtepa believes that the liquidation of the Kremlin empire would represent a chief victory of world democracy in the 21st century. However, it is important to remember that the Kremlin has been destroyed twice and then revived with the arrival of another totalitarian leader.
Russia’s dissolution could pose a greater threat to the world than the disintegration of Yugoslavia. To avoid this, Shtepa suggests that everyone involved should focus on the future rather than the past. The Kremlin’s ideology, which focuses on the restoration of the past, is shared by many national movements within the Russian Federation, potentially triggering conflicts within Russia and beyond. Shtepa believes that real liberation from the empire will only be possible if democratic values, including freedom of speech and genuine elections, become the core values of national and regional movements. If this happens, new post-Russian countries could form an analogy to the British Commonwealth or the European Union.
