Decolonizing Russia: a Moral and Strategic Imperative

Russia's barbaric war on Ukraine-and before that on Syria, Libya, Georgia, and Chechnya-has exposed the Russian Federation's viciously imperial character to the entire world. Its aggression also is catalyzing a long-overdue conversation about Russia's interior empire, given Moscow's dominion over many indigenous non-Russian nations, and the brutal extent to which the Kremlin has taken to suppress their national self-expression and self-determination.

Serious and controversial discussions are now underway about reckoning with Russia's fundamental imperialism and the need to "decolonize" Russia for it to become a viable stakeholder in European security and stability. As the successor to the Soviet Union, which cloaked its colonial agenda in anti-imperial and anti-capitalist nomenclature, Russia has yet to attract appropriate scrutiny for its consistent and oftentimes brutal imperial tendencies.

The following panelists are scheduled to participate:

• Fatima Tlis, Circassian journalist
• Botakoz Kassymbekova, Lecturer, University of Basel
• Erica Marat, Associate Professor, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University
• Hanna Hopko, Chair, Democracy in Action Conference; former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament
• Casey Michel, Author, American Kleptocracy