Russia’s Break-Up between Fantasies and Reality. Conversation with Andreas Umland. Café Eurasia

Welcome to the channel! My name is Anton Shekhovtsov, and I’m the Director of the Centre for Democratic Integrity. In this Special Episode of CDI Talks, I talk to my long-time colleague Andreas Umland about the potential break-up of the Russian Federation. Andreas Umland is a senior analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, and also a co-founder of the Centre for Democratic Integrity. He is a prolific author who has published widely on Russian and Ukrainian politics, nationalism, and foreign affairs with a special focus on German foreign policy. Andreas Umland is also the editor of the book series “Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society” and “Ukrainian Voices” at ibidem-Press. 00:00 Introduction 04:05 Everything is possible, we live in a liquid modernity 05:29 We need to be prepared for Russia’s disintegration 05:50 Will Russia’s ethnic republics claim sovereignty? 08:50 National self-awareness in