A small group of Russian nationalists has been calling to “reclaim” Russia’s colonial territories since the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991. After the Kremlin finally acted on these aspirations by invading parts of Ukraine, the number of Russian nationalists calling for the reconquest of areas seized by the Russian Empire or Soviet Union increased, and their cries grew louder.
Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, has been targeted in these remarks with increasing frequency since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. Oddly, this irredentism comes as Russian xenophobia has focused on Central Asian migrant laborers working in Russia.
Four years on from the launch of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, some of the governments in Central Asia are becoming weary of enduring these threats of being reconquered by Russia. Officials in Central Asia are responding, and the number of Central Asian migrant laborers in Russia is dropping.
Read the full article on the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Bruce Pannier is a Senior Fellow at the Turan Research Center.