Decolonising Russia

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Is Russia Europe’s last empire? Is its invasion of Ukraine a “colonial war”? Is “decolonising” the country the only way of ensuring it stops being a threat to its neighbours and world peace? Since last year, “decolonising Russia” has become a buzz-phrase in Ukraine and other former members of the soviet union, among many Western strategists and politicians, Russian studies experts – and Russia’s own liberal opposition and ethnic minorities. And that’s triggered a vigorous debate about whether the term “decolonisation” is really relevant to Russia – and what it means. Is it about challenging the “imperial mindset” of its rulers – and perhaps of every ordinary Russian? Or perhaps it means dismembering the country itself? In “Assignment: Decolonising Russia” Tim Whewell dissects a new and vital controversy with the help of historians, policy makers and activists in the former Soviet Union, the West and the Global South. Producer and presenter: Tim Whewell Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Sabine Schereck and Gemma Ashman Sound Engineer: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith (Image: A monument to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in Kyiv, defaced with the words "Don’t Stop Decolonisation." Credit: Oleksii Chumachenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)