Post by futurist on Jul 1, 2018 0:18:49 GMT
What do you think the ideal borders for the Russian Empire would have been?
As for me, here is what I think:
1. First of all, Russia should be allowed to keep all of the territories which it currently controls in real life. This includes Russia within its 1991 borders as well as Crimea. This is the ethnic Russian core of Russia and thus the Russian Empire should certainly keep control of this territory. Personally, I don't care much for Chechnya, but I need to hold it in order to secure a land connection to oil-rich Baku.
2. Russia should keep Azerbaijan (including Baku, of course) due to its massive oil reserves. As for Armenia and Georgia, I'll let them decide whether or not they want to remain under Russian rule. If they do want to remain under Russian rule, though, then it would make sense for Russia to keep them and also to expand into the Armenian vilayets--as well as the Trabzon Vilayet (which had a lot of ethnic Greeks)--of the Ottoman Empire:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_vilayets
3. Russia should avoid attempting to expand into either Iran or Afghanistan. It's just not worth it--there are too many Muslims there for little gain.
4. Russia should withdraw from what is now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and southern Kyrgyzstan since there are a lot of Muslims there and little gain for Russia. However, Russia should keep Turkmenistan (due to its massive amount of natural gas reserves), Kazakhstan, and northern Kyrgyzstan--the last two for living space.
5. At an opportune moment, Russia should expand into Mongolia and eastern Xinjiang. This would be a golden opportunity for Russia to acquire additional living space at relatively little cost. Also, the Mongols can probably be assimilated pretty well into Russia while most of Xinjiang's Uyghurs live in western Xinjiang--which Russia is not going to want to annex.
6. Expansion into Manchuria and Korea should be out of the question since there are simply too many Chinese and Korean people there for Russia to assimilate. However, Russia should reacquire southern Sakhalin for its living space once the opportunity arises. Indeed, Russia can even let the Japanese and Korean residents of south Sakhalin remain where they are; after all, there is plenty of living space there to go around.
7. Under no circumstances should Russia try to reacquire Alaska (not that it would even be feasible, that is). After all, the U.S. is destined for greatness and Russia should certainly not stand in its way.
8. Russia should let go of Poland and western Ukraine. Those territories are full of nationalists and would probably be too much of a problem for Russia to handle in the long(er)-run.
9. Russia should keep Bessarabia if that is what its inhabitants want. However, if Bessarabia's inhabitants want to unite with Romania, Russia should certainly let them do this.
10. Russia should keep eastern Ukraine, southern Ukraine, and Belarus. Nationalism there has not become widespread yet and thus all of these territories can probably be kept by Russia.
11. Russia should keep the Baltic states for their living space. As for Finland, it would depend on how much ethnic Russians would want to move there. If few ethnic Russians will want to move to Finland, Russia should let Finland go. Else, Russia should keep Finland.
12. In the event of a future war with Germany, Russia should acquire northern East Prussia and try to encourage a lot of ethnic Russians to move there. Meanwhile, Poland (from which Russia should have withdrawn by now) should acquire the southern, Polish-majority part of East Prussia (known as Masuria).
Anyway, any thoughts on my list here?
Indeed, what exactly would you do if you had a carte blanche to redraw the Russian Empire's borders in, say, 1913?
As for me, here is what I think:
1. First of all, Russia should be allowed to keep all of the territories which it currently controls in real life. This includes Russia within its 1991 borders as well as Crimea. This is the ethnic Russian core of Russia and thus the Russian Empire should certainly keep control of this territory. Personally, I don't care much for Chechnya, but I need to hold it in order to secure a land connection to oil-rich Baku.
2. Russia should keep Azerbaijan (including Baku, of course) due to its massive oil reserves. As for Armenia and Georgia, I'll let them decide whether or not they want to remain under Russian rule. If they do want to remain under Russian rule, though, then it would make sense for Russia to keep them and also to expand into the Armenian vilayets--as well as the Trabzon Vilayet (which had a lot of ethnic Greeks)--of the Ottoman Empire:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_vilayets
3. Russia should avoid attempting to expand into either Iran or Afghanistan. It's just not worth it--there are too many Muslims there for little gain.
4. Russia should withdraw from what is now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and southern Kyrgyzstan since there are a lot of Muslims there and little gain for Russia. However, Russia should keep Turkmenistan (due to its massive amount of natural gas reserves), Kazakhstan, and northern Kyrgyzstan--the last two for living space.
5. At an opportune moment, Russia should expand into Mongolia and eastern Xinjiang. This would be a golden opportunity for Russia to acquire additional living space at relatively little cost. Also, the Mongols can probably be assimilated pretty well into Russia while most of Xinjiang's Uyghurs live in western Xinjiang--which Russia is not going to want to annex.
6. Expansion into Manchuria and Korea should be out of the question since there are simply too many Chinese and Korean people there for Russia to assimilate. However, Russia should reacquire southern Sakhalin for its living space once the opportunity arises. Indeed, Russia can even let the Japanese and Korean residents of south Sakhalin remain where they are; after all, there is plenty of living space there to go around.
7. Under no circumstances should Russia try to reacquire Alaska (not that it would even be feasible, that is). After all, the U.S. is destined for greatness and Russia should certainly not stand in its way.
8. Russia should let go of Poland and western Ukraine. Those territories are full of nationalists and would probably be too much of a problem for Russia to handle in the long(er)-run.
9. Russia should keep Bessarabia if that is what its inhabitants want. However, if Bessarabia's inhabitants want to unite with Romania, Russia should certainly let them do this.
10. Russia should keep eastern Ukraine, southern Ukraine, and Belarus. Nationalism there has not become widespread yet and thus all of these territories can probably be kept by Russia.
11. Russia should keep the Baltic states for their living space. As for Finland, it would depend on how much ethnic Russians would want to move there. If few ethnic Russians will want to move to Finland, Russia should let Finland go. Else, Russia should keep Finland.
12. In the event of a future war with Germany, Russia should acquire northern East Prussia and try to encourage a lot of ethnic Russians to move there. Meanwhile, Poland (from which Russia should have withdrawn by now) should acquire the southern, Polish-majority part of East Prussia (known as Masuria).
Anyway, any thoughts on my list here?
Indeed, what exactly would you do if you had a carte blanche to redraw the Russian Empire's borders in, say, 1913?
