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Cobra, I was just suggesting a possible outcome of events in the future. By the way, I'm studying to be a historian, and I'm about to graduate, so making such predictions is my area of expertise. And I didn't offend anyone; I just stated the TRUTH as it is. I have many Ukrainian friends, and I didn't just come up with this; I'm also basing it on their observations. I also have a good acquaintance in Kyiv, a professor of Ukrainian history, and much of what I know about this country is thanks to her. By the way, gentlemen. I might surprise you, but calling Russia an empire is actually incorrect. We were all taught that in schools, it's written in textbooks, and Marxist professors used to call our country that. Russia has never been an empire! Today, this is a relevant debate among many historians, and I support the view that it was not an empire. Why? I'll explain! An empire strives to expand through colonization; look at the history of any state, from antiquity to the 19th century. What exactly did Russia colonize? Nothing! Parts of Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, etc., became part of Russia (the USSR) not as colonies! But as a full-fledged (almost) union of socialist republics. Why "almost," because Stalin centralized power. If we go back to earlier times, the development of Siberia was NOT colonization. We didn't force anyone. The only exception is Central Asia. And even there, the Russians were forced to defend themselves against Uzbeks, Tajiks, etc. Their endless raids didn't give them peace, so they had to retaliate. But again, the conquered lands in Central Asia were NOT colonies. Russia has never been an empire! We were all raised and taught the opposite. It's not for nothing that they say there's the generally accepted history and the real history (c).