The Russian invasion of Ukraine has revived speculations about the disintegration of Russia’s multi-ethnic state.But Gulnaz Sibgatullina warns against assumptions that regions like Tatarstan univocally support the idea of complete independence from Russia as a means of protecting their minority rights.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s denial of Ukraine statehood forces scholars to rethink Slavic, East European and Eurasian studies. Many experts believe that the academic field is too ‘Russo-centric’ while other countries like Ukraine are misunderstood because of a lack of attention.