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.

With Moscow's relentless drive for centralisation and control it seems logical that ethnic minority regions in Russia would be critical of the Kremlin. However, in elections they more often than not vote for Putin and government party United Russia. How to explain this? Keep this in mind for the upcoming parliamentary elections of september 2021.