«For those under Moscow’s yoke, along with Ukrainians, Georgians and others, only disintegration can exorcise the demon of Russian imperialism. They would rather take their chances with a fragmented, disorderly Russia than face some future Putin. Western governments shudder at the prospect of that: a “time of troubles”, or smuta in Russian. They prefer stability to a smorgasbord of new countries. But that may not be on the menu.»
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/west-must-prepare-for-a-splintering-russia-j6jfpzr23