@energisch_ yeah, Russia’s official name is the Russian Federation after all… and it has numerous secessionist movements. There’s a lot of theories and speculation out there on what a dissolved Russia could look like. We can dream.

@energisch_ To be fair, the path to democracy is rarely very smooth. I think the Weimar republic was Germany’s first attempt? The french revolution was followed by the Reign of Terror and the Napoleonic wars.

That said, a de-Putinised Russia would kind of be in that kind of shift where the culture must adapt quickly to democratic values or risk backsliding again.

@Pepijn Yes the size is a huge problem. Even with current size differences between countries I hear Swedes complain that we don’t have much say in the EU due to being a small country.

And the danger of such a large country backsliding is very real, as it would give them huge leverage over the rest of the union.

I have had a very silly thought on my mind the past few days…

Assume somehow, either through a tribunal or a revolution once the war ends and economical desperation sets in, that #Russia gets de-Putinised after the war and somehow manages to democratise (despite it not being in 2/2 of the other super powers’ interest).

Could it then be rehabilitated and welcomed into the #EU - or is it too hated, too big, too broken, too ingrained in the past decades of militarism for it to work?

#Europe