Freddie Sayers meets Sergej Sumlenny. Read the accompanying article here: https://unherd.com/thepost/how-the-war-could-lead-to-the-break-up-of-russia/ Listen to the podcast version: https://shows.acast.com/lockdowntv-with-freddie-sayers/sergej-sumlenny-get-ready-for-the-break-up-of-russia As the war in Ukraine has become more entrenched, there has been much discussion of the small Eastern European states which might be annexed into the Russian Federation. One political scientist and journalist has taken a different view. Sergej Sumlenny is Russian-born, but lives in Berlin. On Twitter he predicted that rather than expanding, Russia was due to dramatically contract. Might he be right? In principle, Sumlenny argues, Russia's many ethnic states are perfectly poised for secession, some with long histories of agitation and others with a newfound resentment of Moscow in light of the war. To understand how this split could play out in practice Freddie Sayers invited him to talk UnHerd through the end of the Russian Federation and asks - what happens next? Follow UnHerd on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unherd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unherd/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unherd/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unherdtv // TIMECODES // 00:00 - 01:29 - Introduction 01:29 - 05:47 - Sergej Sumlenny gives a brief overview of the composition, character and history of the Russian Federation 05:47 - 07:07 - Could several Russian republics or regions become independent? 07:07 - 11:06 - Are there any Russian leaders calling for secession? 11:06 - 13:28 - Could Astrakhan break way from Russia? 13:28 - 15:34 - Sergej outlines which regions could quickly split from Russia 15:34 - 19:30 - Could the Komi Republic become an independent country? 19:30 - 23:40 - What is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Russian Far East? 23:40 - 31:11 - Why the breakup of Russia would be a good thing for the world 31:11 - 32:06 - Final thoughts #UkraineWar #SergejSumlenny #UnHerd