It would seem there’s a reason to calm down. The Russian Union is already a serious fact. New enclaves are ready to join it, and its unsettling neighbors are forced to take it into account. Its influence has spread across enormous territories—huge by local standards.
And yet there’s no one to develop them—there are desperately few people. One would think the expansion should be stopped, take a look around… But stopping could be costly. Will the Russians repeat a historical mistake by telling themselves: “Someday we’ll continue—once we’ve settled down, we’ll bring order to the new lands…”? So what should be done next—what strategy to choose?