It seems there’s a reason to calm down. The Russian Union is already a serious fact. New enclaves are ready to join it, and the restless neighbors are forced to take it into account. Its influence has spread across enormous territories—huge by local standards. But there’s no one to develop them: people are desperately few. It would be time to stop expanding, take a look around… But stopping could be costly. Will the Russians repeat the historical mistake of telling themselves, “Someday we’ll continue—only once we’ve settled, we’ll set things in order in the new lands…”? So what to do next—what strategy to choose?