Can Russia Disintegrate? – Lunch Seminar on October 28
Please join us noon on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 in the Program conference room (114 Curtis St, Somerville MA 02144) for a lunch seminar with Dr. Irina Busygina, Research Scholar at the Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, who will evaluate the chances of Russia’s disintegration under the weight of dislocations caused by its war against Ukraine.
RSVP link: https://forms.gle/t5Kar3TDCvFx7Pm49
Russia’s war against Ukraine has revived an enduring question: Could Russia face territorial disintegration, and what might the consequences be? While the Kremlin claims that President Putin has prevented the country’s collapse and that Russia is now more unified than ever, Western discourse increasingly considers the possibility of fragmentation—and the need to prepare for it. What constellation of factors might lead to such a scenario? Would disintegration be a desirable outcome, and how should the West respond? These questions are more critical than they might initially appear, as the answers shape political expectations and inform strategic decisions regarding Russia.
Dr. Irina Busygina is a Research Scholar at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. Prior to 2022, she was Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Director of the HSE Center for Comparative Governance Studies. Her research focuses on comparative federalism and decentralization; Russian domestic and foreign policy; and Russia–EU relations. Her work has appeared in Post-Soviet Affairs, Problems of Post-Communism, Regional & Federal Studies, Europe-Asia Studies, and Russian Politics. Her recent books include Non-Democratic Federalism and Decentralization in Post-Soviet States (Routledge, 2024; co‑authored with Mikhail Filippov) and How Geography and Institutions Shaped the Development of Nations (Routledge, 2025).