Russia Wants Alaska Back?

Saw this good post by Leslie Eastman over at Legal Insurrection. Has Vladimir been making noises about re-acquiring various former territories that were sold, lost, or otherwise no longer Russian? Yes. He has.

Most of the noise is aimed at an internal audience, as with most of the talk on Ukraine, use of nukes, etc. It does, however, establish claim (as the Russians see it) for eventually going after all former territories. I keep telling people that they need to pay attention to Russkiy Mir (much as Cdr. Salamander keeps tapping his sign that NATO has an Eastern front, not a flank) as it does indeed call for re-acquiring former lands (including Alaska).

Thing is, it is not happening anytime soon. Again, that was for an internal audience and not focused on any outside audience. Though, to be honest, if the Biden Regency were to respond in any way that they see as providing a good precedent or possible concession, Vladimir is not going to object. And, yes, I do suspect the Regency is stupid enough to do such, even if they don’t realize they are doing it.

As for trading California for clear title to Alaska, well, I don’t think Vladimir is that stupid though we could hope…

Meantime, go enjoy a good post but remember that the whole concept of Russkiy Mir is driving not only the invasion of Ukraine, but a lot of other stuff going on internal to Russia. Western politicians write off the document and the concept as bombast or posturing, but Vladimir and other Russian politicians do indeed see it as a guide who’s implementation will be their legacy.

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