Russian State Duma Defense Committee member Viktor Sobolev outlined the creation of a “unified state” encompassing Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as the ultimate objective of what the Kremlin terms its “special military operation” [war] in Ukraine.
In an interview with Russian-speaking international broadcaster RTVI, Sobolev described this “unified state” vision as “the complete resolution of the special military operation goals.”
He framed the proposal within broader narratives about the “Russian world” and what he characterized as its natural territorial boundaries.
“We are all Russians, Kyiv is the mother of Russian cities, Prince Vladimir is Russian, Yury Dolgoruky is Russian, Yaroslav the Wise is Russian,” Sobolev stated, arguing that Russia should defend its sphere of influence.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation, noted that such proposals are not new. President Vladimir Putin first presented the concept of a “single state” comprising Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine during a 2001 meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and then-Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Vitebsk, Belarus.
Kovalenko stated that Ukraine immediately rejected the proposal when it was initially presented. He described subsequent Russian efforts between 2010 and 2014 to advance this agenda through political, sporting, marketing, and cultural channels, which he said were unsuccessful.
“All this nonsense has been in Putin’s head for a very long time,” Kovalenko wrote in response to Sobolev’s recent comments.
In May, Russian presidential advisor Anton Kobyakov suggested that the Soviet Union continues to exist and characterized the war in Ukraine as an “internal crisis” rather than an international war.
The imperial mindset of the Russian society enabled and perpetuated aggression, colonialism, and violence long before Putin’s rule.
Meanwhile, Western leaders and Russian opposition figures focus blame solely on Putin, thereby absolving ordinary Russians of responsibility and ignoring the deep-seated cultural and historical factors that produced him. Even prominent Russian oppositionists often defend the preservation of Russia’s imperial structure and avoid confronting collective guilt or advocating for genuine decolonization.
However, the meaningful change in Russia is impossible without confronting its imperial legacy and holding not only Putin, but Russian society as a whole, accountable for its actions.