Greater Arms of the Russian Federation, by WilhelmsCamel under creative commons license 4.0 courtesy of Wikimedia

Chris Snow, at Medium, with part one of a two-part series of the fall of the Russian Empire.  Excerpt:

The Soviet Union has been collapsing in waves since 1989.

The first stage of the Soviet Empire decline (1970s and 80s), was followed by a second phase of decentralization (1989–2014) The current situation that is unfolding represents the third stage of the Empire’s collapse.

Currently, Russian hard and soft power continues to erode at an ever hastening pace.

The third stage of the collapse is characterized by an increasing decentralisation of power. Also, we can observe calls for the independence of Russia’s remote eastern regions.

We could see that several parts of Russia’s near abroad are attempting to do so, with varying success. For example: Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Chechnya, Central Asia, Transnistria, and Armenia.

The final stage will be the political, economic, and military collapse of the remnants of the Russian Empire.

…

Such a collapse will have certain consequences: Food shortages, reversed industrialization, de-industrialization, ultimately de-civilization, or a “failed state” could follow. Even a civil war like the one in 1917 is in the cards by now.

Glory to Ukraine!