"Empires do not collapse entirely without violence, but the level of violence can vary. [...] Unfortunately, Russia’s story is different. This empire is receding into the past through major wars, through attempts to reconquer lands once appropriated, with Ukraine at the epicenter of this process." https://united24media.com/perspectives/putins-plan-to-save-the-empire-is-destroying-it-a-harvard-historian-on-russias-fate-15130