For decades, the economic model of the Russian Federation has been built on the exhaustive extraction of natural wealth from national republics and regional subjects. Oil from Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, diamonds and gold from Sakha (Yakutia), coal from Kuzbass, and gas fields in the North remain the primary sources of revenue for the RF federal budget. However, the lion’s share of profits is siphoned off to benefit the imperial centre for funding security apparatuses and waging aggressive wars, while the republics themselves are left with environmental degradation, toxic waste, and ruined infrastructure.
Independent environmental observers and human rights organisations record catastrophic consequences from the operations of Russian extractive monopolies. Contamination of river systems, deforestation of the taiga, degradation of reindeer pastures, and industrial disasters deprive indigenous peoples of their traditional living environments. Simultaneously, any attempts by local communities to protect their lands, organise assemblies, or demand compensation are harshly suppressed by federal security forces under the pretext of “fighting extremism.”
Environmental colonialism is tightly intertwined with the Kremlin’s social and demographic policies. Amid the ecological crisis, national regions continue to experience high unemployment and low living standards, making local populations particularly vulnerable to forced mobilisation and recruitment for the war against Ukraine. The centre deliberately exploits the poverty created by artificial resource depletion as a tool to replenish its occupation army.
Analysts emphasise that restoring ecological balance and preserving the ethnic identity of the peoples of the RF are impossible without a fundamental overhaul of relations between the centre and the regions. Complete control over their own natural resources, the right to manage revenues from their extraction, and the independent determination of economic development vectors are fundamental prerequisites for genuine decolonisation.
