Russia's borderless ambitions and the ideology of "russkiy mir"
Vladislav Surkov, a former close advisor to Vladimir Putin, announced that Russia "will spread out in all directions," and that the so-called Russian world (russkiy mir) "has no borders," noted the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its latest analysis.
Surkov, who was considered one of the strategists of Russian policy towards Kyiv, stated in an interview with the French weekly "L'Express" that a Russian victory in the war would mean the "military or military and diplomatic crushing of Ukraine" and the "division of this artificial quasi-state into its natural fragments."
"Russkiy mir"
He said this is Moscow's strategic goal, which has not changed since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russia will achieve it, even if "slowdowns" occur along the way. He added that bringing Ukraine back into Russia's sphere of influence has been a Russian objective since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Surkov, who was an advisor to Putin until 2020, also suggested that following the alleged division, Ukraine might "perhaps" exist as a "real state" in the future, but as a much smaller entity. According to the ideologist of "Novorossiya," Europe is supposedly to be involved in the future division of Ukraine.
Russia "will spread out in all directions"
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov defined "Novorossiya" as the entire eastern and southern Ukraine, including the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, and Odesa regions—alongside regions already controlled, wholly or partially, by Russia: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
When asked about Russia's borders, Surkov replied that the ideology of the Russian world "has no borders" and exists wherever Russian influences are present. He stated that Russian influences vary depending on the region but are "never zero." The former high-ranking Kremlin representative announced that Russia "will spread out in all directions."
As "russkiy mir," Russia defines the alleged Russian-speaking cultural community of the countries of the former USSR. As ISW emphasized, the Kremlin uses the ideology of "russkiy mir" to justify military interventions abroad.
Experts noted that Surkov's statements about Russia's claims to eastern and southern Ukraine and further expansion of "russkiy mir" contradict recent assessments by U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. This Trump administration associate assured that Russian territorial claims do not extend beyond Crimea and the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
ISW observed that Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials have frequently spoken in a tone similar to Surkov's, openly revealing Moscow's desire to regain control not only over Ukraine but possibly also over other neighbouring countries, to weaken the West and strengthen Kremlin influence.
The Russian side emphasizes that any future peace agreement with Kyiv must eliminate the "root causes" of the war. So far, the Kremlin, when discussing the "causes" that also justified its invasion of Ukraine, has essentially challenged the existence of an independent Ukrainian state.
On March 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the "causes of the war" are "threats to Russia's security from the Ukrainian and Western directions in general," which result from NATO's expansion eastward and the alleged destruction by the Ukrainian government of everything related to "Russia and the 'russkiy mir.'"
