Azerbaijan is just the latest chapter. While the story of the Russian empire isn’t over yet, this process is inevitable.Maybe the Russians will manage to hold on to some form of a national state from the empire’s remnants—a chance to regroup.But if they waste more time on Putin’s ambitions, they’ll face the same fate as Assyria and the ancient Assyrians.After all, ancient Assyria was literally destroyed by nearly all its neighbors, especially the peoples it oppressed, to the point that hardly a trace was left.For a long time, chronicles about this were dismissed as exaggerations or legends. But once the atrocities and genocidal acts—like deportations under Ashurnasirpal and Ashurbanipal—were confirmed, everything became clear.It’s the same story here.SourceAbout the author. Yuriy Bohdanov, publicist, specialist in strategic communications in business, public administration and politics.The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.