> From the split there will still be a Russia, it'll hold Moscow and St. Petersburg for example. Ah yes, the well-known locations of Russia's nuclear weapons,

> From the split there will still be a Russia, it'll hold Moscow and St. Petersburg for example. Ah yes, the well-known locations of Russia's nuclear weapons, Moscow and St. Petersburg > That new country will still be a significant economy with a large population (Western Russia obviously by far holds most of the nation's population density) Population density does not translate into significant economy. Regions that don't receive subsidies from the federal budget are located mostly along the Ural mountains. Rather far from the capital cities. And you're forgetting that if Russia gets split, most economic ties between the various regions will be be either severed or significantly disrupted. The fall of USSR was only 31 years ago, and apparently people are unable to either remember it, or read up on it. > China would have to be very tempted to conquer more of Asia That's a very good observation. China will definitely move in to grab Siberia, aka the source of most of Russia's raw materials such as oil (so no "still significant economy" for the rest)