№ 4 - 2013
Inozemtzev V.L.
Сolonies vs. Dependencies: Invitation to a Discourse

In his article, Dr. Vladislav Inosemtsev, Russian economist, outlays a new approach to Western overseas expansion that developed from the 15th century onwards. He argues that a distinction should be made between settler colonies (which could be named colonies in the strict sense of the word) and occupied territories (which should rather be labeled as dependencies). In view of such distinction, he draws a line between colonies’ struggle for independence and dependencies’ fight for sovereignty. His argumentation goes further, being applied to Russia’s colonization of Siberia in the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as to Russia’s conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century. The different nature of these moves, the author believes, may provide a new basis for inquiry into the current state, as well as into the possible future of reintegration of the post-Soviet space.