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And as 1,500 French troops and that country’s ambassador were being withdrawn, Niger’s new military leaders promptly contacted Wagner for support, expanding Russia’s sphere of influence in the French imperium it was fast supplanting.

And because we are still the hegemon, we have a great deal to lose from aggressive actions that court chaos, as opposed to careful measures that stabilize our imperium’s peripheries.

In Poland — a nation held captive in the totalitarian Soviet imperium for decades before leading the struggle to break those chains and rejoin Europe — ideas of heroism and sacrifice endured.

He attacked because he wanted to rebuild the old Soviet imperium and because he believed — foolishly — that he was going to win.

The memory of the 18th-century commander is vivid for those in the Kremlin bent on restoring the Russian imperium.