Given the number of, literally, whole peoples picked up, stuffed into boxcars and dumped somewhere halfway across the country (and I bet you can name at least one very famous example from May 1944), and ample evidence of forced Russification in various contexts during the Soviet era -- this is, quite simply, a very weird and bizarre statement to make.
Overall, "forced russification" was about as bad as "forced Anglification" in Canada. Most of the republics of USSR were similar to Quebec in terms of being dominated by the language and culture of the majority.
Have you seen Spanish-teaching universities in the USA? I have not.
I'd prefer not get too much into personal identity or travel itineraries, if you don't mind. Let's just say I have plenty of shared personal context with the former USSR (enough to have found about the topic first through personal contacts, rather than stuff I read in the press or online).
I am not sure about what you mean by "forced russification"
It's kind of hard not to, these days:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification#Under_the_Soviet...
Of course forced Anglicization has existed in nearly all parts of the former British Empire, also, and of course the original inhabitants (and other non-Anglophones) of these areas have been treated in many horrible ways long after independence, in some places still are up until the present day, etc, etc. But these are different topics.
Have you seen Spanish-teaching universities in the USA? I have not.
You might want to look at Puerto Rico.
If you follow the definition literally, then yes. Yet, Russia always was very careful with the culture of the colonies, way more careful than Britain, France and Westerners in General.
> But these are different topics.
No, actually not. Russia is always disproportionately blamed for being a cultural oppressor, however as an Empire, USSR needed a single unifying culture and language. In that respect, Russians were much less oppressing and arrogant than the British, Spaniards or French.
> You might want to look at Puerto Rico.
I want one in Texas.
Might have something to do with the early 20th-century body count (whereas most of the other empires managed to get their megakilling sprees wrapped up by 1900 or so). Along with all those sinister Russian accents in Hollywood movies. But yeah, friends of mine have confessed this feeling to me, also (that, as Russians, they feel unduly blamed / hated by the world).
...however as an Empire, USSR needed a single unifying culture and language
Same justification used by... basically every other major empire on the planet, you know.
Either way, this is all getting very far afield from the topic of the original article.
I have. Yes they did forced Russification.