The Texas National Movement (TNM), a group that advocates for the secession of Texas from the Union, has a weird fanclub in the Kremlin. No, really.

When TNM member Nathan Smith visited St. Petersburg, Russia for a far-right conservative summit, Smith told Russian newspapers that 25,000 Texans, including all Texans serving in the military, “identify themselves first and foremost as Texans.” In response, the Russian government’s state-sanctioned band of trolls went nuts on the Internet to spread the message.

Since that incident, Russian politicians have mentioned Texas far more often than Texan politicians  have ever mentioned Russia. Call it a longshot, but we’re guessing this isn’t an innocent fascination with Texas culture or cuisine.

According to Politico, Russia is still salty over the breakup of the Soviet Union and the secession of many territories. Splintering the United States in a similar way would help soothe old wounds.

Putin is also using state’s origin to boost the credibility of his own foreign policy. From Business Insider:

By invoking the memory of a revolution that took place 180 years ago — and didn’t actually involve the United States — Putin has sought to draw a sort of moral equivalence between his actions in Ukraine and the US’ annexation of Texas in 1845, 10 years after the foundation of the Republic of Texas by its own citizens.

The problem is that regardless of the TNM, most Texans are happy to call themselves Americans, including military service members. With a population of 26 million people living in Texas, 25,000 is a mere drop in the bucket. It sure doesn’t help that three of our presidents have come from Texas and a few frontrunners for the 2016 election are also from Texas.