From Union to Commonwealth
Nationalism and Separatism in the Soviet Republics

This volume examines the rise of national movements which challenged, then destroyed, the stability and territorial integrity of the former Soviet state.

Gail Lapidus (Edited by), Victor Zaslavsky (Edited by), Philip Goldman (With)

9780521427166, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 September 1992

144 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.9 cm, 0.22 kg

"Students of nationalism and of Soviet demise will find the individual contributions in this book useful as an orientation to the subject and valuable for the insights that they provide." Mark R. Beissinger, Slavic Review

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of fifteen independent states on its former territory is one of the most momentous developments of the twentieth century. In this volume, five leading international scholars team up to examine the forces that lay behind the rise of national movements which challenged, then destroyed, the stability and territorial integrity of the former Soviet state offering unique insights into the links between political structure and nationalism. Presenting a broad and timely analysis of the national dimension of politics after perestroika, this book is essential reading for all those seeking to understand the complexities underlying the demise of the Soviet state, as well as the emergence of new states actively engaged in defining their national identities at home and abroad.

1. Introduction Gail Lapidus, Victor Zaslavsky and Philip Goldman
2. State, civil society and ethnic cultural consolidation in the USSR - roots of the national question Ronald Suny
3. The impact of perestroika on the national question Gail Lapidus
4. The evolution of separatism in Soviet society under Gorbachev Victor Zaslavsky
5. Perestroika and the ethnic consciousness of Russians Leokadia Drobizheva
6. Nationality policies in the period of perestroika: some comments from a supreme Soviet deputy Galina Starovoiteva.

Subject Areas: Political structures: democracy [JPHV]