Book dossier

Russians as the new minority

by Jeff Chinn

Once a privileged group, the twenty-five million Russians living in the newly independent states of the former USSR find themselves to be minorities - and often unwelcome - in states created to fulfill the aspirations of indigenous populations. This timely book explores the movement of Russians to the borderlands during the Russian Empire and Soviet times, the evolution of nationality policies during the Soviet era, and the processes of indigenization during the late Soviet period and under the newfound independence of the republics. Examining questions of citizenship, language policy, and political representation in each of the successor states, the authors use case studies to explore the tragic ethnic violence that has erupted since the demise of the Soviet Union, to weigh strategies for managing national conflict, and to judge the potential for developing stable democratic institutions that will respect the rights of all ethnic groups.