The Disintegration of the Soviet Union : A Study in the Rise and Triumph of Nationalism

This book tells the dramatic story of the unexpected disintegration of the Soviet Union. The author draws on a wide range of sources to illustrate the growth of national awareness among the many subject peoples, partly promoted by the actions of the communists themselves. He concludes that, the efforts of Mikhail Gorbachev to reform the state he initially controlled, undermined and eventually destroyed the mechanisms that held the non-Russians in check. Front Matter....Pages i-xii The Nations of the Russian Empire....Pages 1-34 The Evolution of Soviet Nationality Policy: The Epoch of Indigenization....Pages 35-61 Stalin and After: The Interplay of Modernization and Russification....Pages 62-89 The Corporatist Compromise and the Varieties of National Resistance....Pages 90-120 Mikhail Gorbachev and the Rising Tide of National Unrest....Pages 121-150 The Exploding Soviet Galaxy....Pages 151-179 The Failure of the August Coup....Pages 180-198 Back Matter....Pages 199-273 Ben Fowkes. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 251-258) And Index.