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The ‘Nationality Problem’ and the Soviet State

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The State in Socialist Society

Part of the book series: St Antony’s/Macmillan Series ((STANTS))

Abstract

Any attempt to come to grips with the nature of the Soviet state must necessarily involve some explanation of the phenomenon of national identity. As the Soviet Union enters its sixtieth year, it remains a multinational state, and one in which national beliefs are strongly held. The hopes of certain Marxists that national identity would slip from the historical agenda remain a project for the distant future, rather than a description of the present.

I would like to thank all those who took part in the September 1981 Conference of the Political Studies Association Communist Politics Study Group, and Dr A. Shtromas in particular, for helping me to clarify my principal line of argument, and for convincing me of the strength of nationalist feelings. Mary McAuley and Archie Brown also made some illuminating comments on the final draft.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Peter Rutland
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Theory and Government and in the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University College, Swansea, UK

    Neil Harding (Senior Lecturer) (Senior Lecturer)

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© 1984 St Antony’s College, Oxford

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Rutland, P. (1984). The ‘Nationality Problem’ and the Soviet State. In: Harding, N. (eds) The State in Socialist Society. St Antony’s/Macmillan Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17408-9_5

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