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Russians Beyond Russia
This work provides an examination of the political issues surrounding the fate of ethnic Russians who, since the beginning of 1992, have found themselves living in non-Russian nation-states. Analysis focuses on three relations between expatriate Russian-speaking communities and their host populations; the impact of expatriate issues on Russian domestic politics, such as the sensitive issue of the Crimea; and the role of the new Russian diaspora in relations between the states of the former Soviet Union. Detailed case studies are provided of the development of a national identity within the Russian-speaking communities of five Soviet Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1995
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May 18, 2016
This book provides an interesting and informative explanation and analysis of the Russian and Russophone communities that found themselves as minorities in non-Russian states after the break-up of the USSR. It includes a detailed examination of the attitudes and policies towards these communities within the Russian Federation, as well as of events in Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In particular, Melvin examines the reasons why things unfolded differently in those different countries.
A central and important thesis is that the existence of a "Russian diaspora" is by no means self-evident, as the Russian-speaking communities in most of the countries mentioned are in fact of multiethnic origin and have only weak ethnic or national consciousness (their identity was primarily Soviet up until the end of the Union, in contrast to the titular nations, among whom ethnic nationalism had become widespread in the 1980s). As such, on the eve of independence, these people had various potential identities available to them: strictly ethnic (e.g. Russian, Jewish, Ukrainian, Tatar), linguistic (Russian-speaking), anti-nationalist/pan-ethnic Soviet, regional, class, or indeed a civic identification with the new country they found themselves living in (Kazakhstani, Estonian, Latvian, Moldovan, Ukrainian). Indeed, as it turned out, different groups put different levels of emphasis on these various aspects of their identities. For example, the Russian-speakers of Transdniestria retained an anti-nationalist/pan-ethnic Soviet identity, while those of Moldova proper tended to accept a civic Moldovan identity along with ethnic identities as Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, etc. Similarly, in Ukraine's Donbass region, class factors were strong and a Soviet identity was emphasized, whereas in Crimea and western Ukraine Russians identified more with their ethnicity, and in southern Ukraine a more regional identity was important, which combined their status as Russian-speakers with membership of a civically-defined Ukrainian nation. These considerable differences go some way to explaining the different fates of Russians and Russian-speakers in different areas. However, as Melvin explains, the government of the Russian Federation went some way to consolidating a sense of российский identity (i.e. identification with the Russian state) among these populations, motivated in part by pressure from Russian nationalists at home and in part by a desire to justify continued interference in the near abroad. As a result, many Russian-speakers began to feel an affinity with the Russian Federation as a kind of ersatz homeland, even if they had never lived there before and sometimes even if their ethnicity was not Russian (e.g. Ukrainians in Transdniestria and the Baltic States; Koreans and Germans in Central Asia). This was especially true if the country where they were living was seen to be trying to marginalize non-titular groups.
Unfortunately, as this book was written in 1995, its relevance to contemporary readers is severely limited. Although the aforementioned central arguments are still invaluable in understanding ethnic politics in the post-Soviet space, much of the detail seems a little irrelevant now, as of course do Melvin's predictions for the future. If I were reading this in 1995, I might give it 4 or even 5 stars, but as it's now 2016, in light of its usefulness to contemporary readers, I only give it 3.
A central and important thesis is that the existence of a "Russian diaspora" is by no means self-evident, as the Russian-speaking communities in most of the countries mentioned are in fact of multiethnic origin and have only weak ethnic or national consciousness (their identity was primarily Soviet up until the end of the Union, in contrast to the titular nations, among whom ethnic nationalism had become widespread in the 1980s). As such, on the eve of independence, these people had various potential identities available to them: strictly ethnic (e.g. Russian, Jewish, Ukrainian, Tatar), linguistic (Russian-speaking), anti-nationalist/pan-ethnic Soviet, regional, class, or indeed a civic identification with the new country they found themselves living in (Kazakhstani, Estonian, Latvian, Moldovan, Ukrainian). Indeed, as it turned out, different groups put different levels of emphasis on these various aspects of their identities. For example, the Russian-speakers of Transdniestria retained an anti-nationalist/pan-ethnic Soviet identity, while those of Moldova proper tended to accept a civic Moldovan identity along with ethnic identities as Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, etc. Similarly, in Ukraine's Donbass region, class factors were strong and a Soviet identity was emphasized, whereas in Crimea and western Ukraine Russians identified more with their ethnicity, and in southern Ukraine a more regional identity was important, which combined their status as Russian-speakers with membership of a civically-defined Ukrainian nation. These considerable differences go some way to explaining the different fates of Russians and Russian-speakers in different areas. However, as Melvin explains, the government of the Russian Federation went some way to consolidating a sense of российский identity (i.e. identification with the Russian state) among these populations, motivated in part by pressure from Russian nationalists at home and in part by a desire to justify continued interference in the near abroad. As a result, many Russian-speakers began to feel an affinity with the Russian Federation as a kind of ersatz homeland, even if they had never lived there before and sometimes even if their ethnicity was not Russian (e.g. Ukrainians in Transdniestria and the Baltic States; Koreans and Germans in Central Asia). This was especially true if the country where they were living was seen to be trying to marginalize non-titular groups.
Unfortunately, as this book was written in 1995, its relevance to contemporary readers is severely limited. Although the aforementioned central arguments are still invaluable in understanding ethnic politics in the post-Soviet space, much of the detail seems a little irrelevant now, as of course do Melvin's predictions for the future. If I were reading this in 1995, I might give it 4 or even 5 stars, but as it's now 2016, in light of its usefulness to contemporary readers, I only give it 3.
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