16. NEW RUSSIAN IDENTITY FORMATION

Abstract

To begin, citizens of the former Soviet Republics perceive themselves to be failures. Many view the last century as a waste for Russians, an opinion shared not only among intellectuals but also among civilians. Disappointment with communism and communists has been followed by disappointment and mistrust in democracy and democrats. While Russia’s current boundary configuration and ethnic posture are new, it has retained the most painful colonial assets of Czarist Russia, primarily in the Northern Caucasus. Further, the two Chechen wars exacerbate the challenges the nation now faces and serve as a reminder that, although Vladimir Putin’s assent to power has reduced somewhat the centrifugal tendencies in Russia, the new Russian Federation is not immune to challenge.

Citation

Tsypko, A. (2005), "16. NEW RUSSIAN IDENTITY FORMATION", Intriligator, M.D., Nikitin, A.I. and Tehranian, M. (Ed.) Eurasia (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 171-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-8323(04)01016-1