Nationality Politics in the Soviet Union: At Last, a Subject of Serious Scholarship in the US
Abstract
Nationality politics in the Soviet Union has been a topic of life- long interest to me. The Soviet treatment of the Baltic peoples during World War II drove my parents from Estonia. Their westward flight resulted in my being born in an refugee camp administered by American forces in Germany, and, ultimately, becoming a citizen of the United States, a country my parents may have hoped to visit but never dreamed of emigrating to while growing up in independent Estonia. Thus, Soviet nationality issues shaped my destiny. They also captured my enduring interest, leading me to study political science in both college and graduate school in the 1960's. Now, over 20 years later, I have had an opportunity once again to study Soviet nationality politics for an academic year as a Fellow at the Center for International Affairs (CFIA), Harvard University. This paper, then, will review the changing perceptions in the United States over the last 20 years of Soviet nationality politics in the Baltic republics as a subject worthy of serious scholastic endeavor. It will also reflect on the content of the scholarship over the years. This paper does not pretend to be a comprehensive or academically rigorous dissertation. It is, rather, the observations of an interested user of the scholarly work done in the area of Soviet nationality politics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA239357
Entities
People
- Tiiu Kera
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology