Formation of National Elites as a Factor of the USSR Disintegration

Formation of National Elites as a Factor of the USSR Disintegration


Mironov B.N.

Dr. Sci. (Hist.), Prof., St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia mironov1942@yandex.ru

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The research was supported by RFBR grant, project No. 20-09-00353 “The Disintegration of the Soviet Union in the Human Dimension: An Interdisciplinary Study”.

Rubric: 1991: A Look at Events 30 Years Later

For citation:

Mironov B.N. Formation of National Elites as a Factor of the USSR Disintegration. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2021. No 8. P. 33-48


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Abstract

The disintegration of the USSR was a natural consequence of the Soviet national policy aimed at accelerating the modernization of the Union republics and equalizing their levels of development. By launching the process of the de-Russification (‘korenizatsiya’) managerial personnel, Moscow has contributed to the formation of modern national elites on the ground. The implementation of the national-state construction project led to the nationalization of ethnic and interethnic relations and the sovereignization of the Union republics, а key factor in the collapse of the USSR.


Keywords
disintegration of the Soviet Union; national policy; ‘korenization’ policy; ethnic structure of the state apparatus; ethnic discrimination; de-Russification of the government bodies

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