This book seeks to explain how state institutions affect ethnic mobilization. It does so in the context of examining the widespread surge of nationalist sentiment that occurred through the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the late 1980s and early 1990s. My analysis of the development of minority nationalist movements during this period in four republics of the Russian Federation shows that even during this period of institutional upheaval, preexisting ethnic institutions affected the preferences and tactics of movement leaders. These Soviet institutions shaped the messages that were used to appeal for popular support, the form that ethnic mobilization took, and the reaction of both elites and masses to the nationalist message.

The story of nationalist mobilization during the perestroika period presents both interesting similarities and interesting variations across cases. The institutional explanation is strengthened by the fact that members of virtually every ethnic minority in the Soviet Union organized nationalist movements that were initially similar in form and goals. These movements differed greatly, however, in their ability to attract popular support. Furthermore, the uniformity in message did not last long – some movements began to articulate radical demands while others remained moderate. The burden of this study is thus to show that the institutional explanation can account not only for the similarities in nationalist mobilization throughout the Russian Federation, but also for the differences across cases.

In the course of discussing ethno-nationalist mobilization in Russia, this book pursues two other objectives.