The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the emergence of fifteen independent states on its territory mark the end not only of the Soviet system itself but also of a centuries-long process of state-building that created the Russian empire. In the process of preserving and extending this empire, the Soviet state unwittingly stimulated a process of nation-building among its constituent peoples, which ultimately contributed to its collapse. The papers presented in this volume are an attempt to analyze and comment on the origins, evolution, and demise of this protracted experiment. Originally presented at a panel of the World Congress of Soviet and East European Studies at Harrogate, England and repeatedly updated to keep pace with the rapid changes in the Soviet Union, they inevitably reflect the turbulence of the Soviet scene in 1990-1991. Because they were completed at different dates, they offer different judgments about the prospects of preserving some form of confederation among the former Soviet republics.

The authors and the senior editors owe a special debt to Philip Goldman, who not only co-authored the introduction and dealt with the intricacies of translating the Russian papers but was instrumental in performing the many editorial tasks that transform these papers into a book.