This study is the first book produced by the Russian Littoral Project, sponsored jointly by the University of Maryland at College Park and the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and directed by Drs. Dawisha and Parrott.

Both the book and the project emerged from the authors’ conviction that the transformation of the former Soviet republics into independent states demands a thorough study of the determinants of the domestic and foreign policies of these new countries. The book and the project attempt to lay the basic groundwork for future study of these issues.

This book is an outgrowth of a November 1992 report written for the U.S. Department of State by Drs. Dawisha and Parrott. Of course, the views contained in the book do not necessarily reflect the views of that department.

The authors wish to acknowledge the superb research assistance of Griffin Hathaway, Petr Lunak, Stephen Guenther, Ibrahim Arafat, and Michael Cully. Florence Rotz spent untold hours assisting in the preparation of the manuscript. For their generosity in reading and commenting on various parts of the manuscript, or in providing materials, the authors would like to thank Muriel Atkin, Bohdan Bociurkiw, Oleg Bukharin, Patricia Carley, Adeed Dawisha, Richard Dobson, Raymond Garthoff, Steven Grant, John Hardt, Dale Herspring, James Millar, Peter Murrell, Ilya Prizel, and Steve Sestanovich. The errors in the book are our own, but we know there are fewer for their assistance.

Karen Dawisha also wishes to thank the U.S. Institute of Peace and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for individual research awards prior to 1992 that allowed her to begin the collection and analysis of data for the book.