Until its collapse in 1991, the Soviet Union was a world superpower incorporating within its borders the great landmass of Europe and Asia-modern Eurasia. Conditioned to view the Soviet state as a unified great power, many people have found it difficult to comprehend the rapid dissolution of this once mighty empire. Analysis of the nature of "ethnicity" and "nationality", as well as nationalism and policy toward the nationalities in the former Soviet Union, will form the background for analyzing the economic, social, political, environmental, military and foreign policy issues that have arisen within and among the new states today.
