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RR 2005/441 The Former Soviet Union's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook James Minaham ABC-Clio Santa Barbara, CA and Oxford 2004 xvii + 389 pp. ISBN 1 57607 823 X £37.50, $55 Ethnic Diversity within Nations Also available as an e-book (ISBN 1 57607 824 8) Distributed in the UK and Europe by Eurospan
Keywords Russia, Soviet Union, Ethnology, Nationalism, Race relations
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120510632921
ABC-Clio meets a perceived need with its Ethnic Diversity within Nations series. It so far comprises Canada's Diverse Peoples', The Former Yugoslavia's Diverse Peoples and Nigeria's Diverse Peoples. The world still has too many nations, nationalities, and ethnic groups subjugated within states, denied self-determination. Often, little is known of the aspirations and problems of such stateless peoples. James Minahan is an independent researcher and writer living in Barcelona, Spain. His published books include Nationals without States: A Historical Dictionary of Contemporary National Movements (Minahan, 1996); Miniature Empires; A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States (Minahan, 1998) (RR 1999/113); One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups (Minahan, 2000); and Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World (Minahan, 2002).
In tackling the historical evolution of the many ethnicities "that have so long been forgotten or lumped into a larger or Soviet identity" Minahan goes far beyond a study of the most numerous peoples, such as the Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Armenians, Georgians, Jews. All the smaller ethnic groups, such as the Rom (Gypsies), Chechens, Kalmyks, Buryats, Tuvans, Cossacks, Uighurs, have a place in Minahan's narrative with prime focus on their grievances and their fate. The time-span in the ten chapters is truly vast,...