Attitudes of Major Soviet Nationalities. Volume I. The Slavs. Introduction. Russia, The Ukraine, Belorussia

摘要

This volume includes chapters on the Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians. Each chapter deals both with the nationality as an ethnic group and with the republic as a political-territorial unit. The Ukrainian and Belorussian chapters are full-length presentations covering all topics listed in the chapter outline on page vi. The Russian chapter departs from this format, concentrating on the relationship of the Russians, as the dominant Soviet nationality, with the many minority nationalities in the USSR. The three nationalities covered in this volume belong to the East-Slav group. There is much affinity among them in language, religion, history, and way of life. They are often regarded by outsiders as one. Yet, there are major differences and cleavages among them, especially between the Ukrainians and the Russians. Recently, this has been manifested by such phenomena as the struggle of the Ukrainians for their national language and the harsh suppression of the national movement in the Ukraine.