Valery Tishkov is a well-known Russian historian and anthropologist, and former Minister of Nationalities in Yeltsin's government. This book draws on his inside knowledge of major events and extensive primary research.
Tishkov argues that ethnicity has a multifaceted role: it is the most accessible basis for political mobilization; a means of controlling power and resources in a transforming society; and therapy for the great trauma suffered by individuals and groups under previous regimes. This complexity helps explain the contradictory nature and outcomes of public ethnic policies based on a doctrine of ethno-nationalism.
PART ONE: GENERAL APPROACHES AND ISSUES
Ethnicity in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Context
Soviet Ethnic Engineering: Success and Failure
Ethno-Politics in a Time of Transition
Territories, Resources and Power
Cultures and Languages in Conflict
PART TWO: CASE STUDIES
The Russians are Leaving: Central Asia and Kazakhstan
The Culture of Ethnic Violence: The Osh Conflict
The Anatomy of Ethnic Violence: The Ingush-Ossetian Conflict
Ambition and the Arrogance of Power: The Chechen War (Part I)
Ambition and the Arrogance of Power: The Chechen War (Part II)
PART THREE: GOVERNING CONFLICTING ETHNICITY
Post-Soviet Nationalism
What is Rossia? Identities in Transition
Strategies for Ethnic Accord in Post-Soviet States
PART FOUR: CONCLUSION: DESTROYING REALITY THROUGH THEORY (OR `BACK TO THE IVORY TOWERS')
