Here is the history of the disintegration of the Russian Empire, and the
emergence, on its ruins, of a multinational Communist state. In this revealing
account, Richard Pipes tells how the Communists exploited the new nationalism of the
peoples of the Ukraine, Belorussia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Volga-Ural
area--first to seize power and then to expand into the borderlands.
The Formation of the Soviet Union acquires special relevance in the post-Soviet era,
when the ethnic groups described in the book once again reclaimed their independence, this
time apparently for good.
In a 1996 Preface to the Revised Edition, Pipes suggests how material recently released
from the Russian archives might supplement his account.
365 pages, softcover