After the Soviet Union: From Empire to Nations

by Timothy J. Colton, Robert Legvold

The failed coup by Communist hardliners in Moscow in August 1991 marked the inevitable disintegration of the Soviet Union. No single event since the end of World War II will have more far-reaching effects. The power struggles now underway in the fifteen successor republics raise the specter of chaos in Eastern Europe and Southern Asia. Can these new nations manage their deepening economic crisis? What political form will the new republics take, and can the changes be accomplished peacefully. What dangers and problems does the Soviet Union's passage present to the outside world? This collection od original essays, sponsored by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University and the American Assembly, is the first comprehensive assessment of the challenges facing the Soviet Union's successor republics. In five concise chapters, leading American scholars of Soviet affairs examine the economics, politics, and foreign policy of the new nations. The future role of the Soviet military machine―really another nation among the nations―is also discussed. The authors' conclusions lend ground for a tempered optimism about the future of the former USSR.

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First published October 17, 1992