Darya’s Reviews > Empire of Nations: Ethnographic Knowledge and the Making of the Soviet Union > Status Update

It's quite interesting, and it is well-written. It's been on my to-read list for a while, since it's one of the seminal pieces defining the current Western understanding of the nationalities policies in the Soviet Union. I mean, with my research topic, this book has been mentioned to me as a must-read a gazillion times... so there's some tension about simply reading and enjoying a book that is a "must" :)

@Esther - Ok, I read a bit further, and Chapter 3 is super fun. It discusses how the 1926 census was prepared and how ethnographers and other specialists argued what should be allowed on the census as nationalities, how to count people if they hesitate what to respond etc. I.e. fully-fledged "making" of national groups.