Historiography

Abstract

Interpretation of historical events inevitably leads to dispute. The intensity of the struggle, however, will vary with the participants’ sense of how much is at stake. Of course, Soviet history is a matter over which historiographical struggles have been particularly intense, as historical interpretations in this case were enmeshed in the struggle between socialism and capitalism, or liberalism; that is, between East and West in the second half of the twentieth century. Interpretations of Soviet nationalities policy in general and of the national delimitation in particular were no exception to this rule. In this chapter I will first focus on interpretations of the Soviet nationalities policy as a whole, followed by a discussion of the historiography of the national delimitation and its relation to Soviet nationalities policy.