In simple terms, the Soviet Union is a rich tapestry of ethnicity, a variety of peoples spread across eleven time zones from the edge of Eastern Europe to the Pacific coast. Within its borders live fifteen major nationalities - reflected in its administrative units, the fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) - and dozens of minor nationalities administratively accommodated within the republics.
Historically, this great assemblage of peoples was the result of the shrewd politics and military might of the rulers of the ethnic Russians, the largest of the national groups now inhabiting the Soviet Union.
During the reign of Czar Ivan IV in the sixteenth century, the principality of Muscovy began its dramatic acquisition of non-Russian territories. The Russian Empire spanned two centuries, then collapsed under the weight of the Bolshevik Revolution giving way to the present communist system.
When considering current developments, one must remember at least two fundamental points: First is the broad scope of historical backgrounds from which each group draws its singular identity. Citizens of the present Soviet Union can be categorized as either European or non-European. The former category includes eastern Russians, Ukrainians, and Byelorussians; Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, and Moldavians. Non-Europeans include those of Turkic-Islamic origins (Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs Kirghiz, Turkmen, and Uzbekis); of Iranian origin (Tadzhiks); and of ancient Christian origins (Georgians and Armenians). Each of the above has an SSR territorial unit in its name. In addition, there are numerous other sizable and smaller minorities, most of them of non-European stock. The larger groups include the Bashkirs, the Buryats, and the Kalmucks; the smaller groups range from the Tatars (Crimean and Volga) to the dozen or so peoples clustered in the Caucasus region (such as the Ossetians, the Chechen-Ingush, the Abkhazians, and the Meskhetians). The majority of these have their own Autonomous SSRs or oblasts, most of which are located in the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic (RSFER), which encompasses Siberia and its polyglot of minuscule ethnic groups.
Furthermore, there are significant communities of major national minorities in other republics, such as Armenians in Georgia or in Azerbaijan. Finally, there are nonterritorial national minorities such as Gypsies, Jews, Poles, and native Christian Turks in Moldavia, some of whom are clamoring for territorial accommodation.
The second historical fact to keep in mind is that all the minorities were initially involuntarily incorporated into the Soviet Union. Conquered by the czars, non-Russians found themselves absorbed into the Soviet Union by conquest, international diplomatic pressure, or political manipulation. In other words, the sundry minority peoples of the Soviet Union are, at best, reluctant citizens of what they often perceive as a state imposed on them by a foreign power and occupier. Cultural diversity and a sense of subjugation make ethnic Russians an inflammatory mass that can be ignited at the slightest provocation.
Many czarist and communist policies have tried to diminish the multinational character of the population. Forced conversion to Orthodox Christianity, the requirement of Russian as the official language of transaction and education,
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