Read the full essay here.
About the Author
Gail Warshofsky Lapidus is professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley and directs the Berkeley-Stanford Program in Soviet Studies. She has written extensively on Soviet politics, society, and foreign policy and is currently working on a book entitled Eroding Empire: Nationalism and the Soviet Future. Her essay is adapted from a talk presented in February at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.