ABSTRACT
When the Soviet system began to crumble under perestroika, most Russian nationalists were conservative in a double sense: They wished to maintain the territorial unity of the state, and—as a result of this—they tended to support the Communist regime. The attempted coup brought about radical change in Soviet politics. The Pan-Soviet governmental structures, long ailing, suddenly found themselves paralyzed, with no aims, no leadership, and no legitimacy. Gennadiy Zyuganov has no desire to be seen as a "nationalist". He styles himself a "patriot", quite in line with the nation-building rhetoric of the Soviet era. Ramazan Abdulatipov is skeptical of all Western nation-building models, which he sees as based on the ideal of assimilation and eradication of ethnic diversity. Joseph Stalin accused the entire Chechen nation collectively of collaboration with the Nazis and deported them en bloc to Central Asia. Tens of thousands died en route to exile. This act of punishment strengthened rather than weakened the Chechens' will to resist.
