ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the various features of socialist federations that help to comprehend the structure and ideology of the Ethiopian ethnic federal system that is largely shaped by the structure and philosophy of former socialist federations. It focuses on the origin, development as well as the ideological foundation and principles of socialist federations. Socialist federations mainly attempted to address ethnic-related political demands in a radical and unprecedented manner that distinguished them from the principles applied in democratic federations. Historically, socialist federates were established in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), Czechoslovakia and the former Yugoslavia. The adoption of a socialist federation in Russia was closely linked to the dilemma of Lenin and other leaders of the October Revolution that pushed the class-based socialist ideology while responding to the mounting grievances of non-Russian ethnic groups incorporated into Tsarist Russia.
