ABSTRACT
During the hectic events of 1917, repeated statements of support emanated from the Petrograd Soviet, materially aiding the undermining of Kerensky's government. In the interval between the Soviet takeover and the end of 1918, at least thirteen new states came into being within what was formerly the Russian Empire. Several factors helped to account for the Soviet leadership's early willingness to preside over the dissolution of the Russian Empire. The strategic importance which the Soviet leadership ascribes to their role as the foremost champion of political independence has not perceptibly waned with the dying of colonialism. Soviet experience has vindicated Marxist-Lenin's assessment of the serviceability of national self-determination as a key lever for gaining power in a multinational environment. By thus insisting that political self-determination remains a sham in the presence of neocolonialism, the Soviets have projected the strategic advantage of being identified as the champion of independence into the postcolonial era.
