ABSTRACT
This chapter examines examine the attitudinal preconditions for social integration in Latvia and Kazakstan, by identifying some trends in the attitudes and perceptions of both the titular nationality and the nontitulars in these two countries. In Kazakstan, most disagreements concerned issues of linguistic integration while in Latvia there were primarily strong disagreements with regard to political integration. Germans, Koreans, and Caucasians were deported to Kazakstan before or during World War II and were denied basic civil rights. However, the different perceptions of the Russophones in Latvia and Kazakstan may perhaps also reveal different semantic connotations of the word "minority." In Kazakstan, slightly more than half of the respondents regarded Kazakstan as their motherland. Kazakstani school authorities no doubt would like to see as many children as possible switching to Kazak-language instruction, but there is little evidence of a forceful school policy in Kazakstan.
