ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the main causes of the present nationalist movements and on their consequences during the period of perestroika. It examines popular sentiments regarding the revival of expressive nationalism and explores how people have become aware of the differences between the conditions of the Soviet Union’s center and the periphery. In the nationalist field, popular mobilizations have caused a great stir in those republics that enjoy a higher level of political culture or with a tradition of dissent. The evolution of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev’s thinking on the nationalist problem has been linked to and highly influenced by the nationalist events in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Gorbachev announced the changes to be made in the legislation on the republics and on their relations with the Union, as well as the intention to concede territorial autonomy to all ethnic groups.
