Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the first wave of political-territorial restructuring and its aim is to draw parallels between the historical cases of Eurasia’s de facto states and present-day de facto states. It deals with the logic of Russian territorial expansion which ultimately led to a formation of several de facto states in Russia’s Far East. The book presents a comparative study of two de facto states which formed in the territory of Georgia in early 1990s – Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It provides rather a different view of relations between de facto state and its patron. The book analyses the complex relations between the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the Republic of Armenia, which is not only Nagorno-Karabakh’s patron state but also its kin-state. It provides an insight to the internal development in de facto states.