ABSTRACT
The “collapse of ideology” under Mikhail Gorbachev has radically transformed nationality relations in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The most important function of Marxist-Leninist doctrine on nationality was its justification of the continued existence of a transformed Russian empire and of a highly centralized and coercive state. The collapse of ideology has led Russians and non-Russians to ask the old questions in a new way, elaborating a variety of new theories and new approaches that themselves are free of the old ideology. The first Soviet leader since Lenin without any experience in a non-Russian region of the country and the first ever not to have written an article or given a speech about nationality issues before coming to power, Gorbachev quickly adopted an ad hoc, non-ideological approach to many issues, something that encouraged others to do likewise and only further undermined the ideology.
