ABSTRACT
The Soviet nation is a central element in the doctrines of developed socialism. Reflecting the official view of the cultural and economic unity of more than one hundred nationalities comprising the USSR, the Soviet nation has been a component of Soviet ideology since Nikita Khrushchev, it is said to be the product of the efforts of millions of new Soviet men and women devoted to the ideals of communism and motivated by socialist patriotism. The Marxist legacy on the nationality question is for the most part ambiguous. Focusing on class differences rather than ethnicity, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels emphasized the commonality of interests within the working class and stressed their belief that these ties were stronger than those based on nationality. Nationality policy evolved under Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev in remarkably similar ways. Both men initially rejected the assimilationist approach of their predecessors only to adopt a similar approach themselves as they gained political power and prestige.
