This book is about the spread of nationalism in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It argues that the structure of the Soviet state played the key role in causing the surge of nationalism that occurred during this period throughout the Communist world. Focusing on the emergence and development of nationalist movements in four regions of the Russian Federation: Bashkortostan, Chuvashia, Khakassia, and Tatarstan, it reveals that pre-existing ethnic institutions affected the tactics of the movement leaders.