Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-Soviet Disorder (Politics in Contemporary Asia) [Paperback]

Suzanne Goldenberg (Author)

Book Description

Series: Politics in Contemporary Asia | Publication Date: September 1994

The Caucasus is the mountainous region between Europe and Asia, Islam and Christianity, Turk and Slav. The break-up of the Soviet Union has given way to ethnic hatred, internecine warfare and political instability region. This book provides an introduction to each of the new republics - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan - as well as to the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and the micro-states of the North Caucasus, which lie uneasily within the Russian Republic. Against the background of current geopolitical rivalries and historical enmities, the author explores the issues - including the fragility of democratic institutions; the competition between the old communist apparatchiks and the new nationalist demagogues; the Ossetian, Abkhazian and Chechen secessions; ecological damage and economic disintegration; and the importance of ethnic and Islamic consciousness.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856492389
• ISBN-13: 978-1856492386
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,424,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pride of Small Nations, July 23, 2001

By 

Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-Soviet Disorder (Politics in Contemporary Asia) (Hardcover)

The mountains of the Caucasus, the area's remoteness, and its long incorporation in a Russian-dominated empire make it singularly little known in the West. And yet, the region is also one of the most fascinating on earth, what with its intense diversity of languages, its wild beauty, and its celebrated liquors. In recent years, it has also become one of the most troubled regions, as ethnic conflicts have proliferated.

Goldenberg, a journalist working for the Guardian, provides an excellent introduction to the Caucasus, mixing scholarship and personal observation. She makes sense of the devastating civil war in Georgia and offers a balanced account of the Azerbaijan-Armenia war. But perhaps the most valuable section deals with the North Caucasus, a region nominally part of Russia but seething with ethnic and territorial problems, as well as an Islamic revival. To those mystified by the Russian assault on Chechenya, she provides a helpful introduction: how the Chechens provided most of Shamil's troops resisting Russian conquest in the mid-nineteenth century, how they suffered from deportation to Central Asia at Stalin's hands, and declared independence in 1991. Goldenberg sketches a vivid portrait of Dzhokar Dudayev, the Chechens' military strongman, and the eccentric, violent state he has established. Two examples: his bodyguard consists mainly of hardened criminals he sprung from jail and his foreign minister comes from the Chechen population living in Jordan.

Middle East Quarterly, March 1995