In the wake of the USSR's collapse, more than 25 million Russians found themselves living outside Russian territory, their status ambiguous. This volume, prepared under the sponsorship of the Kennan Institute, offers a comprehensive and amply documented examination of the issue.

Part I Formation of a Diaspora; Chapter 1 The Empire and the Russians, Roman Levita, Mikhail Loiberg; Chapter 2 The Disintegration of the Empire and the Fate of the “Imperial Minority”, Emil Payin; Chapter 3 Russian Minorities, Ramazan Abdulatipov; Chapter 4 Processes of Disintegration in the Russian Federation and the Problem of Russians, Leokadia Drobizheva; Part II Life in Diaspora; Chapter 5 Russians in Ukraine, Evgenii Golovakha, Natalia Panina, Nikolai Churilov; Chapter 6 Russians in Moldova, Vladimir Solonar, Vladimir Bruter; Chapter 7 Russians in Lithuania, Vladis Gaidys; Chapter 8 Russians in Uzbekistan, Sergei Nikolaev; Chapter 9 Russians in the North Caucasian Republics, Galina Soldatova, Irina Dement’eva; Part III Flight from Diaspora; Chapter 10 The New Social and Cultural Situation and the Ouster of the Russian-Speaking Population from the Former Union Republics, Tatiana Marchenko; Chapter 11 Demographic Problems of Russian Adaptation in the Republics of the Former Soviet Union, Vladimir Mukomel; Chapter 12 The Structure and Character of Migration of Russians from the Former Republics of the USSR, Lev Gudkov; Chapter 13 Russian Refugees and Migrants in Russia, Aleksandr Susokolov; Chapter 14 Religious Attitudes of Russian Minorities and National Identity, Natalia Dinello; Part IV Conclusion; Chapter 15 The Future of Russians in the New States of the Former Soviet Union, Emil Payin;