Homelands: War, Population and Statehood in Eastern Europe and Russia, 1918-23

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The topic of state-building has acquired a new actuality in recent years, following the collapse of the USSR and the 'Soviet bloc' and in view of the complex, often violent, territorial and ethnic conflicts whith have ensued. Many of the current dilemmas and tragedies of the region have their origins in the aftermath of World War I, when newly independent nation states, struggling to emerge from the rubble of the former Russian empire, first sought to define themselves in terms of population, territory and citizenship.

The sudden reconfiguration of power in Eastern Europe after 1918 was characterized by extreme flux, in the form of massive population movements, shifting territorial borders and cultural boundaries, and new political and social formations taking shape. Acknowledging the chaotic and destructive nature of involuntary migration and the intensity of human suffering involved, the current volume also explores the extent to which refugees and returnees played an active role in negotiating their status in the new states of Eastern Europe. Based on original research in recently opened East European and Russian archives, it includes detailed case studies on Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, the Urals region of Soviet Russia and Armenia.