INTEGRATION OR ALIENATION - RUSSIANS IN T HE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS

On numerous occasions Russian officials have pointed to the existence of 25 million ethnic Russians in the non-Russian Soviet successor stat es as a source of great concern. Indeed, 'the new Russian diaspora' is numerically by far the largest minority group created by the break-up of the Soviet Union. It is not, however, a foregone conclusion that i ts existence will necessarily lead to political instability in Eastern Europe. Whether or not this will happen primarily depends on three ci rcumstances: the attitudes and actions of the state authorities and ti tular nations in the new states, the political course taken by the Rus sian Federation, and finally the behaviour of the Russian minorities t hemselves. These three variables interact with each other, and may fos ter either the integration of the Russians into their new homelands or their social marginalization and political alienation.