Newly Independent States of Eurasia

STEPHEN K. BATALDEN, Ph.D., is associate professor of history and coordinator of the Russian and East European Studies Consortium, Arizona State University, Tempe. He also directs the university's academic exchange wh the University of Kiril and Metodij (Skobje, Macedonia). A specialist on the religious and cultural history of modern Russia, Dr. Batalden has authored and edited several volumes on Russia and Eastern Europe. He has traveled widely in Eurasia supported by research grants from the International Research and Exchanges Board and three Fulbright fellowships. In 1988, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.SANDRA L. BATALDEN, M.A., is a freelance editor and former reference librarian/bibliographer specializing in Slavic studies. While at the University of Minnesota Wilson Library, Minneapolis, and the Arizona State University Hayden Library, Tempe, she published comprehensive guides to their Slavic serial collections. Her studies of Slavic publishing and book arts have been supported by extensive travel in the former Soviet Union.

• List of Mapsvii Prefaceix Introductory Remarks by Sergei A. Arutiunovxiii PART ONE: THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Introduction3 Bibliography4 Statistical Profile7 European Russia11 History and Description11 Contemporary Issues19 Siberia and the Russian Far East29 History and Description29 Contemporary Issues36 PART TWO: BELARUS, MOLDOVA, AND UKRAINE Introduction45 Bibliography46 Belarus48 Statistical Profile48 History and Description51 Contemporary Issues53 Moldova61 Statistical Profile61 History and Description63 Contemporary Issues65 Ukraine73 Statistical Profile73 History and Description75 Contemporary Issues80 PART THREE: TRANSCAUCASIA Introduction91 Bibliography92 Armenia94 Statistical Profile94 History and Description97 Contemporary Issues101 Azerbaijan106 Statistical Profile106 History and Description109 Contemporary Issues112 Georgia120 Statistical Profile120 History and Description123 Contemporary Issues126 PART FOUR: CENTRAL ASIA Introduction135 Bibliography136 Kazakhstan138 Statistical Profile138 History and Description141 Contemporary Issues144 Kyrgyzstan151 Statistical Profile151 History and Description154 Contemporary Issues156 Tajikistan162 Statistical Profile162 History and Description165 Contemporary Issues167 Turkmenistan174 Statistical Profile174 History and Description177 Contemporary Issues179 Uzbekistan184 Statistical Profile184 History and Description187 Contemporary Issues189 Afterword197 Glossary199 Index207 LIST OF MAPS The Russian Federation6 European Russia12 Siberia and the Russian Far East30 Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine47 Belarus50 Moldova64 Ukraine76 Transcaucasia93 Armenia96 Azerbaijan108 Georgia122 Central Asia137 Kazakhstan140 Kyrgyzstan153 Tajikistan164 Turkmenistan176 Uzbekistan186