Radziecka polityka narodowościowa jako źródło współczesnych konfliktów na obszarze byłego ZSRR .......... 19

SOVIET ETHNO-POLICY AS A SOURCE OF CONTEMPORARY CONFLICTS IN THE AREA OF THE FORMER USSR

The Soviet socio-political experiment was associated with an attempt to negate one of the fundamental dimensions of social identity in the modern age – national identity. In the official ideology of the Soviet state, national identity was considered secondary to the more universal dimension of class. The authorities of the USSR, seeking an element that would connect the diverse communities inhabiting the territory of the former Russian Empire attempted to develop a supra-ethnic, universal Soviet identity. Politics of the USSR towards the so-called “problem of nationality” was very inconsistent and its consequences remain one of the main reasons for repeated conflicts in the post-Soviet area. The legacy of Soviet ethno-politics is presently one of the key elements influencing the political situation in the Eurasian area.