For much of the U.S.S.R.'s existence, there was no such thing as a Russian, reveals Hosking in his follow-up to 1997's Russia: People and Empire, 1552–1917.
That particular ethnic identity was banned by the Communist authorities. Instead, all those inhabiting the czars' ancient territories were designated "Soviets" by their new ideological overlords. The name change did nothing to temper the impression of foreigners and the Soviet Union's many other unwilling nationalities that the U.S.S.R. was Russia, a violent imperial entity run by and for Russians. Indeed, Russians believed themselves to be "helpful comrades" who had a right to spread the Gospel of Marx—in a form adapted to accommodate "Russian myths and symbols dating right back to the sixteenth century." But Hosking also argues that there is an important difference between ersatz Sovietism and the deeper currents of the Russian nation, its culture, worldview and religion. His goal is to "understand what the Soviet Union meant to Russians, what effect it had on their national identity, and how it shaped the formation of the Russian Federation after 1991." To this end, he provides a learned introduction to understanding the complex character of Putin's Russia, where the passing of the Soviet Union is mourned, but its resurrection not desired. (Apr.)
