Reviews

The Culture of the Sakas in Ancient Iranian Khotan Harold W. Bailey. Delmar, NY: Caravan Books, 1982. 109 pp.

The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan Ali Banuazizi and Myron Weiner, eds. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1986. xi + 390 pp.

Istoriko‐Geograficheskaia Literatura Srednei Azii XVI‐XVIII vv. (Pis'mennye istochniki), (The Historical and Geographical Literature of Central Asia in the 16th through 18th centuries: The written sources). B.A. Akhmedov. Tashkent 1985, 262 pp.     

Cultural nationalism and everyday resistance in an illiberal nationalising state: ethnic minority nationalism in Russia

Ethnic minority nationalism has always been one of the most important subfields of nationalism studies, yet it lacks the consideration in illiberal settings. Limitations of civil liberties and restrictive legislation have undoubtedly affected the existence and the ways to express minority nationalism when it is considered a threat to authoritarian government, which is the case of the contemporary Russian Federation. The paper provides a methodological framework that helps to investigate ethnic minority nationalism when its direct articulation is restricted. It argues that the combination of a cultural nationalism approach and complexity theory can be a fruitful way to explore minority nationalism in an illiberal nationalising state using the case of Russian ethnic minorities. It also argues that the complex context of authoritarianism and market economy creates tipping points towards the growing importance of ethnic minority identification as a basis for social solidarity.