Bagdasaryan V.E. Russian-Speaking Community in the former Soviet Union Countries in the Post-Soviet Period: Historical and Demographical Processes

Abstract: The subject of the research is the state of the Russian-speaking communities in the post-Soviet republics. The Russian-speaking population in this paper are considered not only as a basically ethnic group — Russians, but also as a stratum connected with certain professional skills and status position. The position of the Russian-speaking population in the former Soviet Union is considered through a lens of the transformations of social and demographical structure of the former USSR societies. The changes that took place in the former Soviet Union countries regarding the Russian questionn are considered within the framework of the general theory of civilisational and imperial collapse. Based on historical comparison, the author defines different models of the integration of the Russian-speaking population into the public systems of post-Soviet societies. The problems of Russian-speaking population are revealed in the context of transit state of post-Soviet societies. The article reveals common and peculiar features of social and demographical processes in the former USSR republics regarding the problems of the Russian-speaking part of population. The article highlights the differences of group identifications within the Russian community around the world. The author discloses the phenomenon of demographical extrusion and discrimination of the Russian-speaking population in the former Soviet Union countries, which can be explained by the trend of post-imperial disintegration.   

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