In the wake of the USSR's collapse, more than 25 million Russians found themselves living outside Russian territory, their status ambiguous. Equally uncertain is the role they will play as a factor in Russian politics, local politics and relations among the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. This volume, prepared under the sponsorship of the Kennan Institute, offers a comprehensive and amply documented examination of these issues. Part I Formation of a Diaspora; Chapter 1 The Empire and the Russians, Roman Levita, Mikhail Loiberg; Chapter 2 The Disintegration of the Empire and the Fate of the “Imperial Minority”, Emil Payin; Chapter 3 Russian Minorities, Ramazan Abdulatipov; Chapter 4 Processes of Disintegration in the Russian Federation and the Problem of Russians, Leokadia Drobizheva; Part II Life in Diaspora; Chapter 5 Russians in Ukraine, Evgenii Golovakha, Natalia Panina, Nikolai Churilov; Chapter 6 Russians in Moldova, Vladimir Solonar, Vladimir Bruter; Chapter 7 Russians in Lithuania, Vladis Gaidys; Chapter 8 Russians in Uzbekistan, Sergei Nikolaev; Chapter 9 Russians in the North Caucasian Republics, Galina Soldatova, Irina Dement’eva; Part III Flight from Diaspora; Chapter 10 The New Social and Cultural Situation and the Ouster of the Russian-Speaking Population from the Former Union Republics, Tatiana Marchenko; Chapter 11 Demographic Problems of Russian Adaptation in the Republics of the Former Soviet Union, Vladimir Mukomel; Chapter 12 The Structure and Character of Migration of Russians from the Former Republics of the USSR, Lev Gudkov; Chapter 13 Russian Refugees and Migrants in Russia, Aleksandr Susokolov; Chapter 14 Religious Attitudes of Russian Minorities and National Identity, Natalia Dinello; Part IV Conclusion; Chapter 15 The Future of Russians in the New States of the Former Soviet Union, Emil Payin;