Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / From Russianisation to Legalisation: Russia and the Question of Successor State to the Soviet Union

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2017 10 (12)
Authors
Ojo, Emmanuel Oladipo
Contact information
Ojo, Emmanuel Oladipo: Ekiti State University Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria; Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia; ;
Keywords
Russia; Russian Empire; USSR; Russianisation; revolution; population; republics
Abstract

For some supposedly obvious – or oblivious – reasons, Russia is almost always referred to as the successor State to the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, just as the USSR itself was the successor to Tsarist Russia. Following the February Revolution and the 15 March 1917 abdication of Emperor Nicolas II, the three–century old Romanov dynasty was thrown off the throne. Also in the same manner, following the October Revolution and the overthrow of the Alexander Kerensky–led Provisional Government, four Socialist Republics were established on the territory of the defunct Russian Empire – these were the Russian and Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republics and the Ukrainian and Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republics. On 28 December 1922, these constituent Republics established the USSR and additional union republics were later established. The USSR lasted seven decades and collapsed in 1991 resulting in the dismemberment of the 15–member geo–polity. For some probably fairly clear historical and demographical factors – but oftentimes ‘traditional supposition’ – the Russian Federation, established on 25 December 1991, has often been regarded as the successor State to the USSR. This paper presents a two–fold contention: one, that the Soviet Union had long been ‘Russianised’ before its dissolution and that the ‘legal’ garb with which Russia was decked in 1991 was a mere semantics and change of nomenclature: ‘Russianisation’ to ‘legalisation’; and two, that the description of Russia as successor State to the Soviet Union, though popular, is a misnomer and concludes that Russia is a ‘continuing State’ and not a ‘successor State’ to the Soviet Union

Pages
1840-1855
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/68763

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