"Ethnic conflict is nothing new in the former Soviet Union. But when Chechen terrorists took 500 people hostage in a Moscow theater in October 2002, the long-standing ethnic conflicts of the region entered the global spotlight. The dissolution of the Soviet Union reduced the threat of nuclear war, but ethnic crises within the independent states pose new threats to regional security. The Former Soviet Union's Diverse Peoples examines the complex history and remarkable ethnic divisions of the post-Soviet Union's independent states." "Illuminating key periods of regional history, this unique work concentrates on the interactions of Russians and other national groups, examines ethnic tensions in the former Soviet Union, and summarizes the current situation in Russia and other post-Soviet states, providing context for many of the events that are currently making headlines in the former Soviet Union."--BOOK JACKET.