The Archaeology of Nationalizing Regimes in the Post-Soviet Space

The article focuses on the nature of nationalizing regimes and nationalist narratives in post-Soviet Kazakhstan and Latvia, both of which have significant Russian-speaking minority populations. In addressing the evolution of these regimes, the article examines the differences between the more nationalistic trend in Latvia and the more ambiguous identity projects in Kazakhstan and the reasons why these two tendencies have persisted. Movements, parties, and elites have changed over time, altering the political competition, but not the agenda of the nationalistic groups seeking power within the regime. The article proposes to study the winning and losing political groups through the prism of the nationalizing regimes—the ideational and decision-making framework of nation-building that guides and controls the dominant discourses about the nation.