Anti-Soviet protests and the localism of the Baltic republics’nomenklatura: Explaining the interaction

This article concerns the interventions of the Kremlin (the center) into the administration of a republic, and negotiations between the center and the republican nomenklatura regarding power and the boundaries of political autonomy. My theory is that a vague interpretation of the concepts of nationalism in Soviet nationality politics allowed the Kremlin to fulfill the function of the highest arbiter and provided the opportunity for interference into the administration of the republics. This article shows how anti-Soviet protests in Lithuanian society influenced decision-making in Soviet nationality policy.