title: Who secedes and who succeeds? : disputing the uniqueness of 20th century Russian secessionism
abstract: During the twentieth century, the Russian sphere has seen no less than 60 attempts of ethnic secession. The diversity of ethnic groups along with the oppression of successive authoritarian governments have produced two distinct waves of secession. The First Wave (1917-1925) followed the fall of the Russian Empire, while the Second Wave (1989-1995) occurred after the Soviet Union disintegrated. The strength and distinctiveness of the region's secession attracted numerous scholars and investigatio