Book excerpt: An indispensable guide to the nationalities and states recently become visible after the obscuring demise of the Soviet Empire. Written by 25 scholars, the new edition details the major political developments in each region, locating each nationality within its historical, geopolitical, and cultural context. The volume also includes comparative statistical data and includes the key Northern Eurasia players in 1996: Russia, The Baltic States, the Ukraine, Belrus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR