Chernobyl & the Fall of the USSR

[Admiral Yi]

I bet the Stans who discovered gas and oil are relatively pumped.

[DGuller]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

[The Minsky Moment]

What about my other point:  did Soviet territory have to disintegrate along with their economy, or was this not inevitable? 

Kotkin addresses this.  Under the Soviet system, nothing really bound the disparate territories together other than through the centralized control of the Party. As part of his initiative to "democratize" the Party and isolate the hardliners, Gorbachev separated the Party from the organs of the State and de-centralized the Party.  Power flowed to the constituent republics and the newly empowered officials at the republic level could strengthen their position only by flexing their new authority and resisting the center.  And Gorbachev, having dismantled the principal instruments of centralized control, was left with no administrative lever or informal authority to reassert the power of the center.

So the disintegration was not caused by the economic collapse, but was caused by administrative and constitutional reforms and Gorbachev's naivite about how they would play out in practice.

[derspiess]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

Genocide?

[Martinus]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

Well, Ukraine is not doing too shabby either. Sure, it is not a stellar case of democracy, but I don't think it is worse than Georgia (and has much better economy and better geopolitcal situation).

[Barrister]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

Well, Ukraine is not doing too shabby either. Sure, it is not a stellar case of democracy, but I don't think it is worse than Georgia (and has much better economy and better geopolitcal situation).

[DGuller]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

Genocide?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Georgians_in_Abkhazia

[derspiess]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

Genocide?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Georgians_in_Abkhazia

Genocide is a bit of an overstatement.  Looks like an ethnic cleansing, which is bad enough.

[Martinus]

Georgia?

That's a tough one.  Baltics excluded, they are probably the closest ones who actually achieved a semblance of democracy.  However, they also went through a number of wars, a nasty genocide, and are in a very precarious geopolitical situation.  Their economy isn't doing too hot either.

Well, Ukraine is not doing too shabby either. Sure, it is not a stellar case of democracy, but I don't think it is worse than Georgia (and has much better economy and better geopolitcal situation).

What?

[Jacob]

I bet the Stans who discovered gas and oil are relatively pumped.

Well... you know the drill.