Independent Republics of the Former Soviet Union Research Paper

BACKGROUND

Once a world superpower, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 as its individual states declared independence. These new nations differ from each other culturally, geographically, historically, economically, and politically. Their ethnic makeup, language, and religion varies. The world is watching as these new entities struggle to become nations.

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

947–947.085

914.7

Look up call numbers for each republic.

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Former Soviet republics

Commonwealth of Independent States

Look under each republic; e.g., Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

USE PAMPHLET FILE (ALSO CALLED VERTICAL FILE) UNDER THE HEADINGS

Each republic may have its own heading or be grouped under Independent Republics

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

Batalden, Stephen K., and Sandra L. Batalden. The Newly Independent States of Eurasia: Handbook of Former Soviet Republics, 1994.

Brawer, Moshe. Atlas of Russia and the Independent Republics, 1995.

CQ Researcher, July 12, 1991.

Facts on File

Shoemaker, M. Wesley. Russia, Eurasian States, and Eastern Europe, 1995, 1995.

United States. Department of State. Background Notes.

General encyclopedias

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

NewsBank and other newspaper indexes

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature
SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

America Online

CompuServe

Dialog

Internet

Prodigy

KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Search using the name of a specific republic; e.g., Latvia, Russia, Estonia.

Commonwealth of Independent States

Former Soviet Union

VIDEOTAPE ON THIS TOPIC

Russia Then and Now. Clay Francisco Films, 1994.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Contact a specific embassy (see U.S. Department of State Diplomatic List for complete listing):

Embassy of the Russian Federation, 1125 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

Embassy of Ukraine, 3350 M St., N.W., Washington, DC 20007.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Choose a specific republic and research one or more of the following: culture, economic aspects, geography, history, politics, future prospects.

Comment on relations between the United States and the independent republics.

Discuss one or more of the important political figures; e.g., Boris Yeltzin, Mikhail Gorbachev.

Investigate the ethnic conflict within and between the new republics.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Collapse of the Soviet Union

End of the Cold War

Ethnic conflict

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.