Q. Consider the following statements:

1. Rising nationalism and demand of sovereignty by soviet states was the most immediate reason of disintegration of the USSR.
2. Nationalist unrest was strongest in the Central Asian republics given their ethnic and religious differences with the rest of the Soviet Union.

Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer: Only 1
Notes: Only the first statement is correct. The second statement is incorrect. The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia, and others proved to be the final and most immediate cause for the disintegration of the USSR. Ironically, during the Cold War many thought that nationalist unrest would be strongest in the Central Asian republics given their ethnic and religious differences with the rest of the Soviet Union and their economic backwardness. However, as things turned out, nationalist dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union was strongest in the more "European" and prosperous part - in Russia and the Baltic areas as well as Ukraine and Georgia.