The former Muslim republics of the USSR are struggling to strike a balance between the legacy of the Soviet regime and the revival of their own, traditional culture. This volume examines the religion, economy and demography of the areas as well as both internal and external relations.

The main focus of this book is Jewish life under the Soviet regime. The themes of the book include: the attitude of the government to Jews, the fate of the Jewish religion and life in Post-World War II Russia. The volume also contains an assessment of the prospects for future emigration.

In the past twenty years almost three quarters of a million Russian Jews have emigrated to the West. Their presence in Israel, Europe and North America and their absence from Russia have left an indelible imprint on these societies. The emigrants themselves as well as those who stayed behind, are in a struggle to establish their own identities and to achieve social and economic security
In this volume an international assembly of experts historians, sociologists, demographers and politicians join forces in order to assess the nature and magnitude of the impact created by this emigration...

The importance of Lutfi al-Khuli and the intellectual circle associated with the Nasserist regime is examined here. Rami Ginat looks at al-Khuli's contribution to the short-lived yet formidable success of Arab socialism. Using primary sources, such as essays and articles by al-Khuli as well as personal interviews, he sheds light on Egypt's socialist experience in the 1960s. Declassified archival material and literature in Arabic and other languages are used in order to elucidate the Egyptian context and the ideological structure of Nasser's Arab socialism.

Recently declassified documents and new scholarship have prompted this reassessment of the collusion between Israel, France and England which drove the 1956 War. The book opens with the international aspects of the war, deals with regional issues and concludes with a fresh look at Israeli involvement. Issues such as the plot which paved the way to the eruption of hostilities, Egyptian losses and gains and Soviet and American opposition come under scrutiny.

The meaning of Russia's past is in a process of continuous deconstruction, reshaping and negotiation by various social and political groupings. Of the deluge of group memories which have broken loose, this collection focuses on several new voices which have never been heard in Russia in this way before: women, Tatars, Cossacks, as well as the voices of religious and provincial populations. In addition, the volume sheds light on the creation of a multi-party system which paved the way for the expression of particular views and interests and generated much of memory's concepts and language.

Gabriel Gorodetsky unravels President Putin's efforts to re-establish Russia's position as a major power, attempting to reconcile Russia's traditional national interests with the newly emerging social and political entity taking shape at home.