Dr. Krista Goff Honored with Rothschild Prize and Reginald Zelnik Book Prize for Nested Nationalism: Making and Unmaking Nations in the Soviet Union

Dr. Krista Goff’s first monograph, Nested Nationalism: Making and Unmaking Nations in the Soviet Union, has been awarded the 2021 Rothschild Prize as well as the 2021 Reginald Zelnik Book Prize in History. The Zelnik Book prize recognizes an outstanding monograph focused on Russia, Eastern Europe, or Eurasia. Similarly, the Joseph Rothschild Prize awards a publication that pays substantial attention to questions of ethnicity and nationalism focused on the same regions.

Incorporating archival as well as oral research and resources, Nested Nationalism studies the consequences both politically and personally of Soviet management of national minorities or “natsmen”. Unacknowledged as Russian but also not having their own titular republic, these national minorities were “nested” into the larger Soviet state. Dr. Goff expands on the idea of “nested nationalism” in her book stating that it was fostered in the Soviet Union as “a recursive, enduring, and symbiotic relationship between majority-minority nationalism in the Soviet Union.” Providing a fresh perspective and intellectual courage, Dr. Goff’s book is anticipated to be an important reference for and model to scholars seeking to capture these sensitive moments in history.

To hear more from Dr. Goff about her book, the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute hosted a book talk with Deputy Director Dr. William Pomeranz explaining how interethnic relationships and expectations are still influenced by Soviet-era leadership.