Francine Hirsch
Nested Nationalism is a rich and original history of the making of Soviet Azerbaijan with important implications for thinking about inter-ethnic relations in the Soviet Union. Krista Goff is a fearless researcher who has combined archival research in Moscow and the South Caucasus with oral history to piece together a powerful and at times deeply affecting story about the erasure of nationalities and the politics of belonging. The book is filled with insights about Soviet nationality policy, the "masking tendencies" of the archives, and the writing of history.
Ronald Grigor Suny
Krista Goff has written a ground-breaking account of the effects of Soviet policies on non-Russian peoples, programs that both created and undermined nations within the USSR. From archives and interviews, Goff has woven a story that government spokesmen did not want told. For the first time we have a look deep below the surface of government actions and the dominant nations to see what minorities in a nationalizing empire experienced.
Brigid O'Keeffe
Nested Nationalism is a thoughtfully conceived book that shows how nontitular nationalities had a lot to lose in the drive to assimilate them not only to Sovietness but also to the titular nationality of the larger Soviet socialist republics to which they belonged.
Adeeb Khalid
In this methodologically innovative book, Krista Goff combines deep archival research with oral histories to show us the multinational Soviet Union from the perspective of its nontitular nationalities. Nested Nationalism offers copious new insights into the history Soviet nationalities policies and practices. A remarkable achievement.
Fiona Hill
Nested Nationalism provides a deeply-informed account of how Soviet nationality policies shaped interethnic relationships and national identifications for future generations across the Caucasus. It is an invaluable book for anyone trying to understand the troubling experiences of minority communities in the Soviet Union and their continued quest for belonging long after its collapse. The 2020 resumption of war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh is a stark reminder of the Soviet legacy and the asymmetries of power Krista Goff lays out in the book.