Latvia and Kazakstan: The Lowest Shares of the Titular Nation

Of all the states of the former Soviet Union, it is in Latvia and in Kazakstan that the titular nation represents the lowest share of the total population: as of 1997, approximately 57 per cent in Latvia and 50 per cent in Kazakstan.

In such a situation it is difficult to see how the titular (Latvian, Kazak) culture can serve as a consolidating ele