Like all empires, the Soviet Empire was also based on the distinction centre-periphery. Although the Soviet Empire no longer exists, relationships between centres and peripheries still shape realities in the region. The book analyses the relevance of this distinction for the understanding of political, economic, and cultural realities in the post-Soviet space. Case studies provided by scholars from different countries of the former Soviet Union explore the potential of the distinction in historical as well as in economic and political perspectives

Alexander F. Filippov is a professor of sociology and of philosophy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, and editor-in-chief of the Russian Sociological Review. His research interests include history of sociology, sociological theory and German sociology Nicolas Hayoz is a professor of political science at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), with the focus of teaching and research on political developments in Eastern Europe, mainly in the post-Soviet region, as well as on political sociology, political theory, and politics and law Jens Herlth is a professor of Slavic literatures at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). His research interests include Polish intellectual history, Russian and Polish literature in the context of the history of ideas, and the relationship between literature and the social sciences