Problem 1) How does Holquist aim to better understand and explain the violence of the Russian Revolution and the Soviet state that emerged? What is his argument? And what earlier historical arguments about violence in the Soviet Union is he challenging?
2) How does Hirsch aim to better understand and explain the ways early Soviet leaders tried to balance their anti-imperialist position while maintaining the territorial coherence of the lands they oversaw? What is her argument? And what earlier historical arguments about empire and nationalism/ethnicity in the Soviet Union is she challenging?