Editing Multinational state (section)

== Former multinational states ==
{{main|List of empires}}
{{further|List of largest empires}}

=== Roman Empire ===
[[Ancient Rome | Early Romans]] assimilated neighbouring tribes in the Italian peninsula, including [[Etruscans]] and the Greeks of [[Magna Graecia]]. The rights of [[Roman citizenship]] extended to the Italic peoples from the 1st century BCE, and later more widely: Gauls, Iberians, Greeks, and the peoples of North Africa and of the Near East joined with Britons and Teutons in a multi-ethnic conglomeration, often headed by "provincial" [[Roman emperor | emperor]]s of non-Roman ethnic stock. The success of the Roman state in melding together various nations into a single putative whole shows in the nature and naming of its successor states: the [[Byzantine Empire]] officially styled itself as a "Roman Empire" (historians designate it the "Eastern Roman Empire"), and the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation") maintained pretensions to control various nationalities in Central Europe from 800 to 1806.

===Qing dynasty===
The [[Qing dynasty]] was an imperial dynasty that ruled [[China]] between 1636 and 1912; it was founded by [[Manchu people]], not by [[Han Chinese]]. The Manchu-led dynasty exerted [[Minoritarianism|minoritarian]] rule over the majority-Han Chinese population, and in the 17th and 18th centuries incorporated the regions of present-day [[Mongolia]], [[Tibet]] and [[Xinjiang]] into the empire through military expansionism. This effectively made China a multi-ethnic empire, with different regions having varying degrees of autonomy under Qing rule.

===Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth===

=== Austria-Hungary ===
{| border="1" style="width:200px; float:right; margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em; background:white; border:1px #aaa solid; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%;"
|+ <big>'''Austria-Hungary'''</big>
|- style="background:#efefef;"
| [[File:Austria-Hungary map new.svg|350px]]<br />[[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] (1), [[Bukovina]] (2), [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]] (3), [[Carniola]] (4), [[Kingdom of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] (5), [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]] (6), [[Austrian Littoral|Küstenland]] (7), [[Lower Austria]] (8), [[Moravia]] (9), [[Duchy of Salzburg|Salzburg]] (10), [[Austrian Silesia|Silesia]] (11), [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]] (12), [[Tyrol (state)|Tirol]] (13), [[Upper Austria]] (14), [[Vorarlberg]] (15), [[Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] (16), [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia|Croatia-Slavonia]] (17), and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian condominium)|Bosnia]] (18).
|}
{{Further|Ethnic and religious composition of Austria-Hungary}}
[[Austria-Hungary]], which succeeded the [[Austrian Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Kingdom of Hungary]], was a historical monarchy composed by two multinational states. The centrifugal forces within it, coupled with its loss in [[World War I]], led to its breakup in 1918. Its successor states de jure included the [[First Austrian Republic]], the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Kingdom of Hungary]], while part from her former territories entirely new states were created such as [[Czechoslovakia]], or other parts incorporated into the [[Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]], [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], [[Kingdom of Romania]], [[Kingdom of Italy]] and the [[Soviet Union]].

The principal languages of Austria-Hungary were [[German language|German]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Czech language|Czech]], and [[Croatian language|Croatian]], but there were also many minor languages, including [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]].<ref>''Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910'', published in ''Geographischer Atlas zur Vaterlandskunde an der österreichischen Mittelschulen'' (Vienna, 1911)</ref>

===Ottoman Empire===
The [[Ottoman Empire]] was the [[dynastic state]] of the Turkish [[House of Osman]]. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, it controlled much of [[Southeast Europe]], [[Western Asia]], the [[Caucasus]], [[North Africa]], and the [[Horn of Africa]].

In addition to [[Turkish people|Turks]], the ethnic groups of the Ottoman Empire included [[Albanians]], [[Amazighs]], [[Arabs]], [[Armenians]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Bosnians]], [[Bulgarians]], [[Circassians]], [[Georgians]], [[Greeks]], [[Jews]], [[Kurds]], [[Laz people|Laz]], [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], [[Romanians]], [[Serbs]], [[Tatars]], and [[Zazas]].

Through [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet courts]], [[confessional community|confessional communities]] were allowed to rule themselves under their own legal systems: for example, [[Sharia|sharia law]] for Muslims, [[Canon law]] for Christians, and [[Halakha|halakha law]] for Jews. After the [[Tanzimat]] reforms from 1839 to 1876, the term "millet" was used to refer to legally protected religious minority groups, similar to the way other countries use the word "nation". (The word "millet" comes from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word "millah" (ملة), which literally means "nation".){{citation needed|date=April 2016}} The millet system has been called an example of pre-modern [[religious pluralism]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sachedina |first=Abdulaziz Abdulhussein |date=2001 |title=The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/islamic_sac_2001_00_4172/page/96 96–97] |isbn=0-19-513991-7 |quote=The millet system in the Muslim world provided the pre-modern paradigm of a religiously pluralistic society by granting each religious community an official status and a substantial measure of self-government. |url=https://archive.org/details/islamic_sac_2001_00_4172/page/96 }}</ref>

===Soviet Union===
[[File:Map of the ethnic groups of the Soviet Union.png|thumb|250px|Ethnographic map of the Soviet Union, 1970]]
The [[Soviet Union]] was a state composed of the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet republics]] (of which there were 15 after 1956), with the capital in [[Moscow]]. It was founded in December 1922, when the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]]—which formed during the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]] and emerged victorious in the ensuing [[Russian Civil War]]—unified with the [[Transcaucasian SSR|Transcaucasian]], [[Ukrainian SSR|Ukrainian]], and [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Belarusian SSRs]]. Addressing the Extraordinary Eighth [[Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union]] on 25 November 1936, [[Joseph Stalin]] stated that "within the Soviet Union there are about sixty nations, national groups, and nationalities. The Soviet state is a multinational state."<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1936/11/25.htm On the Draft Constitution of the U.S.S.R] marxists.org, accessed 15 January 2011</ref> Among the 15 republics were the [[Baltic states]] of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]], which were illegally annexed into the Soviet Union in 1940. The Soviet [[occupation of the Baltic states]] was not recognized by a number of Western governments including the [[United States]].

In the late 1980s, some of the republics sought sovereignty over their territories, citing Article 72 of the [[Constitution of the Soviet Union|USSR Constitution]], which stated that any constituent republic was free to secede.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n12_v42/ai_9119705 The red blues&nbsp;— Soviet politics] by Brian Crozier, ''[[National Review]]'', 25 June 1990.</ref> On 7 April 1990, a law was passed allowing a republic to secede if more than two-thirds of its residents voted for secession in a referendum.<ref>[http://www.rspp.su/sobor/conf_2006/istoki_duh_nrav_crisis.html Origins of Moral-Ethical Crisis and Ways to Overcome it] by V.A.Drozhin Honoured Lawyer of Russia.</ref> Many held free elections, and the resulting legislatures soon passed bills that contradicted Soviet laws, in what became known as the [[War of Laws]].

In 1989, the Russian SFSR—the largest constituent republic, with about half of the USSR's population—convened a new [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia|Congress of People's Deputies]] and elected [[Boris Yeltsin]] its chairman. On 12 June 1990, the Congress [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory]] and proceeded to pass legislation that attempted to supersede Soviet laws. Legal uncertainty continued through 1991 as constituent republics slowly gained ''de facto'' independence.

In [[1991 Soviet Union referendum|a referendum]] on 17 March 1991, majorities in nine of the 15 republics voted to preserve the Union. The referendum gave Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] a minor boost, and in the summer of 1991, the [[New Union Treaty]] was designed and agreed upon by eight republics. The treaty would have turned the Soviet Union into a much looser federation, but its signing was interrupted by the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August Coup]]—an attempted [[coup d'état]] against Gorbachev by hardline [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] members of the government and the [[KGB]], who sought to reverse Gorbachev's reforms and reassert the central government's control over the republics. When the coup collapsed, Yeltsin—who had publicly opposed it—came out as a hero, while Gorbachev's power was effectively ended.

As a result, the balance of power tipped significantly toward the republics. In August 1991, [[Latvia]] and [[Estonia]] had regained their independence (following [[Lithuania]]'s 1990 example), while the other twelve republics continued to discuss new, increasingly loose models for the Union.

On 8 December 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed the [[Belavezha Accords]], which declared the Soviet Union dissolved and established the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS) in its place. Doubts remained about the authority of the Belavezha Accords to dissolve the Union, but on 21 December 1991, representatives of every Soviet republic except [[Georgian SSR|Georgia]]—including those that had signed the Belavezha Accords—signed the [[Alma-Ata Protocol]], which confirmed the dissolution of the USSR and reiterated the establishment of the CIS. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev yielded, resigning as the president of the USSR and declaring the office extinct. He turned the powers vested in the Soviet presidency over to Yeltsin, the president of Russia.

The following day, the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]], the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, dissolved itself. Many organizations, such as the [[Soviet Army]] and [[Militsiya|police forces]], remained in place in the early months of 1992, but were slowly phased out and either withdrawn from or absorbed by the newly independent states.

=== Yugoslavia ===
[[File:Breakup of Yugoslavia.gif|thumb|250px|The breakup of the [[SFR Yugoslavia|Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]]]
The first country to be known by this name was the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]], known until 3 October 1929 as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the [[State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs|State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs]] and the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] (to which the [[Kingdom of Montenegro]] had been annexed on 13 November 1918), and the [[Conference of Ambassadors]] gave international recognition to the union on 13 July 1922.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orderofdanilo.org/en/family/index.htm|title=Interesting things about the royal order of Montenegro – Untitled|website=Orderofdanilo|access-date=22 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516203805/http://www.orderofdanilo.org/en/family/index.htm|archive-date=16 May 2009}}</ref>

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the [[Axis powers]] in 1941 and abolished as a result of [[World War II]]. It was succeeded by Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, proclaimed in 1943 by the [[Yugoslav Partisans]] resistance movement. When a communist government was established in 1946, the country was renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1963, it was renamed again, becoming the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, with [[Istria]] and [[Rijeka]] having been added after World War II.

The country consisted of six constituent "socialist republics" ([[SR Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[SR Croatia]], [[SR Macedonia]], [[SR Montenegro]], [[SR Slovenia]], and [[SR Serbia]]) and two "socialist autonomous provinces" ([[SAP Vojvodina]] and [[SAP Kosovo]], which became largely equal to other members of the federation after 1974).<ref>{{cite book |last=Huntington |first=Samuel P. |title=The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-684-84441-9 |year=1996 |page=[https://archive.org/details/clashofcivilizat00hunt/page/260 260] |title-link=The Clash of Civilizations }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/kosovo/110492.stm |title=History, bloody history |work=BBC News |date=March 24, 1999 |access-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref>

Starting in 1991, the SFRY disintegrated in the [[Yugoslav Wars]], which followed the secession of most of the country's constituent entities. The next Yugoslavia, known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, existed until 2003, when it was renamed [[Serbia and Montenegro]]. In 2006, this last vestige separated into Serbia and Montenegro, but only to go further in 2008 after [[Kosovo]] unilaterally declared its independence but with limited recognition.

===Czechoslovakia===
{{Further|Demographics of Czechoslovakia}}
[[File:Czechoslovakia 1930 linguistic map - created 2008-10-30.svg|thumb|250px|Linguistic map of Czechoslovakia in 1930]]
Czechoslovakia was a multi-ethnic state, with [[Czechs]] and [[Slovaks]] as ''constituent peoples''. [[Sudeten Germans]] were forcibly expelled after World War II.