asked about ethnic group. Many groups were thought to be biologically similar, but culturally distinct. In Central Asia, many identified their "nation" as "Muslim." In other cases, geography made the difference, or even whether one lived in a town versus the countryside. Principally, however, dialects or languages formed the basis for distinguishing between various nations. The results were often contradictory and confusing. More than 150 nations were counted in Central Asia alone. Some were quickly subordinated to others, with communities which had hitherto been counted as "nations" now deemed to be simply tribes. As a result, the number of nations shrunk over the decades. See also Islam in the Soviet Union Soviet people Korenizatsiya Soviet Central Asia References Notes Citations Further reading John Everett-Heath (2003) Central Asia: History, Ethnicity, Modernity, Routledge-Curzon, Arne Haugen (2004) The Establishment of National Republics in Central Asia, Palgrave Macmillan, Terry Martin(2001). The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939, Cornell University Press, Oliver Roy (2000) The New Central Asia: The Creation of Nations, NYU Press, Rogers Brubaker, Nationhood and the National Question in the Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Eurasia: An Institutionalist Account. Theory and Society, 23 [1] (February 1994): 47–78. Subdivisions of the Soviet Union Decentralization Soviet internal politics Soviet ethnic policy Soviet phraseology Soviet Union Geography of the Soviet Union Post-Soviet states Federalism in the Soviet Union