event as a defining moment in the history of their nation. To many Serbs, the sacri-
fice at Kosovo represents the seminal event in shaping the Serbian character.
Some commentators have proposed that the environment in which a group orig-
inates crafts the cultural identity of the group, a view known asenvironmental
determinism. The Turner Thesis, purporting to outline the elements of a unique
American identity, is one such perspective. This view holds that the qualities of the
North Americanlandscapeengendered specific character traits in forming an
American identity, especially the concept of the frontier in American history. While
many would contend that this represents an oversimplification of identity formation,
it certainly is the case that concepts of the “land” and its characteristics often figure in
the construction of group identity, especially the notion of a specific territory being
“god-given” to a particular group. This can be seen in the identity of many peoples.
The Jewish people, for example, have historically linked their group identity to the
land of Israel, in spite of being driven from that land in the early Christian era.
Cultural identity in anation-stateplays a vital role in shaping thecentrifugal
and centripetal forcespresent in the state. The failure to craft a cultural identity
that evolves into a unifying national identity can lead to the collapse of state cohe-
sion, and the spatial disintegration andbalkanizationof the country. A case in
point is the Soviet Union, a state that devolved into 15 independent countries in
- Officially founded in 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
attempted for most of its short history to establish a Soviet cultural identity in the
country. Soviet leaders recognized that with more than 100 ethnic groups in the
country who spoke dozens of languages, it was vital to find a common cultural
denominator that would serve as the basis for a shared identity. Soviet propaganda
featured the personification of this concept in the “New Soviet Man,” an idealized
and fictitious “person” who would be devoid of all cultural loyalties except those
to the Soviet state. Russian language became the center piece of this effort, and Rus-
sian became the tongue of inter-ethnic communication, most of the official media,
and higher education. Yet this effort ultimately failed because many non-Russians
maintained the use of their native languages, while using Russian to communicate
with others outside their ethnic group.Thus, non-Russians in many cases main-
tained a competing identity that undermined, and eventually displaced, the state-
sponsored identity. Many countries today face challenges in forming a centralizing,
coalescent cultural identity that are similar to those experienced in the Soviet Union.
Culture Hearth
One of several locations where major cultural and technological advancements
appeared in the early development of human civilization. These places emerged
Culture Hearth 87