Through comparative analysis of the reactions of Kazakhstan’s Germans and Koreans to the emergence of an independent Republic of Kazakhstan, 2001 IDRF Fellow Alexander Diener’s book enhances understanding of first, the conflicting dynamics of socio-political integration in post-Soviet space; second, the role played by “kin-states” in the creation or negation of “return myths”; and third, the significance of small-scale homelands in the process of de-and re-territorializing identity. The analysis in this study combines library/archival research with survey and interview data from the late independence period (1996-2002) in an effort to elucidate the interactive nature of place, power, and identity. Buy from Amazon.