The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

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Either way, “a lot depends on it”. This year started, he says, with “the realisation that things will be decided on the battlefield more than they will be decided at the negotiating table. On the battlefield there were two questions: the outcome of the Russian winter offensive; and the outcome of the Ukrainian spring counteroffensive. We have the answer to the first question. Nothing came out of the Russian offensive.” Now the second question is about to be answered. It may prove a turning point for the whole war. All the Ukrainians that I had spoken with, told me that they fought for an Independent Ukraine, and not as Plokhy implies for the Nazis. See Michael O. Logusz “Galicia Division: The Waffen-SS 14th grenadier Division 1943-1945” and {Маців Б. “ У 45 Українська Дивізія << Галичина>> Історія у світлинах від заснування у 1943 р. до звільнення з полону 1949 р.} , ISBN 978-966-1518-19-2. The front cover is a photograph of the Palais de Justice and Panteleimon Church, Odessa about 1890/1900. A sympathetic survey of the history of Ukraine along the East-West divide, from ancient divisions to present turmoil.

On both subjects, it seems Prof. Plokhy’s early educational experience in the former Soviet Union have had an influence on his emotional historical world view. It is hard to spend time in Kyiv without falling in love with it. The location of the city, on a hill above the Dnieper, is extraordinary. And its residents, with their deep-rooted and apparently unconscious bilingualism, and their absurd sense of humour, have a unique culture all of their own. Only Kyiv would overthrow a kleptocrat, then put his vulgar swag on display in the art museum as immersive conceptual art. I don’t know of any book that perfectly captures the wonder of the Ukrainian capital, but Andrey Kurkov’s Death and the Penguin, a gloriously odd novel about a penguin employed to go to mafia funerals, first introduced me to it, and for that I adore it. For a comprehensive, engaging, and up-to-date history of Ukraine one could do no better than Serhii Plokhy's aptly titled The Gates of Europe. Plokhy's authoritative study will be of great value to scholars, students, policy-makers, and the informed public alike in making sense of the contemporary Ukrainian imbroglio." Tatiana Lysenko the author of "The Price of Freedom" wrote about the Gorbachevs. She responded to my request for more information, quote..." Both ethnic Ukrainians! It was told to me by the well-known Moscow writer Nina Danhulova (deceased) who personally knew Raisa and Mikhail, and came from the same area as Mikhail Gorbachev. ... This is present-minded history at its most urgent. Anyone wanting to understand why Russia and the West confront each other over the future of Ukraine will want to read Serhii Plokhy's reasoned, measured yet passionate account' Michael IgnatieffComplex and nuanced, refreshingly revisionist and lucid, this is a compelling and outstanding short history of the blood-soaked land that has so often been the battlefield and breadbasket of Europe. "The Gates of Europe" combines scholarly authority with narrative flairessential reading for anyone who wants to understand Russia and Ukraine today. Ukrainian history is interwoven with Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Poland. Lithuania, Austro-Hungarian Empire (Galicia) and several other European countries.

The Ukraine is situated at the center of the 'Old World' and as such has been invaded over the centuries from every direction and occupied by just about everyone, including the Vikings, Persians, Greeks, Byzantines, Romans, Mongols, Huns, Austrians, Poles, French, British, Germans and most recently, the Russians. I say this to make the point that there is no single strand of DNA that identifies someone as Ukrainian and no country that can claim possession of Ukraine by playing the 'We were here first,' card. What becomes obvious when reading this book is that the people who live there should determine if they want to be independent or to become part of another country. With that in mind, here are a few passages from the book that should enlighten readers. First, in a 1991 referendum on independence, A sympathetic survey of the history of Ukraine along the East-West divide, from ancient divisions to present turmoil.... A straightforward, useful work that looks frankly at Ukraine's ongoing "price of freedom" against the rapacious, destabilizing force of Russia. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. As I mentioned before, I wanted a little something that would open my eyes to some of my ancestral roots, as well as offer me the history and politics of a region about which I know so little. Plokhy does this in an even-handed manner, mixing social, cultural, and political history together in an easy to digest format. The book tries not to skim, but it is almost impossible to delve in too deeply and still offer up a book that can be carried from one place to another. Plokhy’s arc of Ukrainian history opens the discussion, but never does he profess to having all the answers or to be the final word on the matter. While I refuse to call it a primer, this book does lay some basic foundations for those who want to learn more. Plokhy’s writing style is also easy to comprehend, offering readers lots of information in a relevant format. Depending on the topic at hand, chapters can be short or more detailed, permitting to reader to extract what they want before moving along. Written in English, there was little I felt I might be missing at the hands of a translator, which helped me feel confident in my reading, though I am sure Plokhy has been able to thoroughly research the topics in their original languages, as well as relying on other historians who have taken the leap before him. While the region may not be of interest to all, I can see many readers learning a great deal, even if they chose only to read key chapters in the book: lead-up to the Great War through the the Cold War fallout. While I never promote ‘parachuting’ into a book, I admit this was the section that interested me most and allowed me to extract a great deal of information to whet my appetite and cultivate a stronger understanding of familial roots. I suppose I will have to see if I cannot better comprehend what led my family to leave Ukraine and settle in Saskatchewan. The Prairie West does have a strong Ukrainian population and Plokhy has given me some good ideas why this might be the case. This is present-minded history at its most urgent. Anyone wanting to understand why Russia and the West confront each other over the future of Ukraine will want to read Serhii Plokhy's reasoned, measured yet passionate account of Ukraine's historic role at the gates of Europe. "What is the source of all of these efforts to destroy Ukrainian independence? Vladimir Putin. Before beginning his second term as president in 2012, he declared that the reintegration of post-Soviet space was one of his prime objectives and the Ukraine is the largest and most valuable former Soviet republic there is. For me, the later chapters - c 1900 onwards were especially interesting and helped to give some context to the more recent troubles, particularly those involving its bullying neighbour (Soviet) Russia. An] admirable new history... belief in Ukraine's history of tolerance and legality, rooted in European Christian civilisation, keeps hope alive. In his elegant and careful exposition of Ukraine's past, Mr Plokhy has also provided some signposts to the future." It is so refreshing to read an American scholar who does not transliterate from Russian. However, I question his consistency. He writes Dnipro as Dnieper. Why is Halychyna Galicia? I am puzzled why in most of the book he writes Moldavia and then near the end of the book he writes Moldova. These are quibbles, although the use of Dnieper is annoying, since historically this river is most important in Ukrainian history. Timothy Snyder in his review of this book uses the name Dnipro for this historic river!! Complex and nuanced, refreshingly revisionist and lucid, this is a compelling and outstanding short history of the blood-soaked land that has so often been the battlefield and breadbasket of Europe.”— Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar

The timeframe and subjects covered here are extraordinary...students, academics, and readers with a general knowledge of Ukraine will appreciate. Alternatively, chapters can be read independently, allowing those with a strong interest in the subject to focus on a specific era of Ukraine s history. No one can understand today s sad, tangled confrontation over Ukraine without some knowledge of the complex, crosscutting influences that have shaped eastern Europe over the millennia. For that history, readers can find no better place to turn than Plokhy s new book.... Plokhy navigates the subject with grace and aplomb. A sympathetic survey of the history of Ukraine along the East-West divide, from ancient divisions to present turmoil.... A straightforward, useful work that looks frankly at Ukraine's ongoing "price of freedom" against the rapacious, destabilizing force of Russia." At different points in its history the Swedes, Hapsburgs, Vikings, Huns, Mongols, Russians, Germans, Poles, and the Ottoman Empire ruled parts of Ukraine. Plokhy (history, Harvard Univ.; The Last Empire) expertly covers the complicated and dizzying history of Ukraine, starting when Neanderthals first arrived in the area, and discusses what it means to be Ukrainian. The early beginnings of Kyivian-Rus can be difficult to follow, featuring an ever-changing group of players and territory; an included historical time line provides perspective. Religious, linguistic, and cultural influences that impacted the development of Ukrainian identity are explored, as are the devastating famines, atrocious wars, and politics that influenced everything from independence to the Orange Revolution and the recent Revolution of Dignity. VERDICT The timeframe and subjects covered here are extraordinary; although this is more an overall survey than an in-depth resource, students, academics, and readers with a general knowledge of Ukraine will appreciate. Alternatively, chapters can be read independently, allowing those with a strong interest in the subject to focus on a specific era of Ukraine's history.—Zebulin Evelhoch, Central Washington Univ. Lib. Library Journal A vigorous polemic in the classical sense of that word a sharply focused argument in support of a debatable point of view.

Until the end of the eighteenth century, most of Ukraine… would remain divided between Poland and Russia. The division would have profound effects on Ukrainian identity and culture. The tragic aspects of this historical journey are rooted in the subjugation and partition of what became Ukraine between successive Empires; the Mongol, the Polish-Lithuanian, the Ottoman, the Austro-Hungarian, the Russian and the Soviet. Treated as a vassal or a colony to be exploited; its linguistic and cultural identity denigrated. Alternatively as a junior member of a larger entity in Tsarist Russia and its successor the Soviet Union, patronised and dominated by a ruling elite from the larger nation. Its lands throughout the 20th Century were exposed to extensive devastation and destruction, first during the First World War, followed by the bloody Civil war after the Bolshevik Revolution , then the Russian Polish wars of 1920’s. But the greatest tragedy inflicted on its population happened during the Stalinist brutal collectivisation of agriculture and the requisitioning of grain in the mid 1930’s leading to the genocidal famine that killed millions, the so called ”Holodomor”. More atrocities were perpetrated during the German Nazi invasion and occupation. Followed by further famines after the war due to mismanagement of agriculture during Khrushchev.

They [Ukrianian writers and poets] envisioned Ukraine as a free republic in a broader Slavic union.

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Plokhy agrees with the position that the historical Slavic inhabitants of Kyivan Rus are the forefathers of modern Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians (thereby recognizing the ethnic, culture, religious, and historical commonality between them) but argues convincingly that the various historical trajectories, though oftentimes overlapping, sets them apart from each other as unique ethnic and cultural groups. Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil. An] exemplary account of Europe's least-known large country... one of the joys of reading the The Gates of Europe is that what might seem a dense account of distant events involving unfamiliar places and people is leavened by aphorism and anecdote."— Wall Street Journal The Hetmanate and surrounding territories in the 1750s ( source: Kohut Russian Centralism and Ukrainian Autonomy 1760s – 1830s) ) I bought this on 24th February, the day Putin invaded Ukraine for the second time. I guess what I have seen daily on the T. V. over the past month is the next chapter. Plokhy’s book was published in 2015, the year after the Russian annexation of Crimea. The author’s concluding words echo prophetically in the light of the last few weeks: