Description

FULLY UPDATED

A fascinating and often violent odyssey spanning more than 1000 years of conflict and culture
INDEPENDENT

Flat fertile and fatally tempting to invaders for centuries Ukraine was fought over by more powerful neighbours Though its modern national movement dates back to the early nineteenth century it did not win real independence until 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union

Since then Ukrainians have proved themselves one of the worlds most remarkable nations In 2014 mass demonstrations forced out a corrupt proRussian president Russia responded by invading first seizing Crimea and the eastern Donbass and then in February 2022 marching on Kyiv With Western help Ukraine is fighting back But in what form it will emerge from the war the bloodiest in Europe since 1945 remains to be seen

For this fourth edition of her classic history Anna Reid returns to the scene Talking to refugees politicians and victims of widespread Russian war crimes she adds a new chapter to the complex biography of a country on the frontline of the conflict between democracy and dictatorship