“If you only have time to read one book on the origins of contemporary conflict between Russia and Ukraine, this is the book to read! The perfect team of Popova and Shevel together bring unique depth of understanding of both countries to explain this tragic story of divergence between Ukraine and Russia. It will become a definitive account of this history by which all future studies will be judged.”
Michael McFaul, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; Professor of Political Science, Director, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University; and former US Ambassador to the Russian Federation

“There is a flood of books on the Russo-Ukrainian war written by overnight experts. This book is different. For anyone who wants to understand the origins of the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II this book is a must-read.”
Serhii Plokhy, author of The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History

“Shevel and Popova are as unflinching as they are comprehensive and nuanced in their indictment of Russia’s imperialist war against Ukraine. Essential reading for anybody who wants to understand the most important geopolitical event of our age.”
Ian Garner, author of Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth

“What explains Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s valiant resistance? Popova and Shevel, both eminent scholars of the region, focus on the dynamics of Ukraine-Russia relations since the breakup of the USSR and show how Russia’s slide towards autocracy and revival of imperial aspirations pushed Ukraine in the opposite, more democratic and pro-Western direction until deadly, genocidal warfare remained the Kremlin’s only hope to subjugate its neighbor. Deeply researched, breathtaking in its scope and engagingly written, the book is an absolute must-read for anyone who wants to understand the origins of the war.”
Eugene Finkel, Johns Hopkins University

“Russia and Ukraine started out in similar places after the Soviet collapse. But, as Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel explain, they have increasingly diverged over the past three decades. Today autocratic Russia has invaded democratizing Ukraine in what the authors vividly describe as the ultimate struggle for Ukraine’s right to an independent future.”
Angela Stent, author of Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest

Maria Popova is Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University.

Oxana Shevel is Associate Professor of Political Science at Tufts University.