Basic Books
The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine
Key Metrics
- Serhii Plokhy
- Basic Books
- Paperback
- 9780465094868
- 9 X 6 X 1.1 inches
- 0.9 pounds
- History > Eastern Europe - General
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Situated between Central Europe, Russia, and the Middle East, Ukraine was shaped by the empires that used it as a strategic gateway between East and West -- from the Roman and Ottoman empires to the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. For centuries, Ukraine has been a meeting place of various cultures. The mixing of sedentary and nomadic peoples and Christianity and Islam on the steppe borderland produced the class of ferocious warriors known as the Cossacks, for example, while the encounter between the Catholic and Orthodox churches created a religious tradition that bridges Western and Eastern Christianity. Ukraine has also been a home to millions of Jews, serving as the birthplace of Hassidism -- and as one of the killing fields of the Holocaust.
Plokhy examines the history of Ukraine's search for its identity through the lives of the major figures in Ukrainian history: Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv, whose daughter Anna became queen of France; the Cossack ruler Ivan Mazepa, who was immortalized in the poems of Byron and Pushkin; Nikita Khrushchev and his protege-turned-nemesis Leonid Brezhnev, who called Ukraine their home; and the heroes of the Maidan protests of 2013 and 2014, who embody the current struggle over Ukraine's future.
As Plokhy explains, today's crisis is a tragic case of history repeating itself, as Ukraine once again finds itself in the center of the battle of global proportions. An authoritative history of this vital country, The Gates of Europe provides a unique insight into the origins of the most dangerous international crisis since the end of the Cold War.
Author Bio
Serhii Plokhy is author, teacher, and historian and specializes in the history of Eastern Europe with a special focus on Ukraine.
He is Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University and Director of Ukrainian Research Institute.
Professor Plokhy's research interests include the intellectual, cultural, and international history of Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on Ukraine and teaches courses and seminars on early modern and modern East European history that engage major problems in the history of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and Lithuania.
His select list of publications include
- The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine Basic Books (2015)
- The Last empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union Basic Books (2015)
- The Cossack Myth: History and Nationhood in the Age of Empires Cambridge University Press (2012)
- Yalta: The Price of Peace Viking/Penguin (2010; 2011)
- Ukraine and Russia: Representations of the Past University of Toronto Press (2008)
- The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus Cambridge University Press (2006)
Source: Harvard University Department of History
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