A history of Ukraine

Abstract

In 1988, the first edition of Orest Subtelny's Ukraine was published to international acclaim, as the definitive history of what was at that time a republic in the USSR. In the years since, the world has seen the dismantling of the Soviet bloc and the restoration of Ukraine's independence ? an event celebrated by Ukrainians around the world but which also heralded a time of tumultuous change for those in the homeland. While previous updates brought readers up to the year 2000, this new fourth edition includes an overview of Ukraine's most recent history, focusing on the dramatic political, socio-economic, and cultural changes that occurred during the Kuchma and Yushchenko presidencies. It analyzes political developments ? particularly the so-called Orange Revolution ? and the institutional growth of the new state. Subtelny examines Ukraine's entry into the era of globalization, looking at social and economic transformations, regional, ideological, and linguistic tensions, and describes the myriad challenges currently facing Ukrainian state and society. Although the new state of Ukraine came into being only in 1991 as one of many formed in the wake of the Revolution of 1989, it was hardly a new country. Yet what the world has generally known of Ukraine seems to be associated primarily with relatively recent tragedies - Chornobyl in 1986, Babi Yar in 1941, the great famine of 1933, and the pogroms of 1919. But there is more to Ukrainian history than tragedy in the modern era and, indeed, more to Ukraine than Ukrainians. Until now, most histories of Ukraine have been histories of the Ukrainian people alone. While this book traces in detail the evolution of the Ukrainians, Paul Robert Magocsi attempts to give judicious treatment as well to other peoples and cultures that developed within the borders of Ukraine, including the Crimean Tatars, Poles, Russians, Germans, Jews, Mennonites, Greeks, and Romanians, all of whom form an essential part of Ukraine's history. A History of Ukraine has been designed as a textbook for use by teachers and students in areas such as history, political science, religious history, geography, and Slavic and East European Studies. Presented in ten sections of roughly five chapters each, it proceeds chronologically from the first millennium before the common era to the declaration of Ukrainian independence in 1991. Each section provides a balanced discussion of political, economic, and cultural developments; each chapter ends with a summary of the significant issues discussed. The whole is complemented by forty-two maps and twenty tables. Featured are sixty-seven 'text inserts' that include excerpts from important documents and contemporary descriptions as well as vivid explanations of specific events, concepts, and historiographic problems. Students will also benefit from the extensive essay on further reading that provides bibliographic direction for each of the sections in the book.

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