Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States

by Maria Popova, Oxana Shevel

In February 2022, Russian missiles rained on Ukrainian cities, and tanks rolled towards Kyiv to end Ukrainian independent statehood. President Zelensky declined a Western evacuation offer and Ukrainians rallied to defend their country. What are the roots of this war, which has upended the international legal order and brought back the spectre of nuclear escalation? How did these supposedly “brotherly peoples” become each other’s worst nightmare? In  Russia and Entangled Histories, Diverging States , Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel explain how since 1991 Russia and Ukraine diverged politically, ending up on a collision course. Russia slid back into authoritarianism and imperialism, while Ukraine consolidated a competitive political system and pro-European identity. As Ukraine built a democratic nation-state, Russia refused to accept it and came to see it as an “anti-Russia” project. After political and economic pressure proved ineffective, and even counterproductive, Putin went to war to force Ukraine back into the fold of the “Russian world.” Ukraine resisted, determined to pursue European integration as a sovereign state. These irreconcilable goals, rather than geopolitical wrangling between Russia and the West over NATO expansion, are – the authors argue – essential to understanding Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Genres: History, Ukraine, Russia, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 23, 2024

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slava Ukraini

[Gav Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Ukrainian Politics course.

Honestly, I initially thought this was going to be a very liberal analysis of the war, and that I wouldn't get much out of it - but that was really just my own ignorant hubris. I actually learned a lot, and this book broadened my views on a subject I assumed I knew far more about than I actually did. Coming from a perspective that has been very skeptical about the motives and institutions funding this war,
my opinions have been rather isolationist on the matter. The authors address the NATO expansion argument that I have clung to for years since the start of the war, arguing that while NATO did seek to expand into Ukraine and onto Russian borders, by 2014, the people of Ukraine were overwhelmingly in favor of that. Whether or not this turned out to be a good idea or not, or are actually the basis of Putin's reasoning for the invasion, it seems fair to argue that it wasn't the West that stole Ukraine from Russia, but Yanukovych and Putin's aggressive and authoritarian policies that made a western-influenced Ukraine seem more enticing than a Russian-influenced Ukraine. So while I am still grappling with what I think should be, or rather should have been done to prevent this war, I gained a new perspective on Ukrainian history and a respect for Ukrainian resistance in the face of Russian aggression.

That being said, and why I didn't feel it appropriate to rate this book higher, is that the authors fall into a trope of whitewashing figures like Stepan Bandera and movements such as the OUN and UPA, sects in Ukraine that quite literally participated in the Holocaust. They frame it as if the Soviet Union fought against these units solely because they fought against the Soviet Union, discounting the larger and more notable fact that these units openly allied themselves with Nazi Germany and partook in countless atrocities. It seemed like a blatant cover-up on the author's behalf for something that I don't think really needed to be covered up. These facts are well-known and could have been admitted without hurting the authors' thesis that Ukraine has been at the precipice of Russian vassalization for much of its history, but instead finds a way to do apologia for genuinely horrific people. Something else I would add about this blip in the book is that the authors rightly refute Vladimir Putin's claims that the present Ukraine is run by a 'Nazi Junta', but simultaneously prop up these historical movements that could accurately be described as Nazi Juntas. It comes off as trying to make Ukrainian history seem totally innocent and perfect to justify their thesis, when in reality, there is no reason to do that, because even if Ukraine had a Nazi past, that doesn't make them any more deserving of a Russian invasion.

I'm happy I read this book and honestly would recommend it as a short but valuable intro for anyone interested in the conflict, but would also advise readers to be aware of the authors' clear biases and unnecessary apologia.

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a friend who decided that to avoid media bias, he needed to eschew traditional platforms and get all his news from YouTube. It didn't go well.

When we talked about geopolitics, my friend asked "Why is everyone so hard on Russia?", grumbled about NATO expansion and bitterly complained about US official Victoria Nuland, who he saw as the Antichrist.

This seemed a strangely vehement and specific distaste. He hadn't noticed that his new beliefs were Putin talking points, which he'd picked up from Russian propaganda videos.

I often hear the NATO expansion trope from many people as a justification for Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Those people should read this book. Everyone who wants to understand the Russian invasion should.

US based Ukrainian academic Oxana Shevel and co author Maria Popova explain how Ukraine and Russia have diverged, with Ukraine improving governance, reducing corruption creating independent courts and promoting political competition, while Putin's Russia went the opposite direction, becoming more authoritarian and imperialist.

Persuasive, well argued and highly recommended. The tone of the book is a bit academic, but the information is excellent.

For more background on Russia, see Garry Kasparov's "Winter is Coming" and David Satter's "It was a long time ago and it never happened anyway".

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning (entangled histories) is interesting but hard to get through but it pays off in the second part of the book when the discussion turns to diverging states. Really provides some great framing of the current state, problems, and trends leading to what may come next for these two nations and the world at large.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m laughing obviously had to add this to my shelf. but in all seriousness, this was a really well written book about the history of ukraine and russia and the politics and culture leading up to russian invasion

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary of recent events

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book tracing the collision course between Russia and Ukraine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The authors highlight the critical junctures which, if had produced different outcomes, could have very likely altered the current situation and potentially halted the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.