What do you think?
Rate this book
Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives
When, on 21 November 2013, former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych decided to postpone an EU Association Agreement, few would have predicted that this would lead to a prolonged inter-communal conflict in Europe’s borderland. What started as a peaceful demonstration of support for Ukraine’s pro-European course by thousands of people in Maidan Square in Kiev soon developed into a vicious confrontation dividing families, communities and the Ukrainian nation.
Since the beginning of the confrontation, a lot has been written about its root causes, the motivations of the main actors, and possible scenarios for the future. However, few have looked at what came to be called the ‘Ukraine crisis’ from the point of view of Russo-Ukrainian relations, and grasped the perspectives of various groups involved, as well as the discursive processes that have contributed to the developments in and interpretations of the conflict. The authors of this Edited Collection each present a facet of the intense and dangerous turmoil provoked by the breakdown in relations, and contribute to a deeper understanding of a crisis that now afflicts both European and global affairs.
David Marples, Nicolai Petro, Olga Onuch, Denys Kiryukhin, Greta Uehling, Ivan Katchanovski, Mikhail Pogrebinskiy, Andrew Wilson, Taras Kuzio, Marlene Laruelle, Peter Rutland, Edward W. Walker, Mark Galeotti, Paul Chaisty, Stephen Whitefield, Elena Chebankova, Stephen Hutchings, Joanna Szostek, Marta Dyczok, Mikhail A. Molchanov, Richard Connolly, Paul D’Anieri, Edwin Bacon and Alexander Osipov.
Since the beginning of the confrontation, a lot has been written about its root causes, the motivations of the main actors, and possible scenarios for the future. However, few have looked at what came to be called the ‘Ukraine crisis’ from the point of view of Russo-Ukrainian relations, and grasped the perspectives of various groups involved, as well as the discursive processes that have contributed to the developments in and interpretations of the conflict. The authors of this Edited Collection each present a facet of the intense and dangerous turmoil provoked by the breakdown in relations, and contribute to a deeper understanding of a crisis that now afflicts both European and global affairs.
David Marples, Nicolai Petro, Olga Onuch, Denys Kiryukhin, Greta Uehling, Ivan Katchanovski, Mikhail Pogrebinskiy, Andrew Wilson, Taras Kuzio, Marlene Laruelle, Peter Rutland, Edward W. Walker, Mark Galeotti, Paul Chaisty, Stephen Whitefield, Elena Chebankova, Stephen Hutchings, Joanna Szostek, Marta Dyczok, Mikhail A. Molchanov, Richard Connolly, Paul D’Anieri, Edwin Bacon and Alexander Osipov.
- GenresPolitics
276 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Did Not Finish
February 1, 2023"As the title of a recent Bloomberg View article goes, ‘Putin’s Russia, Tolkien’s Mordor: What’s the difference?’(Bershidsky, 2014)"
in: Russia as Ukraine’s ‘Other’: Identity and Geopolitics
by MIKHAIL A. MOLCHANOVST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY
in: Russia as Ukraine’s ‘Other’: Identity and Geopolitics
by MIKHAIL A. MOLCHANOVST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY
February 14, 2018
Comprehensive and extensive research on recent relations between Russia and Ukraine. Perferct for academic research work.
January 27, 2017
Я не зовсім розумію, як під однією обкладинкою можуть бути зібрані настільки різні за якістю і за своєю науковою відповідністю тексти. Дивина!
June 2, 2022
A comprehensive collection of articles by leading scholars which aim to explain the Ukraine conflict through the lens of Russo-Ukrainian relations as well as the geopolitics involved with it.
The book is divided into four sections: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives. The first one deals with how people in both countries think and behave with each other, looking into the voting patterns within Ukraine which also ties in with an analysis of its Russophone population, followed by an examination of modern Ukrainian national identity and a look at Crimea post-annexation. The second aims to show how the internal politics of each country functions and how they are interrelated ever since the crisis began, with a look at Ukrainian politics post-independence and how that has lead to the current conflict, as well as its effect on the Russian nationalist scene, followed by an assessment of NATO expansionist policy. The third section analyses how both Ukrainian/Western and Russian media portray the crisis in addition to their underlying narratives, highlighting the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of hybrid warfare, the portrayal of Putin as a national hero by discursive means, and the negative representation of Russia as Ukraine’s “Other”. Finally, the fourth looks at the effects of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy (ring a bell?), how narrative analysis can help assess future developments in Russia, the supposed threat that the Maidan uprising posed to the Russian status quo, the minority policies of Russia and Ukraine as characteristics of the post-Soviet condition and then the failure of the establishment of a successful post-Cold War European security order.
This was a very good selection of papers that the editors put in place for this book, which really do try to explain as much as one can possibly do the scope of the current conflict. Some of them may feel dated in retrospect (this was published only a year after the crisis started), and so one has to keep in mind the various developments that have taken place throughout the years which led to the ultimate crescendo we’ve witnessed just this year.
The book is divided into four sections: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives. The first one deals with how people in both countries think and behave with each other, looking into the voting patterns within Ukraine which also ties in with an analysis of its Russophone population, followed by an examination of modern Ukrainian national identity and a look at Crimea post-annexation. The second aims to show how the internal politics of each country functions and how they are interrelated ever since the crisis began, with a look at Ukrainian politics post-independence and how that has lead to the current conflict, as well as its effect on the Russian nationalist scene, followed by an assessment of NATO expansionist policy. The third section analyses how both Ukrainian/Western and Russian media portray the crisis in addition to their underlying narratives, highlighting the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of hybrid warfare, the portrayal of Putin as a national hero by discursive means, and the negative representation of Russia as Ukraine’s “Other”. Finally, the fourth looks at the effects of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy (ring a bell?), how narrative analysis can help assess future developments in Russia, the supposed threat that the Maidan uprising posed to the Russian status quo, the minority policies of Russia and Ukraine as characteristics of the post-Soviet condition and then the failure of the establishment of a successful post-Cold War European security order.
This was a very good selection of papers that the editors put in place for this book, which really do try to explain as much as one can possibly do the scope of the current conflict. Some of them may feel dated in retrospect (this was published only a year after the crisis started), and so one has to keep in mind the various developments that have taken place throughout the years which led to the ultimate crescendo we’ve witnessed just this year.
December 10, 2021
The essays provide a very necessary context to understand the crisis in Ukraine crisis and its relation to Russia. They explain how the issue is not as simple as West vs. East in a comprehensive way, covering population, politics, and propaganda.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews