Reviews for A History of Ukraine

The average rating for A History of Ukraine based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-12-05 00:00:00 Robert Yarbrough History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples by Paul Robert Magocsi, is an excellent one volume overview of Ukrainian history from its earliest times up to 2010. This book examines both the cut and dry territorial history, as well as the socio-cultural and economic forces that shaped the territory of Ukraine into what it is today. This includes examining the numerous people groups that inhabited and continue to inhabit this area, as well as the development of the Ukrainian nationality that we know today. Magocsi is intimately aware that Ukrainian history, and even the concept of Ukraine itself, is controversial. Four main schools of history exist in terms of Ukrainian history; the Ukrainian, Russian, Soviet, and Polish schools all adopt differing methods and conclusions to events in order to further more modern political objectives. All four schools offer valuable insight into Ukraine's history throughout the ages. The book begins by examining these four schools of history, and each one should seem obvious. The Ukrainian school promotes the idea of Ukrainian ethnicity and nationality, and seeks connections with the past to promote Ukraine's national autonomy and identity. The Russian school seeks to show the close connections and historical origin points of Ukrainians and Russian, in order to promote Russian influence and control of Ukraine. The Soviet school played up these close connections as well, while building upon the idea of common brotherly culture between the peoples of Rus and the superiority of Eastern thought over Western thought. The Polish school plays up Ukraine's time as a series of provinces controlled by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the role Poles played in developing Ukraine. All four schools have there own agendas and nuances, and are tied into the historically restive Eastern European lands and there often violent histories. The book then goes on to outline Ukrainian history in broad strokes. The movement of various peoples into steppe Ukraine, including many tribal groups from Central Asia, like the Bulgars, Magyars, Mongols and so on. This included the powerful Kipchak Empire, which ruled over much of Ukraine for centuries, trading and controlling the flow of goods into the Roman Empire from the Silk Road trade route from Asia. The settlement of the Crimea by Greek, Roman and Italian colonists and the creation of merchant cities along the coast is outlined as well. The development of the Rus Kingdom, the precursor to Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian societies, is examined in depth. This Kingdom was really a series of Princely feudal states ruled over by a Grand Prince. The state was historically centered at Kiev, and was responsible for the introduction of Orthodox Christianity into Eastern Europe. It had a close relationship to the Eastern Roman Empire, and shared culture, religion and commerce with the Black Sea region. Its influence stretched from traditional Ukrainian lands, north to Russia, and West into Poland. The Rus were the historical founders of many cities in the Ukrainian lands, and would play an important role in the development of Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian ethnic identity, as well as the historical muse for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. Another important group in the region at the time of the Rus were the Tartar's. These peoples would storm into the steppe region under the control of Genghis Khan's hordes, and would eventually seize control of the former Rus territories, creating a series of vassal states in Russia, while controlling much of Ukraine's coastal and steppe regions. This new state was called the Kipchak Khanate, or the Golden Horde - named after the Kipchak state of lore. This state controlled the Duchies of Russia as vassal states, and demanded tribute. In exchange, these duchies could run their own affairs, and would often compete for top dog status - known as the Grand Prince. This role was often held by Novgorod - the powerful merchant state in the north, but would pass on to Vladimir-Suzdal, the precursor to the Muscovite state and eventual founder of Russia. This period saw growing competition over Ukrainian lands as outside forces sought to capitalize and control the steppe regions. The most important player int he region was Lithuania. This state started as a collection of Lithuanian tribal groups who banded together, and began to expand into Belarus and Ukraine. The Lithuanian state eventually became one of the most powerful states in Europe, and when it eventually joined into personal union with Poland, became a massive force to be reckoned with for almost two centuries. Poland would come to have an important role on the development of Ukraine. The provinces of Galicia, Volhinya, and much of Western and Central Ukraine were controlled by Poland-Lithuania, and subject to increasingly repressive methods of serfdom, as the lands were settled by Ukrainian's fleeing serfdom, and subsequently bought up by Polish nobles and enserfed. Eastern Ukraine was the domain of the Russian state of Muscovy, which was able to gain control of Sloboda Ukraine -roughly the eastern portion of modern Ukraine. Southern Ukraine was the domain of the Crimean Khanate - one of the successors of the Golden Horde. The Crimean Khanate came into vassalage of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, which also annexed much of the Penninsula's fortresses and merchant cities directly, while allowing the Crimean's a high degree of autonomy. During this period, the Cossack's began to become a force to be reckoned with. Cossack's were often peasants who fled the increasingly onerous control of Poland's nobility, and settled in Sich's (fortified towns) along Ukraine's steppe lands. Cossack's were threatened on all sides - by Poland in the West, Muscovy in the East, and Crimean slave raids in the south. They thus formed highly mobile and militarized units, and organized administratively along military regiment lines. They cherished their freedom from landlord control and overt taxation, and conducted raids into all neighboyring states - especially Crimean and Ottoman possessions. Cossack's also became valuable and highly mobile irregular soldiers in both Poland and Muscovy, and pro-Polish and pro-Russian Cossack's emerged. On one side, Polish Cossack's were often Uniate Christian - that is the Ukranian Catholic denomination. They were also of higher social class, and eager to joint he ranks of Poland and Lithuania's powerful nobility. On the other, the Russian Cossack's were characterized by and Orthodox Christian zealousness, and heavily influenced by the Metropolitanate of Kiev - eventually moved to Moscow due to the fractious political situation in Kiev. Finally, the more independent minded Cossack's formed there own pseudo-state called Zaporizhia, which was a loose federation of Cossack bands under the control of a ruling Hetman. The lands of Ukraine during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries began to become more fluid. Poland, Muscovy (and eventually Russia) and the Crimean/Ottoman states (to a lesser extent) began to compete over Ukrainian territory and its increasingly valuable agricultural produce. Poland, however, began to eclipse. Russia began to take more and more territory in the Ukraine, eventually annexing Poland's west bank Ukrainian lands, and incorporating Zaporizhia as well. The Cossack's deliberated as to which side to support, sometimes backing Russia, sometimes Poland, and even allying with the Crimean's as Russia began to incorporate Black Sea regions into its growing Empire. After Sweden's defeat in the Northern Wars, however, Russia became the great power in Eastern Europe. Eventually, Poland was divided among three states - Russia, Prussia, and Austria, with Russia and Austria splitting the Ukrainian lands among themselves. Russia gained most of modern Ukraine, while Austria got the Galician provinces. The author goes into great detail about the cultural, economic, political and social developments in Ukraine during this time period - important due to the growing sense of national identity among the Ukrainian peoples. This situation would remain stable until WWI. After the defeat of the central powers in WWI, and the collapse of both the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires, Ukraine continued to be fractured. Poland took Galicia and much of the former Austrian Ukrainian lands. Romania grabbed Bukovina - another heavily Ukrainian populated region. In Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Nationalist forces fought with Bolsheviks from Russia, with the later eventually coming out on top and forming the Ukrainian SSR, merged with other Soviet Republics to become part of the USSR. Ukrainian identity went through periods of growth and decline during this time, depending on the will of the Soviet rulers at any particular time. The author goes into detail again about Ukraine's place as a Soviet Socialist Republic, and how this effected culture, the economy, and Ukraine's identity as a nation. The author concludes with an analysis of post-Soviet Ukraine up to the Orange Revolution, and the fractious nature of Ukraine's internal poltiical and ethnic situation - presciently stated as four years after this books publication, Ukraine has been beset by a civil war, and has seen the Crimean Peninsula annexed to Russia. Magosci has written a brilliant one volume overview of Ukrainian history. It is well researched, very detailed, and extremely interesting. All aspects of Ukrainian history, and its many diverse peoples and developments, are chronicled in some detail. This is certainly one of the strongest contenders for Ukrainian history outside of largely academic texts - and I would easily recommend this book as an excellent one volume history. Highly enjoyable, well sourced, with numerous maps and diagrams, excellent historical analysis, and very readable.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-09-19 00:00:00 Amanda S Rowland The Ukraine under normal conditions is a highly esoteric topic for North Americans and Western Europeans. The country has never been on the Grand Tour, is expensive to get to and hard to travel in without an automobile. Nonetheless, it is September 2014. The Ukraine is at war again with Russia and this would be a good time to learn a little of the history of this country. Magosci is nothing less than masterful in tying together the political, military, economic and cultural events of the Ukraine which for most of its history has had foreign rules and highly fluid borders. He explains the complex relations between Poland and Russia which for several centuries vied for control of the Ukraine. He also explains the complex religious history involving primarily the Greek Catholics and Orthodox churches but also including Judaism, Islam, and Armenian Catholicism. He provides an excellent overview of the Ukraine's major writers and composers. At the end, the reader thus has acquired a solid, introductory knowledge of all aspects of Ukrainian society. Magosci has thus given us a very sold overview. What is now needed are more monographs examining the many issues and time periods in greater detail.