Overview
Ukraine is home to over 40 million people and is the second largest country by area in Europe. Its population is predominantly composed of ethnic Ukrainians with a significant Russian minority, as well as smaller numbers of Belarusians, Moldovans, Crimean Tatars, Hungarians, Romanians, Poles, and Jews. Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine, but Russian is widely spoken throughout the country. The territory of the modern state of Ukraine has been parts of many historical state entities, and the current state emerged as an independent country from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Below are several books that offer readers introductions to the breadth and depth of Ukrainian history.
For a full course on modern Ukrainian history, see:
Snyder, Timothy. "The Making of Modern Ukraine." YouTube, 18 videos, last updated November 12, 2022, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNewfxO7LhBoz_1Mx1MaO6sw_.
For brief factual information about Ukraine, see:
“Ukraine.” In The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, March 2, 2022. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ukraine/#people-and-society.
For a brief timeline of Ukrainian history, see:
BBC News. “Ukraine Profile - Timeline,” March 5, 2020, sec. Europe. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18010123.
Ukraine and Europe: Cultural Encounters and Negotiations by ISBN: 9781487512507Publication Date: 2017"Ukraine and Europe challenges the popular perception of Ukraine as a country torn between Europe and the east. Twenty-two scholars from Europe, North America, and Australia explore the complexities of Ukraine's relationship with Europe and its role the continent's historical and cultural development."-- Provided by publisher
Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914-1954 by ISBN: 9781442621435Publication Date: 2016"In Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914-1954, George O. Liber argues that the continuous violence of the world wars and interwar years transformed the Ukrainian-speaking population of East Central Europe into self-conscious Ukrainians. Wars, mass killings, and forced modernization drives made and re-made Ukraine's boundaries, institutionalized its national identities, and pruned its population according to various state-sponsored political, racial, and social ideologies. In short, the two world wars, the Holodomor, and the Holocaust played critical roles in forming today's Ukraine. A landmark study of the terrifying scope and paradoxical consequences of mass violence in Europe's bloodlands, Liber's book will transform our understanding of the entangled histories of Ukraine, the USSR, Germany, and East Central Europe in the twentieth century."-- Provided by publisher
A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples, 2nd, rev. and expanded ed. by Call Number: DK508.51 .M34 2010ISBN: 9781442640856Publication Date: 2010First published in 1996, A History of Ukraine quickly became the authoritative account of the evolution of Europe's second largest country. In this fully revised and expanded second edition, Paul Robert Magocsi examines recent developments in the country's history and uses new scholarship in order to expand our conception of the Ukrainian historical narrative. New chapters deal with the Crimean Khanate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and new research on the pre-historic Trypillians, the Italians of the Crimea and the Black Death, the Karaites, Ottoman and Crimean slavery, Soviet-era ethnic cleansing, and the Orange Revolution is incorporated. Magocsi has also thoroughly updated the many maps that appear throughout. Maintaining his depiction of the multicultural reality of past and present Ukraine, Magocsi has added new information on Ukraine's peoples and discusses Ukraine's diasporas. Comprehensive, innovative, and geared towards teaching, the second edition of A History of Ukraine is ideal for both teachers and students.
The Ukrainian Resurgence by Call Number: DK508.84 .N33 1999ISBN: 9780802041326Publication Date: 1999Describes and analyzes recent political developments in Ukraine and provides new insights into the Soviet Union collapse, offering a better understanding of the new political landscape in Eastern and Central Europe. Charts the early years of the new independent Ukrainian state and explores how it coped with new challenges brought by its change in status.
The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Call Number: DK508.51 .P554 2021ISBN: 9781541675643Publication Date: 2021As Ukraine is embroiled in an ongoing struggle with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence, celebrated historian Serhii Plokhy explains that today's crisis is a case of history repeating itself: the Ukrainian conflict is only the latest in a long history of turmoil over Ukraine's sovereignty. Situated between Central Europe, Russia, and the Middle East, Ukraine has been shaped by empires that exploited the nation as a strategic gateway between East and West--from the Romans and Ottomans to the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. In The Gates of Europe, Plokhy examines Ukraine's search for its identity through the lives of major Ukrainian historical figures, from its heroes to its conquerors.
This revised edition includes new material that brings this definitive history up to the present. As Ukraine once again finds itself at the center of global attention, Plokhy brings its history to vivid life as he connects the nation's past with its present and future.
Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation by Call Number: DK508.772 .I45 2007ISBN: 9780195305456Publication Date: 2007The first Western survey of Ukrainian history to include coverage of the Orange Revolution and its aftermath, this book narrates the deliberate construction of a modern Ukrainian nation, incorporating new Ukrainian scholarship and archival revelations of the post-Communist period. Here is a history of the land where the strategic interests of Russia and the West have long clashed, with reverberations that resonate to this day.
The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation by Call Number: DK508.45 .W55 2000ISBN: 9780300083552Publication Date: 2000This book provides a guide to modern Ukraine and to the versions of its past propagated by both Russians and Ukrainians. It concentrates on the complex relationship between Ukraine and Russia, beginning with the myth of common origin in the early medieval era, then looking closely at the Ukrainian experience under the Tsars and Soviets and the path to independence in 1991. Wilson also considers the history of Ukraine since 1991 and continuing disputes over identity, culture and religion. He examines the economic collapse under first president Leonid Kravchuk and the attempts at recovery under his successor Leonid Kuchma, and explores the conflicts in Ukrainian society between the country's 'Eastern' roots and its Western aspirations.
