UKRAINE

Conventional wisdom dictates that Ukraines political crises can be traced to the linguistic differences and divided political loyalties that have long fractured the country. However this theory obscures the true significance of Ukraines recent civic revolution and the conflicts crucial international dimension. The 201314 Ukrainian revolution presented authoritarian powers in Russia with both a democratic and a geopolitical challenge. In reality political conflict in Ukraine is reflective of global discord stemming from differing views on state power civil society and democracy. Ukraines sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an alreadywidespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine What Everyone Needs to Know® is an updated edition of Serhy Yekelchyks 2015 publication The Conflict in Ukraine. It addresses Ukraines relations with the West particularly the United States from the perspective of Ukrainians. The book explains how independent Ukraine fell victim to crony capitalism how its people rebelled twice in the last two decades in the name of democracy and against corruption and why Russia reacted so aggressively to the strivings of Ukrainians. Additionally it looks at what we know about alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US presidential election the factors behind the stunning electoral victory of the political novice Volodymyr Zelensky and the ways in which the events leading to the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump have changed the RussiaUkraineUS relationship. This volume is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the forces that have shaped contemporary politics in this increasingly important part of Europe as well as the international background of the impeachment proceedings in the US.