But today’s conflict is only the latest in a long history of battles over Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign nation. As award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues in The Gates of Europe, we must examine Ukraine’s past in order to understand its fraught present and likely future.Situated between Europe, Russia, and the Asian East, Ukraine was shaped by the empires that have used it as a strategic gateway between East and West—from the Romans and Ottomans to the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, all have engaged in global fights for supremacy on Ukrainian soil. Each invading army left a lasting mark on the landscape and on the population, making modern Ukraine an amalgam of competing cultures.

    In this gorgeous and deeply personal cookbook, she shares her favorite recipes from her home country with engaging and loving stories about her culinary upbringing and family traditions.  Featuring personality and panache, Mamushka showcases the cuisine from Ukraine and beyond, weaving together vibrant food with descriptive narratives and stunning lifestyle photography. From broths and soups to breads and pastries, vegetables and salads to meat and fish, dumplings and noodles to compotes and jams. You’ll also find some of Olia’s favorite dishes, like a Moldovan giant cheese twist and garlicky poussins, to sublime desserts such as apricot and sour cherry pie and a birthday sponge cake with ice cream, strawberries, and meringue. Including new flavor combinations, vibrant colors, seasonal ingredients and straightforward cooking techniques, Mamushka’s earthy dishes appeal to home chefs everywhere. Join Olia on this delicious and diverse culinary tour through Eastern Europe.

    She was introduced by Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy. The lecture was delivered in Russian.

    Ultimately, his personal quest reveals something that history forgot: Joseph Stalin’s wrath on nearly 2 million Polish people during the 1940s and the ripple effects that remain.Seventy-five years after Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror across Eastern Europe, author Greg Archer takes a step back from Hollywood reporting and examines his Polish family’s mind-bending odyssey of the 1940s. In the process, he exposes one of the most under-reported events of the 20th Century: Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of nearly 2 million Polish citizens to the Siberian Gulags and the life-and-death events that followed—from Siberia to the Middle East and ultimately, Eastern Africa. But the author’s quest takes a dramatic turn. As he walks an emotional tightrope between the past and the present, can a serendipitous overseas adventure become a saving grace, heal the ancestral soul and bring justice to his family and their forgotten Polish comrades?

     Rae Hatting returns in her first, full-length novel, “The Fairest of Them.” Detective Luke Thompson is a hero cop, with a string of solved serial killer cases under his belt. He comes to California, thinking he can disappear quietly into the forests, isolated from the rest of the world. His expertise is called upon to help with a mysterious serial killer, dumping bodies dressed like fairy tale characters in the woods outside of Mendocino County. With the help of a profiler, Luke finally gets the break he needs, as well as finding romance for himself. Tragedy strikes, and Luke is left despondent, unable to carry on as a detective. Can a fiery redhead from the FBI help him out of the slump? Determined to leave the life of solving unsolvable homicides behind, Special Agent Rae Hatting tries to settle into a normal life with her adopted daughter, Grace. However, her reputation precedes her, and Rae finds herself back in the fray, called upon to help solve a series of gruesome fairy tale style murders in California. Her only obstacle is Detective Luke Thompson. Broody, stubborn, and an all-around pain in the ass, the pair must work together before another victim ends up never finding their happily ever after.

    These autobiographical stories display a Tarkovsky-esque mix of nostalgia and philosophical insight, written in a simple yet profound style looking back on a life's path that led Sentsov to become an internationally renowned dissident artist.Sentsov's charges seemingly stem from his opposition to Russia's invasion and occupation of eastern Ukraine where he lived in the Crimea. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in August 2015 on spurious terrorism charges after he was kidnapped in his house and put through a grossly unfair trial by a Russian military court, marred by allegations of torture. Many of the stories included here were read during international campaigns by PEN International, the European Film Academy, and Amnesty International, among others, to support the case for Sentsov across the world. Sentsov's final words at his trial, "Why bring up a new generation of slaves?" have become a rallying cry for his cause. He spent 145 days on hunger strike in 2018 to urge the Russian authorities to release all Ukrainians unfairly imprisoned in Russia, an act of profound courage that contributed to the European Parliament's awarding him the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of ThoughtSentsov remains in a prison camp in Russia. It is the publisher's hope this book, published in collaboration with PEN Ukraine, contributes to his timely release.

    The Western response to Russian aggression has been uncertain and hesitant in handling the unfamiliar yet large nation of Ukraine, a country with a complicated past, and one whose history is little known in the rest of Europe.In Ukraine: A Nation on the Borderland, Karl Schlögel presents a picture of a country which lies on Europe’s borderland and in Russia’s shadow. In recent years, Ukraine has been faced, along with Western Europe, with the political conundrum resulting from Russia’s actions and the ongoing Information War. As well as exploring this present-day confrontation, Schlögel provides detailed, fascinating historical portraits of a panoply of Ukraine’s major cities: Lviv, Odessa, Czernowitz, Kiev, Kharkov, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Yalta – cities whose often troubled and war-torn histories are as varied as the nationalities and cultures which have made them what they are today, survivors with very particular identities and aspirations. Schlögel feels the pulse of life in these cities, analysing their more recent pasts and their challenges for the future.

    In early 2014 tensions turned to conflict as Vladimir Putin, determined to keep Ukraine from forging stronger ties with the West, seized Crimea and fomented conflict in eastern Ukraine. In the latest Brookings essay, Chrystia Freeland, a former Ukrainian-based reporter with strong family ties to the country, offers a personal reflection on the conflict and the sentiment of the Ukrainian people. She highlights the fact that despite historic, cultural, and linguistic ties between the two countries, Ukrainians stand defiant in their desire for independence.

    (This volume, Part 1, covers the first half of the journey, through Romania and Ukraine.) On the trail of wolves, we are led deep into the dark forests, misty hills, and intriguing history of this fabled landscape, where encounters with wolves, bears, and lynx; werewolves, vampires, and witches; lumberjacks, shepherds, and recluses; poets, tyrants, and saints; deities, demons, and sirens; and such imposing historical figures as Attila the Hun, Vlad the Impaler, and Volodymyr the Great provide broad insight into the natural, historical, and mythological forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, the cultures, nations, and psyches along the way. 63 beautiful color photographs also emblaze this memorable trek. (We also offer a black & white edition at a reduced price; see https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...).

    At the present, when it is fashionable to speak of nationalities as 'imagined communities' or as transnational constructs 'created' by intellectuals\elites who may live in the historic 'national' homeland or in the diaspora, Carpatho-Rusyns provide an ideal example of a people made--or some would say still being made--before our very eyes. The book traces the evolution of Carpathian Rus' from earliest pre-historic times to the present and the complex manner in which a distinct Carpatho-Rusyn people, since the mid-nineteenth century, came into being, disappeared, and then re-appeared in the wake of the revolutions of 1989 and the collapse of Communist rule in central and eastern Europe. The book, while based on the author's four decades of erudition on the subject, eschews scholarly jargon and is written in an accessible reader-friendly style"--Provided by publisher.

    Readers will explore the nation's incredible story, from its earliest settlement more than 40,000 years ago to its recent political upheaval in 2014. They will be immersed in the country's rich culture and traditions, finding out how Ukrainian people live, eat, work, and communicate. They will also tour Ukraine's beautiful natural areas and examine its many native plants and animals.

    Once he takes out the man he believes is responsible for his family’s tragedies, he’s done killing for good. But a mysterious woman may tempt Dmitri to change his plan.Sonya Truss was murdered in a Ukrainian village in 1968. Now she’s reappeared in San Francisco as a rusalka—the ghost of a wronged woman. And she’s thirsty for the blood of her killer. But she has to make things right before she’s trapped between worlds forever.Sonya's enigmatic siren powers stir Dmitri's long-buried chivalry, and he finds himself compelled to help her. He also can’t resist giving her a taste of the pleasures she never experienced while she was alive. Soon they discover that touch has surprising consequences. Yet when their shared mission comes to cross-purposes, they must choose between deadly sacrifice—or surrendering to the one act that can save them both.

    Upon his return to Michigan, Bobby decides to follow his heart and take a leap of faith--traveling from comfortable "have-a-nice day ... and have-a-warm-shower" suburban Detroit to the former center of Cold War Soviet missile production--the industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. And unbeknownst to anyone but himself, he's bringing an engagement ring!Throughout the course of the book, the reader will experience life in a city that, until the mid-1980s, was closed to foreign visitors. This humorous, memorable expedition is punctuated by a colorful cast of characters, adventures, and cultural mishaps and misunderstandings--from irate babushka women to hard-drinking uncles."Love & Vodka" is a unique hybrid of travel memoir and love story that seamlessly blends outlandish humor, cultural insight and a steady stream of romance. It will appeal to male and female readers of multiple age groups. It is a faithful reminder that there is someone out there for everyone. The world is large and rife with potential; one just needs to be willing to take a gamble and explore the possibilities that exist.

    

    Perhaps today there is no more divisive and heatedly argued topic in Eastern European studies than the activities in the 1930s and 1940s of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).   This book examines the legacy of the OUN and is the first to consider the movement’s literature alongside its politics and ideology. It argues that nationalism’s mythmaking, best expressed in its literature, played an important role. In the interwar period seven major writers developed the narrative structures that gave nationalism much of its appeal. For the first time, the remarkable impact of their work is recognized.

    Topics covered include the motivations and expectations of protesters, organized crime, nationalism, gender issues, mass media, the Russian language, and the impact of Euromaidan on Ukrainian politics, the EU, Russia, and Belarus. An epilogue looks at the Russian annexation of Crimea and the creation of breakaway republics in the east, leading to full-scale conflict. The goal is to represent a variety of aspects of a mass movement that captivated the world and led to the downfall of the Yanukovych presidency.