Brány Evropy - Dějiny Ukrajiny – Plokhy Serhii (2023)

The tragic history of a European nation. A book by the author of the bestseller Chernobyl. Ukraine is currently fighting Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence. However, the current conflict is merely the latest in a long series of battles for Ukraine's territory and its existence as a sovereign nation. As the award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy writes in the book Gates of Europe, understanding the present and future of Ukraine requires a deep knowledge of its past. Ukraine has been shaped by empires that used it as a strategic gateway between East and West – from the Roman Empire through the Ottoman Empire to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. For centuries, various cultures have met on its territory. The mixing of settled and nomadic peoples and the intertwining of Christianity with Islam in the steppe borderlands gave rise to a class of warrior Cossacks; from the clash between the Catholic and Orthodox churches emerged a religious tradition that bridged Western and Eastern Christianity. The current crisis is a tragic case of history repeating itself, as Ukraine once again finds itself at the center of a battle of global proportions. The book Gates of Europe, as a scholarly credible history of this significant country, provides a unique insight into the origins of the most serious international crisis since the Cold War.