Roots of Russia's War in Ukraine

Elizabeth A. Wood, William E. Pomeranz, E. Wayne Merry, Maxim Trudolyubov

• Publisher: Woodrow Wilson Center Press / Columbia University Press
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9780231801386
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Russische Geschichte

In February 2014, Russia initiated a war in Ukraine, its reasons for aggression unclear. Each of this volume's authors offers a distinct interpretation of Russia's motivations, untangling the social, historical, and political factors that created this war and continually reignite its tensions.

What prompted President Vladimir Putin to send troops into Crimea? Why did the conflict spread to eastern Ukraine with Russian support? What does the war say about Russia's political, economic, and social priorities, and how does the crisis expose differences between the EU and Russia regarding international jurisdiction? Did Putin's obsession with his macho image start this war, and is it preventing its resolution? The exploration of these and other questions gives historians, political watchers, and theorists a solid grasp of the events that have destabilized the region.

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents 
• List of Figures
• Chronology: The War in Crimea and Ukraine
• Introduction
• 1 The Origins of Russia’s War in Ukraine: The Clash of Russian and European “Civilizational Choices” for Ukraine
• 2. Ground Zero: How a Trade Dispute Sparked the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
• 3. Russia’s Grand Choice: To Be Feared as a Superpower or Prosperous as a Nation?
• 4. A Small, Victorious War? The Symbolic Politics of Vladimir Putin
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• Index