"From "one of Russias smartest and best-sourced young journalists" (The New York Times) comes the first work by a Russian author to reveal his countrys history of oppressing Ukraine, to blame Russian culture for the war, and to dismantle Putins imperial narrative that he used to justify his brutal attack on Ukraine. As soon as Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, independent Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar circulated a petition that was signed first by prominent Russian writers, artists, and filmmakers, and then by thousands of others. Russia soon enacted strict new censorship laws, and Zygar was forced to flee his country. In his time as a journalist, he has interviewed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and has had access to many of the major players in both countries, from politicians to oligarchs. As an expert on Vladimir Putins behavior, he has spent years studying the Kremlins plan for Ukraine, and here, in clear, chronological order, he explains the nationalist myths and legends Russia has exploited to justify savagely invading its independent neighboring country. Drawing on literature, formal histories, and his own reporting, Zygar details the long emergence of Ukraine from its ancient origins as a culturally and politically distinct region, often in direct conflict with Moscow, to a Soviet-controlled state that suffered terribly at the hands of Nazi soldiers in World War II and, before that, from Stalins forced-starvation policies in the 1930s. Following the fall of the USSR, Ukraine emerged first as a post-Soviet oligarchic state and then as a progressive nation with increasing economic, cultural, and political ties to Europe and the US. Of particular note is Zygars step-by-step account of the rise of Volodymyr Zelensky from a popular comic and television personality to a resolute symbol of Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion.

Zelenskys ascent came as a new generation of Ukrainians, having grown up in an independent country, did not consider themselves to be part of Russia-a tipping point that led to war, as Putin could not tolerate losing Ukraine forever. Authoritative and timely, this vital account is an unprecedented historical overview of the war that affects us all and continues to threaten the future of the entire world as we know it"--.