A fascinating journey through Ukrainian and Russian history, ancient and modern.

"If Ukraine joins NATO, it will do so without Crimea and the East - it will simply disintegrate". These are the words of Vladimir Putin's speech at the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest. It's chilling to be reminded of them in 2023. Mikhail Zygar, one of Russia's leading independent journalists, often uses his elephantine memory to show how inevitable, and at the same time entirely avoidable, was the cruel war now unfolding in Europe.

It is an unusual book. The first part, which focuses on the historical relations between Russia and Ukraine, is more essayistic and literary - it reminded me of another interesting and recently published volume, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe". But while Jacob Milkanowski paints a broad tapestry, describing the realities of the lives of ordinary people who populated these regions, Zygar is more interested in the iconic historical figures who have shaped history and created national myths that reverberate today. And he uses them as a point of reference in the second, main part of his book, in which he describes - in fascinating and surprising detail - the last few decades of Ukrainian politics. It is written with the flair of a newspaperman and the urgency of a war correspondent.

Having always been interested in that part of the world, I remember many of the events described here - but only now do I really understand what really happened and what the consequences were. Also very moving is the interweaving of the parallel life stories of Putin and Zelensky - classic proof that truth can be stranger than fiction.

Mikhail Zygar is a Russian and he feels responsible for his nation's deeds. This work is his powerful call for change. “This book will not undo the past and present, but it can change the future. History is a disease that afflicts many nations. The Russian people can stamp out the myths that have infected them”, he writes in the introduction. “We’ve been smoking this drug for centuries, feeding our own vanity. The myth of greatness was spooned down our throats, injected into our veins, and it made us high. We escaped reality, no longer saw what was happening around us, lost our empathy and human aspect. It’s time to get off the needle. Because we’re a danger to others and to ourselves. Imperial history is our disease; it’s inherently addictive. And the withdrawal symptoms will hurt. But this is inevitable. We have to return to reality and realize what we’ve done”, he adds in the epilogue.

Thanks to the publisher, Scribner, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.