Presentation and book signing with Serhii Plokhy
Saturday, May 14th, 2016 at 7 pm
The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine is based on the premise that we need to take a look at Ukraine’s past in order to understand its present and foresee its future. This work examines Ukraine as a gateway between East and West, situated as it is between Central Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
Plokhy examines the history of Ukraine’s search for its identity through the lives of the major figures in Ukrainian history: Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv, whose daughter Anna became queen of France; the Cossack ruler Ivan Mazepa, Nikita Khrushchev and his protégé-turned-nemesis Leonid Brezhnev, who called Ukraine their home; and the heroes of the Maidan protests of 2013 and 2014, who embody the current struggle over Ukraine’s future.
As Plokhy explains, today’s crisis is a tragic case of history repeating itself, as Ukraine once again finds itself in the center of the battle of global proportions. An authoritative history of this vital country, The Gates of Europe provides a unique insight into the origins of the most dangerous international crisis since the end of the Cold War.
Serhii Plokhy is a historian and author specializing in the history of Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Cold War studies. He is the Mykhailo Hrushevsky professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard University, where he also serves as the director of the Ukrainian Research Institute.
A leading authority on Eastern Europe, he has lived and taught in Ukraine, Canada and the United States. The author of ten books, including the award-winning The Last Empire, which received the Lionel Gelber Prize, the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize.
Dr. Plokhy was honored on November 14th 2015 with the Omelan and Tatiana Antonovych Foundation award for his work as a historian and author of history books that insightfully analyze Ukraine’s past and present and shed light on what may be in store for its future.
MEET SERHII PLOKHY
the Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University,
and author of The Last Empire: The final days of the Soviet Union
Admission $20
Cocktails & Reception to follow the presentation