Overview

From the Soviet perspective, Eastern Europe was the near abroad more accessible than the capitalist West, yet also unambiguously foreign. Observing their western neighbours, citizens of the USSR developed new ideas about the role of states, borders, and national identities in the Soviet empire. In The Near Abroad, Zbigniew Wojnowski traces how Soviet Ukrainian identities developed in dialogue and confrontation with the USSR's neighbours in Eastern Europe. The author aptly challenges the dominant chronologies of late Soviet history by arguing that patriotism framed heated debates about the future of the Soviet state even amongst the rising tide of cynicism and disengagement from public life. Wojnowski's insightful analysis illuminates the mental geographies that continue to shape relations and conflicts between Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe to this very day. Unlike most other histories of Ukraine, The Near Abroad does not reduce Ukrainian nationalism to anti-Soviet views and behaviours.

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9781442631076

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Reviews

`Wojnowski's book is an excellent tool for better understanding recent (post-1989) historical and political relations between Ukraine and Poland.' -- T.R. Weeks * Choice Magazine vol 55:05:2018 *

'Wojnowski's book is an excellent tool for better understanding recent (post-1989) historical and political relations between Ukraine and Poland.' -- T.R. Weeks * Choice Magazine vol 55:05:2018 * Behind the filter of Soviet rhetoric...Wojnowski restores voices, representing a spectrum of attitudes, often complex and ambiguous. The result is an original, balanced, and well-organized work, a significant contribution to our understanding of the late Soviet period and the field of Ukrainian studies. -- Per Anders Rudling, Lund University * Slavic Review, vol 78 no 2 *

Author Information

Zbigniew Wojnowski is an associate professor in the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religion at Nazarbayev University.

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