In the following posts – each of which represents a chapter in the book – you can read about the background to the chapter and the content it covers, and then read an excerpt from that chapter.

Vikings and Cossacks

Making the Chapter: Seeing a ship larger than a football field and higher than an apartment block docked in Kyiv is a reminder that the Dnipro is a mighty river. Recalling -more-

Steamy Business

Making the Chapter: If there is one image that encapsulates the realnost of post-Communist Ukraine it is that of the oligarch rising to prominence as a result of opportunism and thuggery, -more-

A Medal at Any Cost

Making of the Chapter: Living in a society, such as the Soviet Union, where one’s role and behaviour was so tightly conscribed and where role models were largely determined by the -more-

Feast or Famine

Making the Chapter: To hide the deaths of many millions of people for fifty years was quite an achievement. More justly, it was an appalling accomplishment which was only possible in -more-

Politicians and Partisans

Making the Chapter: Don’t let anyone tell you that political history is boring, at least not if they’re referring to Ukraine. The leading figures of Ukraine in the twentieth century were -more-

In Shevchenko Land

Making the Chapter: Nowadays Ukrainian writers can write about anything, but not so long ago that was an unrealistic hope. Blogging has replaced the underground press (Samizdat). Twenty years ago a -more-

Taking the Medicine

Making the Chapter: Most people can’t name a Ukrainian famous in the field of medicine.  And yet, this is a sphere in which they have excelled. The conundrum is in part -more-

Religious Wars

Making the Chapter:   In Religious Wars I look at how Christianity was adopted in Ukraine, the cult of atheism and Foucault’s Pendulum, and the KGB infiltration of the church. A review -more-

Sex and the Soviets

Making the Chapter: Putting together this chapter – Sex and the Soviets - was one of the funniest and most frustrating pieces of the jig saw.  The ground covered includes the -more-

At The Coal Face

Making the Chapter: If there was ever a good time to work in a coal mine in Ukraine it was probably in the 1960s and 1970s. Coal miners were among the -more-

Bits, Bytes, Trits, and Trytes

Making the Chapter: Ukrainian markets are awash with pirated computer software and some say that Ukraine is the centre of excellence of hacking. Neither paint Ukraine in a particularly good light, -more-

Touring Crimea

Making the Chapter:  Touring Crimea is first and foremost a celebration of a region.  Its rich and tumultuous history spans millennia, from the legend of Jason and the Argonauts and their heroic -more-

Whirlybirds and Witches

Making the Chapter: The science of flight and Ukraine have had a love affair for more than a century. Many will already be familiar with the names of Sikorsky and Antonov, -more-

Zoos, Science, and Evolution

Making the Chapter: In a country where people had little exposure to the outside world and virtually no access to travel, a zoo guidebook served as a travel guide for a -more-

The Chief Designer

Making the Chapter: I’ve heard cynics say that the only areas where the Soviet Union outshone the USA were space exploration and ballet, and that in the first it was only -more-

Presidents and the People

Making the Chapter: It’s hard not to be disappointed at the lack of progress that Ukraine has made in the last twenty years towards a better economy and greater social justice. -more-