Serhii Plokhy The Gates of Europe

"The Gates of Europe" by Serhii Plokhy is a book on the history of Ukraine and the many battles over Ukrainian territory, past and present. Ukraine has had a long history of conflicts and battles over its territory and its sovereignty, and Serhii Plokhy posits in this book, that it is important to understand Ukraine's past if we wish to understand its present. "The Gates of Europe" examines this often overlooked European country and the way it has been used strategically as a gateway between the East and the West by the Romans, the Ottoman empire, the Third Reich and the Soviet. Ukraine has a history of being a meeting place of cultures, peoples and religions, which has impacted the country's search for its unique identity. In "The Gates of Europe" Plokhy examines and explains the country's identity search by presenting its most prominent historical and cultural figures - from Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv to the heroes of the Maidan protests in 2013 and 2014. "The Gates of Europe" is written by Serhii Plokhy, an acclaimed Ukrainian historian and expert on the Cold War.