Recommendations from the Kyiv Independent: ‘The Last Empire’ by Serhii Plokhy (Patreon)

This is Zakhar Protsiuk, Chief Operating Officer, writing this week’s recommendation for you. I’m a big book person, so when Brooke asked me to think about what I could recommend, I went straight to my Goodreads account and started looking for what you might find a worthy read.

Today, I’m recommending “The Last Empire” by Serhii Plokhy. It’s a detailed account of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the forces that led to it.

You may have heard of Plokhy. He’s one of the most internationally recognized Ukrainian historians, famous for his books about the Chornobyl disaster and “The Gates of Europe,” an introductory book on Ukraine's history.

I have to admit, I’m a big fan. Plokhy’s books always have a very good combination of clear facts and insightful perspectives, combined with a very lively narration. And, most importantly, he’s one of the few historians who really understands Ukraine and its role in world history well.

“The Last Empire” is a great example of that. It’s a fresh look at the last years of Soviet dictatorship and the major forces that led to its disintegration. You may have heard some of them before: a disastrous economy that prioritized preparing for the next war at the expense of everything else; an unsuccessful and very unpopular war in Afghanistan; and a new way of leadership in Russia, led by Boris Yeltsin, that aimed to reboot the Russian economy and get rid of the communist apparatus.

All of those are true and definitely played a big role. But one potentially decisive factor is often overlooked: the role of Ukraine.

Plokhy does a great job explaining how a combination of historical, economic, and political factors led the Ukrainian people and their leaders at the time to push for Ukrainian independence and full decoupling.

Boris Yeltsin wanted the end of the Soviet Union, but neither he nor any Kremlin elites wanted Ukraine’s independence. No one expected that more than 90% of Ukrainians would vote for Ukraine to become independent, winning a majority in every single part of Ukraine, including now-Russian-occupied Crimea.

Plokhy explains how it all happened and why it was the last nail in the USSR’s coffin. Highly recommend!