Ukraine and Putin’s Post-Soviet Imperialism
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| DOI | 10.1177/20419058221091631 |
| Author | Ursula Woolley |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
APRIL 2022 • POLITICAL INSIGHT 15
Living next door to Russia has long
presented challenges for Ukraine,
domestically and internationally.
A country with approximately the
land area of France and the population
of Spain, Ukraine voted to declare
independence from the Soviet Union in
August 1991. That vote in the Ukrainian
Parliament was ratied by a nationwide
majority in a national referendum that
December. In 1994, Ukraine gave up a claim
to the Soviet-era nuclear weapons on its
territory under the terms of the Budapest
Memorandum, in return for guarantees of
Ukraine and
Putin’s Post-Soviet
Imperialism
Ursula Woolley examines Ukraine’s contemporary and historical
geopolitical relations, and finds a nation struggling for political
independence against the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
neo-imperialist agenda.
security and territorial integrity from Russia,
the US and Britain.
Ukraine’s geopolitical location has had a
deep bearing on its history. Brief periods of
Ukrainian statehood during the Ukrainian
Revolution of 1917-21 were ended by
the Bolsheviks. Much earlier periods of
continent-wide political standing – the
state of Kyivan Rus from the late 9th to early
12th centuries – and political and military
autonomy – the Cossack Hetmanate of
the 17th and 18th centuries – have been
narratively subsumed or relegated, in
© Markku Rainer Peltonen / Alamy Stock Photo
Political Insight April 2022 BU.indd 15Political Insight April 2022 BU.indd 15 01/03/2022 10:2801/03/2022 10:28
To continue reading
Request your trial