Ukrainians reemerged on Europe's political map in 1991 after more than 200 years of direct Russian rule. As there was no "liberation war" and "old regime" elites were not exiled or executed, the legacies of the past weigh-down particularly heavily. Political independence is not matched by economic, cultural and psychological independence. This book surveys the Ukrainian-EU relationship in light of the legacies of Russian rule. It examines interrelationships between identities, loyalties and political/cultural orientations, reviews policies, and identifies salient forces and trends.

The Ukraine's emergence as an independent state in 1991 was not accompanied by violence due, it may be argued, to the weak national consciousness of most of its citizens. In part, this was the legacy of an historiography imposed by its rulers, who played down or ignored the Soviet Union's diversity and the past tensions among its peoples so as to legitimize a supranational "Soviet" identity.;The official history of the multinational state ruled from St Petersburg and Moscow bowdlerized the past and eroded the collective memory of each constituent nationality.;The author compares Soviet and Polish accounts of the Ukraine's past, examines how "national history" was written and how its interpretation changed in each country. This book provides an account of how historical writing was used to build and destroy nations and states, and is particularly relevant today in the light of recent events in Eastern Europe. By the author of "National History as Cultural Process".

The Ukraine's emergence as an independent state in 1991 was not accompanied by violence, it may be argued, due to the weak national consciousness of most of its citizens. Dr.Velychenko's latest work compares Soviet with Polish accounts of the Ukraine's past, examines how 'national history' was written and how its interpretation changed in each country. This book provides an account of how historical writing was used to build and destroy nations and states and is particularly relevant today in light of recent events in Eastern Europe.