Name: The Gates of Europe
Rating: 4.3 (265 reviews)
Author: Serhii Plokhy

What’s in it for me? Unravel the fascinatingly complex history of Ukraine.

From ancient times to modern days, it’s an understatement to say that Ukraine has been through a lot. Taken over by Vikings, Mongols, and Ottomans, and stuck between the Kingdom of Poland and the empires of Austria and Russia, Ukraine has rarely found a chance to exist as an independent state. Turmoil and oppression have been the norm. And yet, through it all, the Ukrainian people have kept their history and culture alive, even when their language was forbidden by the Russian Empire.

This is the story of those people and a region of Europe that has always sat at the crossroads of East and West, Europe and Asia. Since Ukraine is essentially the gateway to Europe, its story and its independence have always been important. In this Blink you’ll see why neighboring nations have laid claim to its heritage, and just how interwoven Ukrainian history is to the overall history of the continent.

The region of Ukraine was first populated by nomadic tribes that traded with nearby Greek colonies.

This Blink will attempt the challenging feat of giving you an overview of Ukraine’s history as described by Serhii Plokhy in The Gates of Europe. It’s a dramatic story that involves a lot of different actors, with many ups and downs. So let’s dive right in.

As is the case with a lot of ancient European history, the official written record really starts with the Greeks. In this case, it was Herodotus, a historian whose nine-volume series, Histories, contains some of the first known writing about the origins of Ukraine.

Even in the time of Herodotus, around 500 BCE, the area that would become Ukraine was on its way to becoming a dividing point between the East and the West. This region includes a portion of steppes, forests, and mountains that stretch north beyond the Black Sea. To the Greeks, this area was regarded as the Pontic frontier. Within it, the Greek empire ended and the land of the so-called “Barbarians” began.

Herodotus was interested in the history of the Barbarians, a term used at the time to describe anyone who wasn’t Greek. Before Herodotus’s research, there were only mythological tales about what was going on in the area north of the Black Sea. There were rumors that this was the land of the female warriors known as the Amazons and final resting place of the hero Achilles. But then, in the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, Greeks began to hear stories about a real tribe of nomadic warriors known as the Cimmerians, who were pushed out of the region after fierce battles with another nomadic tribe known as the Scythians.

At this point, the black nutrient-rich soil of the steppes was already gaining a reputation that would later result in Ukraine being known as the “breadbasket of Europe.” The Scythians had been cultivating and trading grains, but all this came to a halt once the Sarmatians showed up. Like the Scythians, the Sarmatians were also nomadic, of Iranian origins, and made up of different multiethnic and multicultural tribes.

Around the first century CE, the Romans eventually made their way to the Greek colonies. Now, what would end up being known as the “Western world” was becoming familiar with the region. In particular, the Romans were interested in the two rivers, the Dnieper – or Dnipro, as Ukrainians call it – and the Don. The Dnieper stretches from the Black Sea northward past what would become the city of Kyiv. It was already an important river for trade. The Don is to the east of the Crimea, and at its mouth was a Greek colony belonging to the Bosporan Kingdom.

According to another Greek historian, Strabo, these were more than just rivers. As he saw it, to the west of the Don lay Europe. To the east, Asia.

During the Age of Reason, Ukraine was repeatedly torn between the Commonwealth and Russia.

Unfortunately, the independent Cossack state didn’t last long. Part of the problem, and one that wasn’t going to go away any time soon, was geographic in nature. The Hetmanate was caught between the Kingdom of Poland and the Tsardom of Russia. Attempts were made to make peace with both sides, but, in 1667, the region was once again split in two along the Dnieper. The western half aligned itself with Poland, the eastern half with Russia.

The twentieth century saw some of the worst devastation in Ukraine.

It’s hard to talk about European history and not mention Napoleon. The man made quite an impact. For instance, as a result of Napoleon’s many campaigns across the continent, the Kingdom of Poland was restored around 1815, during the Congress of Vienna – albeit under a special arrangement with its neighbor Russia.

Post-Soviet Ukraine has had to continue dealing with Russian influence as it strives for EU membership.

It may have been just a matter of time before the Soviet Communist experiment ran its course. But there was one event in particular that led to Ukraine forcing its way out of the Soviet Union. That event happened on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located in the northern Ukraine city of Pripyat.

Key ideas in The Gates of Europe

What is The Gates of Europe about?

The Gates of Europe (2015) offers a compelling overview of the history of Ukraine, a nation which lies between the East and the West. Due to this unique geographic position, Ukraine has been fought over and subjugated by a long line of imperial forces throughout history. Indeed, the history of Ukraine is one of the most important facets in the history of Europe.