Synopses & Reviews
The remarkable popular protest in Kiev and across Ukraine following the cooked presidential election of November 2004 has transformed the politics of eastern Europe. Andrew Wilson witnessed the events firsthand and here looks behind the headlines to ascertain what really happened and how it will affect the future of the region.It is a dramatic story: an outgoing president implicated via secret tape-recordings in corruption and murder; a shadowy world of political cheats and manipulators; the massive covert involvement of Putinand#8217;s Russia; the poisoning of the opposition challenger; and finally the mass protest of half a million Ukrainians that forced a second poll and the victory of Viktor Yushchenko.As well as giving an account of the election and its aftermath, the book examines the broader implications of the Orange Revolution and of Russiaand#8217;s serious miscalculation of its level of influence. It explores the likely chain reaction in Moldova, Belarus, and the nervous autocracies of the Caucasus, and points to a historical transformation of the geopolitics of Eurasia.
Review
and#8220;Wilson has a rare ability to penetrate beneath the often misleading surface of politics and discover the deeper patterns and processes at work.and#8221;and#8212;Anatol Lieven, author of
America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism and
Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian PowerSynopsis
A close-up account of the 2004 popular revolution in Ukraine, and what it means
The remarkable popular protest in Kiev and across Ukraine following the cooked presidential election of November 2004 has transformed the politics of eastern Europe. Andrew Wilson witnessed the events firsthand and here looks behind the headlines to ascertain what really happened and how it will affect the future of the region.
It is a dramatic story: an outgoing president implicated via secret tape-recordings in corruption and murder; a shadowy world of political cheats and manipulators; the massive covert involvement of Putin's Russia; the poisoning of the opposition challenger; and finally the mass protest of half a million Ukrainians that forced a second poll and the victory of Viktor Yushchenko.
As well as giving an account of the election and its aftermath, the book examines the broader implications of the Orange Revolution and of Russia's serious miscalculation of its level of influence. It explores the likely chain reaction in Moldova, Belarus, and the nervous autocracies of the Caucasus, and points to a historical transformation of the geopolitics of Eurasia.
Synopsis
This is a close-up account of Ukraine's cooked election of November, 2004 and the decisive popular protest it incited. It is a dramatic story of corruption and murder, political cheating, Russian covert manipulations, Yushchenko's poisoning, and then his victory. Andrew Wilson investigates what really happened and what it will mean for the future of Ukraine and the region.
Synopsis
A close-up account of the 2004 popular revolution in Ukraine, and what it means
About the Author
ANDREW WILSON is senior lecturer in Russian and Ukrainian studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. He is author of The Ukrainians and Virtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World, both published by Yale University Press.