Episode 134: Maria Popova on Ukraine and Russia’s Diverging Paths

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine and Russia not only embarked on very different political paths at home, but they viewed the future of their relationship in starkly divergent terms. In [Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States](https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?bookslug=russia-and-ukraine-entangled-histories-diverging-states--9781509557363)_, authors Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel show how Russia’s determination to control an independent Ukraine only pushed it further away. Popova joins host Richard Aldous to discuss how the varying cultural and political realities in the two countries ultimately led to today’s geopolitical clash.