Book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society"

JUST RELEASED Mikhail Mykhailo Minakov, The Post-Soviet Human: Philosophical Reflections on Social History after the End of Communism (=SPPS 278) ibidem-Verlag 2024. Distributed by Columbia University Press & Gazelle Book Services. https://lnkd.in/d2_AFhKx https://lnkd.in/dwPWe458 The post-Soviet period (1989–2022) was, in its own way, an unprecedented era in human history. Its uniqueness lied not only in the fact that the USSR’s dissolution had opened opportunities for the people and nations of Eastern Europe and northern Eurasia to experience freedom and test their creative powers, but also in the fact that these opportunities did not extract a price comparable to the cost in human lives and suffering during the Russian Revolution and Civil War of 1917–24. The post-Soviet Human attempted to establish free politics and economy, as well as to gain collective emancipation and personal freedom during this era. Even though these attempts failed in most cases, the post-Soviet Human’s political creativity—with its democratic and autocratic achievements—was an intriguing phenomenon worth deeper study and understanding. Without learning the lessons of post-Soviet history, the East European and north Eurasian peoples are doomed to perpetually repeat its vicious cycles of tragedy and destruction.

To understand how Moscow uses cultural diplomacy, UkraineWorld asked Denys Tereshchenko, co-author (along with Nadiia Koval) of the book Russian Cultural Diplomacy under Putin (Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag, 2023). The book is based on an in-depth and refined study by the Ukrainian Institute - Український інститут and MZ Hub.

FRESH OFF THE PRESS Oleksiy Kresin, The UN General Assembly Resolutions: Their Nature and Significance in the Context of the Russian War Against Ukraine. Edited by William E. Butler. Book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society", vol. 282 https://lnkd.in/dPPfmAKj ibidem-Verlag

Andreas Heinemann-Grüder (ed.), Who Are the Fighters? Irregular Armed Groups in the Russian-Ukrainian War since 2014. Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag, 2024. Distributed by Columbia University Press. https://lnkd.in/dctEU7HJ https://lnkd.in/dDiJub56 The war in Ukraine has been fought with, among others, irregular armed groups since 2014—volunteers, paramilitaries, and mercenaries. Based on interviews in the Russian-controlled Donbas and with Ukrainian combatants, the contributions to this volume disclose various micro-dynamics of the mobilization, group formation, and fighting. Who were these fighters and who organized them? Russia has been increasingly employing mercenaries as a way to conduct undeclared, but ruthless wars beyond her borders. Ukraine’s formation of irregular armed groups in 2014 was a response to the army’s initially glaring inability to counter Russia’s military intervention. Most of the irregular battalions acted from the beginning under governmental orders. They have never operated autonomously, but compensated for operational weaknesses of regular armed groups. The initially high power of irregular battalions derived from state support, the capabilities of commanders, social networks, and the faculties of the fighters. C o n t e n t s The War in Ukraine and Irregular Armed Groups Andreas Heinemann-Grüder ………………………………………………………….. 7 Organizations of Russian Nationalists in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Nikolay Mitrokhin ………………………………………………………………………. 15 Pro-Russian Irregular Armed Groups Natalia Savelyeva ……………………………………………………………………….. 47 The Far-Right Predecessor Organizations of the Ukrainian Irregular Armed Units Anton Shekhovtsov ……………………………………………………………………… 89 Irregular Armed Groups in Ukraine: State Savior or State Capture? Andreas Heinemann-Grüder ………………………………………………………. 117 Between Frontline and Parliament: Ukrainian Political Parties and Irregular Armed Groups since 2014 Kostiantyn Fedorenko, Andreas Umland ……………………………………… 189 Ukrainian Volunteer Groups: Oversight by the Government Leonid Poliakov ………………………………………………………………………… 229 The Long Shadow of the War: Return and Reintegration of War Veterans Julia Friedrich, Theresa Luetkefend ………………………………………………. 255 Between Two Worlds: Internally Displaced Persons Vyacheslav Likhachev ………………………………………………………………… 285 Media Policy of Armed Groups in Ukraine Kostiantyn Fedorenko ………………………………………………………………… 309 Russia’s Corporate Warriors Andreas Heinemann-Grüder ………………………………………………………. 333

Valentyna Romanova and Andreas Umland, eds. Ukraine’s Decentralization: Challenges and Implications of the Local Governance Reform after the Euromaidan Revolution. ibidem-Verlag 2024. Distributed by Columbia University Press. This collected volume is one of the first of its kind and presents eleven narrowly focused research papers by Oleksandr Deineko, Melanie Mierzejewski-Voznyak, Maryna Rabinovych, Aadne Aasland, Max Bader, Igor Dunayev, Dr.Sc., Yuriy Palekha, Oleksii Sydorchuk, and the editors. The chapters illustrate specific problems as well as repercussions of Ukraine’s ongoing local governance reform ranging from fiscal governance to party politics as well as wartime challenges. https://lnkd.in/dccRiPaa https://lnkd.in/dJ8AqxkG

Review copies of SPPS volumes on Russo-Ukrainian War Over the last ten years, ibidem-Verlag's Book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society" (SPPS) has published and Columbia University Press has been distributing several scholarly books related to the Russo-Ukrainian War since 2014. If you would like to review one or more of these volumes, please, ask the journal, newspaper, or other outlet where you want to publish your review to request a copy for you from the publisher ibidem@ibidem.eu. Vol. 276 In the Eye of the Storm Origins, Ideology, and Controversies of the Azov Brigade, 2014-2023 Edited by Christian Kaunert, Alex MacKenzie, and Adrien Nonjon Vol. 275 War and the Transformation of Ukrainian Society (2022–23) Empirical Evidence Vladimir Paniotto and Anton Grushetsky Vol. 273 Russia's War in Ukraine Debates on Peace, Fascism, and War Crimes, 2022–2023 Schneider-Deters Winfried. Foreword by klaus gestwa Vol. 271 Russian Political Warfare Essays on Kremlin Propaganda in Europe and the Neighbourhood, 2020-2023 Anton Shekhovtsov. Foreword by Nathalie Loiseau Vol. 270 Russia's Overlooked Invasion The Causes of the 2014 Outbreak of War in Ukraine’s Donbas Jakob Hauter. Foreword by Hiroaki Kuromiya Vol. 268 Russian Cultural Diplomacy under Putin Rossotrudnichestvo, the “Russkiy Mir” Foundation, and the Gorchakov Fund in 2007–2022 Edited by Nadiia Koval and Denys Tereshchenko Vol. 267 Post-Euromaidan Ukraine Domestic Power Struggles and War of National Survival in 2014–2022 Bohdan Harasymiw Vol. 262 Russian Disinformation and Western Scholarship Bias and Prejudice in Journalistic, Expert, and Academic Analyses of East European, Russian and Eurasian Affairs Edited by Taras Kuzio Vol. 261 Who Are the Fighters? Irregular Armed Groups in the Russian-Ukrainian War since 2014 Edited by Andreas Heinemann-Grüder Vol. 260 The Ukrainian Oligarchy After the Euromaidan How Ukraine’s Political Economy Regime Survived the Crisis David Dalton (PhD). Foreword by Andrew Wilson Vols. 254/255 Ukraine’s Fateful Years 2013–2019, I/II Schneider-Deters Winfried Vol. 243 Eight Years After the Revolution of Dignity What Has Changed in Ukraine During 2013–2021? Vladimir Dubrovskiy, Kalman Mizsei, and Kateryna Ivashchenko-Stadnik in collaboration with Mychailo Wynnyckyj. Foreword by Yaroslav Hrytsak Vol. 242 Ukraine in Central and Eastern Europe Kyiv's Foreign Affairs and the International Relations of the Post-Communist Region Edited by Sebastian Schäffer, Foreword by Pavlo Klimkin Vol. 227 Civil War? Interstate War? Hybrid War? Dimensions and Interpretations of the Donbas Conflict in 2014–2020 Edited by Jakob Hauter Vol. 224 Russian Active Measures Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow Edited by Olga Bertelsen For further volumes, see: https://lnkd.in/dYCrnYNn https://lnkd.in/dbXF2SuV

Vladimir Dubrovskiy, Mychailo Wynnyckyj , Kateryna Ivashchenko-Stadnik and Kalman Mizsei for the Book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society" published by ibidem-Verlag and distributed by Columbia University Press

Still full of impressions from an incredible experience at #CafeKyiv! Thank you Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung for the organisation, ibidem Verlag for the possibility, Andreas Umland for the moderation (and advertisement) as well as Ursula von der Leyen for her surprise visit during my discussion 😉 (and congratulations of course).

FRESH OFF THE PRESS Daviti Mtchedlishvili, The EU and the South Caucasus: European Neighborhood Policies between Eclecticism and Pragmatism, 1991-2021. Foreword by Nicholas Ross Smith Columbia University Press: https://lnkd.in/d_uG_nwt ibidem-Verlag: https://lnkd.in/dUmuXMN4