A difficult neighbourhood : essays on Russia and East-Central Europe since World War II / John Besemeres.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Besemeres, John, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Russia--History.

Russia.

Russia--Relations--Europe, Eastern.

Europe, Eastern--Relations--Russia.

Europe, Eastern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (538 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

ANU Press 2016

Acton, Australian Capital Territory : Australian National University Press, 2016.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Through a series of essays on key events in recent years in Russia, the western ex-republics of the USSR and the countries of the one-time Warsaw Pact, John Besemeres seeks to illuminate the domestic politics of the most important states, as well as Moscow’s relations with all of them. At the outset, he takes some backward glances at the violent suppression of national life in the ‘bloodlands’ of Europe during World War II by the Stalinist and Nazi regimes, which helps to explain much about the region’s dynamics since. His concern throughout is that a large area of Europe with a combined population well in excess of Russia’s could again be consigned by the West to Moscow’s care, not this time by more and less malign forms of collusion, but by distracted negligence or incomprehension. ‘This is a wonderful collection of essays from a leading Eastern Europe specialist. John Besemeres brings a lifetime of experience, profound insights, and an incisive style to subjects ranging from wartime and post-war Poland through contemporary Ukraine to Putin’s Russia. At a time when doublespeak has become the new normal, his refreshing honesty has never been in greater need.’ — Bobo Lo"

Contents:

Intro

List of maps

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Reclaiming the Empire

Part 1. Twentieth-century Poland: War and Cold War

Seven days that shook the world

A difficult neighbourhood

Jan Karski's valiant failures

The worst of both worlds: Captain Witold Pilecki between Hitler and Stalin

Speaking truth to power and prejudice

Part 2. Poland and Russia since the fall of communism: Drawing apart

Poland/Russia: Peace or ceasefire?

Heading west, heading east: Impressions from Warsaw and Moscow

Poland at the polls: A win for pragmatism

Poland's EU presidency: Drawing the short straw

Part 3. Turning points in Ukraine and Belarus

Ukraine: A sharp turn eastwards?

In Belarus, the leopard flaunts his spots

Part 4. Russia and the former Soviet republics: Putinisation at home and abroad

Russia and its western neighbours: A watershed moment

Russia's elections: Leaving little to chance

Putin's Ceauşescu moment

Setbacks at home, successes abroad: The mixed fortunes of Vladimir Putin

Putin's phoney war

Re-enter Putin, weakened and resentful

The real Mr Putin stands up

Towards a greater Putistan? Part 1

Towards a greater Putistan? Part 2

Will Putin survive until 2018?

Putin's re-Sovietisation project and the Ukrainian jewel

Vladimir Putin: Geopolitical wrecking ball

Putin's annus mirabilis

Part 5. Putin reverts to cold war: Changing the shape of Eurasia

Putin's last territorial demand

Ukraine: Time to cut a deal?

Russian disinformation and Western misconceptions

Putin's parallel universe

Putin's Westpolitik: Back to the USSR

Peace in our time

Ukraine conflict exposes Western weakness on Russia

Bling and propaganda in an ethics-free zone

Making nice and making enemies

Ukraine, out of sight

Select bibliography

Further reading

Index.

Map 1: Russia and its western neighbours.

Map 2: Ethno-linguistic map of Ukraine.

Map 3: The South Caucasian states: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

CC BY-NC-ND

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed January 3, 2017).

ISBN:

9781760460617

1760460613

OCLC:

967110210

Publisher Number:

10.22459/DN.10.2016

Access Restriction:

Open access Unrestricted online access