Book Talk | Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a bloody escalation of a conflict that had begun eight years earlier. What drove Vladimir Putin to launch Europe’s largest land war since World War II? Kennan Institute Advisory Council member Lucian Kim offers a gripping, definitive account of Russia’s path to war, from Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2014 Maidan uprising right up to the full-scale invasion.

Putin’s Revenge features insight from Kim’s first-hand reporting on key moments, such as Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the beginning of the Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine. This book tells the story of the lead-up to the invasion with revelatory detail and fresh analysis, shedding new light on a conflict that has roiled the post–Cold War order.

Speaker

Lucian Kim

Kennan Institute Advisory Council Member; Former Fellow;
International Crisis Group

Moderator

Fiona Hill

Senior Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution

Hosted By

Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange. Read more

History and Public Policy Program

A global leader in making key archival records accessible and fostering informed analysis, discussion, and debate on foreign policy, past and present. Read more

Global Europe Program

The Global Europe Program is focused on Europe’s capabilities, and how it engages on critical global issues. We investigate European approaches to critical global issues. We examine Europe’s relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our initiatives include “Ukraine in Europe”—an examination of what it will take to make Ukraine’s European future a reality. But we also examine the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Europe’s energy security, transatlantic trade disputes, and challenges to democracy. The Global Europe Program’s staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media. Read more

Event Sponsors

Putin's Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine