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ICFRC: Russia and Ukraine - Entangled Histories, Diverging States

Listen to an audio podcast of this program.

The root of the Russo-Ukrainian War is not geopolitical competition, but the multifaceted divergence between Ukraine and Russia over the past 30 years. In February 2022, Russian missiles rained on Ukrainian cities, and tanks rolled towards Kyiv to end Ukrainian independent statehood. What are the roots of this war, which has upended the international legal order and brought back the specter of nuclear escalation? How did these supposedly "brotherly peoples" become each other's worst nightmare?

Maria Popova is an Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University, Scientific Director of the Jean Monnet Centre Montreal, and Editor of the Cambridge Elements Series on Politics and Society from Central Europe to Central Asia. Her work explores the rule of law and democracy in Eastern Europe.

For more information about the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visit icfrc.org.

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