In ‘Putin’s Revenge’ the author provides a useful addition to the growing body of written commentaries and explanations of the tragedy that has befallen a major sovereign country in Eastern Europe. It is not an easy read, given the complexity of such a lot of history condensed into a short timescale. Lucian Kim takes the reader carefully through the different dimensions of this turbulent history, from the events leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence in Russia of a potential thriving democracy, to its slow decline into a kleptocratic imperial dictatorship under Putin, reliant principally on the sale of armaments and hydrocarbons. Paralleling this evolution the author explains the development of a post soviet independent Ukraine and its painful journey to an emerging but fragile democracy and the influences brought to bear by EU nations, Russia and the United States. It is in this period that the author recognises that there are contested histories; he carefully notes where different explanations are provided and draws parallels with the fate of another post Soviet state, Georgia, which suffered a crushing military defeat when it came into conflict with Russia.

It is impossible for a reader not to experience sympathy with Ukraine and believe that it has been ill-served by aspects of Western influence, with warm words not backed with the necessary physical support in arms and resources until it was much too late. However, this judgment pales into relative insignificance when compared with the brazen imperialistic behaviour of Putin, who used his resources and influence to inflame acknowledged difficulties in the Donbas and commit acts of war against a sovereign nation with illegal invasions of, first, Crimea then the Donbas, and finally a multi axis full invasion in February 2024.

An uncomfortable but necessary read for anyone wishing to understand the gravest threat to world peace since the Second World War.

The book will be published in November 26, 2024.)

(Personal note: I lost several friends, some very dear to me, on social media in February 2022: I didn't believe reports about the deliberate, aggressive building up of Russian forces on the border. I couldn't comprehend the fact that Russia openly attacked Ukraine, and I wanted the 'military special operation' to be over, one way or another. I changed my mind after reading more and more about the war.)

(Personal note #2. Russian satirist Mikhail Zadornov said: When I am abroad, I miss my Motherland, when I return - I am terrified by the country.')

I saw one reviewer on GR say that an above-average book on Ukraine does not include the words 'fascists,' 'nazis' and other emotionally charged insults. The bar is pretty low, in my opinion, yet it demonstrates how hard it is to remain neutral when social media and news reports, in English and Russian, boil with hatred. I guess, I got spoiled by history books on WW2: the dead are dead, causes and consequences are organized in the correct order, and the righteous and wrongdoers are determined.

If you want the type of objectivity I seek, PUTIN'S REVENGE: WHY RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE would be your perfect guide. Following the familiar path of other Western authors (I cringe at such generalization - Western - yet let it be), Lucian Kim opens an abscess of Putin's duality; the representative of the generation that saw the Soviet Union's collapse firsthand. Being simultaneously envious of the West vs. proud to be Russian. Desperately wanting to be accepted as an equal in the superpower league vs. seeing Russia's path as unique. Wanting to charm vs. wanting to rule by force. Etc., etc., etc.

What makes PUTIN'S REVENGE stand out is the author's attention to detail. Does it matter who ordered the shooting of protesters during the Euromaidan? Does it matter how Yanukovych wandered around Eastern Ukraine and Crimea before he escaped to Russia? Does it matter what mistakes Mikheil Saakashvili made to create a pretext for the Russian invasion of Georgia? Small details matter as they pile up to reveal something hidden. As Lucian Kim postulates, one of the reasons Ukraine wasn't prepared for a full-scale Russian invasion - apart from corruption, Zelensky's narrow choices, and his inexperience in politics - is the reliance on American promises of assistance, dating back to the belligerent foreign policy of George W. Bush. On television these promises looked magnanimous; on paper, they were as much vague as politicians could master. Even while briefing Ukrainians on the imminence of the Russian attack, even while evacuating the embassy's staff from Kyiv, Americans offered Zelensky only words about friendship, not arms or an increase in funding. Small details, remember?

I predict such an author's position would anger adherents of both the Russian and Western sides. If the author's thoroughness isn't enough, this point alone is enough for reading PUTIN'S REVENGE.

I received an advance review copy from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.