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Ukraine's emergence as an independent state was the decisive factor in precipitating the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although with a population of 52 million, a territory larger than France, abundant natural resources and a formidable economic base, it was politically submerged for decades and thus its history and efforts to free itself were largely obscured or overlooked. Today, as Ukraine claims its place as a major European state, the outside world remains ill-informed about the country. Who are the Ukrainians, the second largest Slavic nation?; why were they for so long the world's biggest nation without an independent state of their own?; what were the benefits - and costs - of Soviet rule?; and how, in such a relatively short time and without bloodshed, did Ukraine recover and reassert itself, thereby sealing the fate of the disintegrating Soviet Union? These are the questions addressed in this work on the new Ukraine, which has been written for the general reader as well as the specialist.