On February 24, 2022, Russian troops launched a massive invasion of Ukraine, starting the biggest war in Europe since at least the 1990s.  There is talk of genocide and ethnic cleansing, over a million refugees have fled, and rising tensions between NATO and Russia have raised fears of a World War.  How did we get to this place? How could anyone support such naked aggression in the 21st century?  In this special episode of History Off the Page, we discuss the shorter and longer term causes behind the war, including: the Orange Revolution (2004)  and Euromaidan protests (2014), the seizure of Crimea (2014), the breakup of the USSR (1991), the origins of Russian and Ukrainian nationhood (9th-19th centuries), and the role of genocide in the 1930s and 1940s. 

Visit our website www.historyoffthepage.com for a list of reputable charities dealing with the consequences of the war.

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