Serhii Plokhy: The Collapse of the Soviet Union (1991)

For this week's episode Peter headed in to Penguin's offices in London to meet Serhii Plokhy and talk to him about his new book, The Russo-Ukrainian War. They discussed how a culture of secrecy continues to define Russian society as it did before with the Soviets. They looked at the progress of the war and Putin's failed attempt to found a 'Eurasian Union'. Following this Serhii revisits the dramatic events of 1991, when he watched on as the Soviet Union collapsed in the most unexpected of ways. Serhii Plokhy has been described as 'The world's foremost historian of Ukraine' by the Financial Times. His new book, The Russo-Ukrainian War, is available in hardback now. For more, as ever, visit our website: tttpodcast.com. Show notes Scene One: August 1991. Moscow during the attempted coup Scene Two: Late August. Edmonton, Canada. The Canadian prime minister pledges to recognize Ukrainian independence Scene Three: 25 December. Mikhail Gorbachev's Resignation Address Memento: Serhii Plokhy's aeroplane ticket from 1991 People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Serhii Plokhy Production: Maria Nolan Podcast partner: Ace Cultural Tours Theme music: ‘Love Token’ from the album ‘This Is Us’ By Slava and Leonard Grigoryan Follow us on Twitter: @tttpodcast_ See where 1991 fits on our Timeline