The Contest for Ukraine in 1920

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked an abrupt end to decades of globalisation and international cooperation, threatening the stability of Europe, impacting global food and energy security, and creating shock waves in a world barely recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This book provides historical context to the current conflict through an exploration of the Red Army’s 1920 conquest of Ukraine. The book contributes to readers’ understanding of how and why the leaders of Soviet Russia – like the tsars before them, and Putin afterwards – sought to impose control over Ukraine and studies the consequences of doing so.

Part of the Wars and Battles of the World series, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of military history, defence and security studies, communism, geopolitics, and international relations. It will also appeal to readers interested in the Russian Revolution, post-First World War studies, and the history of Ukraine.