The Curse of Empire: Ukraine, Poland, and the Fatal Paths in Russian History

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Martin Schulze Wessel (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany) Neil Solomon

The Curse of Empire

Name: The Curse of Empire
Price: 51.95 AUD
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ISBN: 9781509563999

Ukraine, Poland, and the Fatal Paths in Russian History

Martin Schulze Wessel (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany), Neil Solomon

$51.95

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English

Polity Press
06 April 2026

History

Russia's attack on Ukraine marks an epochal break in European and global history. Undoubtedly, the decision to go to war is closely linked to one person, Vladimir Putin, but Russia's war is not driven solely by one man's power calculations. We can only make sense of Russia's actions in Ukraine, argues the distinguished historian Martin Schulze Wessel, by putting them in the broader context of the history of Russian imperialism and the influence it continues to exert today.

Schulze Wessel argues that Russian imperialism was shaped by Russia's relationship to Poland and Ukraine. These states were absorbed or partitioned by Russia in the eighteenth century, but Russia's rule over them was contested both by the Poles and by the Ukrainians. The entangled history of these three states produced path dependencies whose impact is still felt toda. Poland and Ukraine share a common history characterized by Russian domination and Polish and Ukrainian resistance to it; just as the Polish question challenged the Russian Empire in previous centuries, so too does the Ukrainian question today. Schulze Wessel argues that, as a result of Russia's confrontation with the Polish and Ukrainian questions, Russia's national identity merged with imperial claims in ways that were pernicious and consequential – the curse of empire.

By placing the war in Ukraine in the context of an era of Russian imperialism that spans three centuries, this book sheds new light on one of the bloodiest and most destructive conflicts of our time.

Also available as an audiobook.

By: Martin Schulze Wessel (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Germany)
Translated by: Neil Solomon
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 658g
ISBN: 9781509563999
ISBN 10: 1509563997
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 06 April 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Martin Schulze Wessel is Professor of Eastern European History at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Reviews for The Curse of Empire: Ukraine, Poland, and the Fatal Paths in Russian History

""Overall, Schulze Wessel’s study offers an approach to historiography that is urgently needed in today’s historical moment – nuanced and transnationally oriented. Given its scope, nuance, and timeliness, this book is equally significant as a scholarly and civic contribution."" Irina Kogan, Ab imperio