here be dragons, or is it here be russians, but this post presents what i believe is a somewhat neutral 'timeline' of events that bought us were we are today, and even more so where the ukrainians and russians are today;

The September/October 2023 edition of Foreign Affairs magazine carries a book review by Michael Kimmage entitled “Born in the Bloodlands: Ukraine and the Future of the European Project.”  The book being reviewed was The Russo-Ukranian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy (Norton, 2023, 400 pp).

According to the magazine, “Michael Kimmage is a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and a Senior Nonresident Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio.”

This article is not another review of the book by Plokhy; rather it is a review of the review by Kimmage.  It is an important topic because Kimmage has held significant positions in the university/think tank/government agency congregation that helps analyze and direct US foreign policy.

Several items in Kimmage’s review, whether taken from Plokhy’s book or added comments by Kimmage himself, raise serious questions as to the usefulness of this US analyst’s version of Ukraine War history.  For example:

ONE. The review mentions that the pro-Russian candidate won the election of 2004, but states it was “dirty” and annulled after protests in the “Orange Revolution” of that year.  A new “fairer” election put the pro-Western candidate in as President.  The review neglected to mention or analyze the allegations that “color revolutions” are often found to have been instigated and produced by the US.........more.......