David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War

The biblical image of David and Goliath captures fittingly the nature of the war that Russia, the world's largest country by surface area, unleashed on neighboring Ukraine, a country that-while still the largest on the European continent-is almost thirty times smaller and has only over a quarter of Russia's population. Yet Ukraine's stubborn resistance proves that it is possible to mount a successful defense against an enormously larger, more populous, and better equipped enemy, even despite its threats of nuclear apocalypse should Ukraine refuse to submit and the West dare to interfere. This volume shows that history can help reveal the reasons for Ukraine's resolve and success on the battlefield and in the public arena.

Collected in David and Goliath for the first time are short essays, commentaries, and interviews written and given by Serhii Plokhy, the world's preeminent scholar of Ukrainian history, on the eve and during the first two years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Plokhy draws our attention to the unique nature of the truly historic events of the largest war in Europe since the end of World War II.

About the author

Serhii Plokhy is Mykhailo S. Hrushevs´kyi Professor of Ukrainian History in the Department of History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University.

Product details

• Authors: Serhii Plokhy
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.07.2025
• EAN: 9780674301108
• ISBN: 978-0-674-30110-8
• No. of pages: 350
• Series: Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Ukraine, Russia, European History, HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century, military history, 21st Century, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, General & world history, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, General and world history, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / General, HISTORY / Russia / Post-Soviet, HISTORY / Europe / Ukraine