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Propaganda

Fifty anti-Ukrainian propaganda books: How Russian publishers stoke hatred against Ukrainians

04.04.2022

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Cover illustration by Oleksandr Grekhov

Up until 2017, even after the 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukrainian book market continued to be an important sales market for Russian publishers. According to the Ukrainian Publishers and Booksellers Association (UPBA), books from Russia accounted for at least 73-75% of the total book market. Ukrainian publications remained in the minority, comprising only a quarter of books on offer.

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The situation looked alarming in view of two factors. Firstly, Ukrainian publishers struggled to compete with Russian publishers, who often brought Russian translations of world bestsellers to Ukraine, creating competition for translations into Ukrainian. Publishers often did not risk publishing titles that were already available or would become available in Russian as well. Additionally, Russian books were always available to download for free on bootleg websites, undermining sales for Ukrainian publishers.

The second problem was propaganda.

Since 2009, Russia has seen an explosion of books in the fantasy genre focused on the topic of a war with Ukraine, as well as purportedly «historical» literature and general nonfiction titles discussing the «collapse of the Ukraine project» and mocking the independence of the «nonexistent» Ukrainian people and the «artificial» nature of the Ukrainian language.

These books can be easily found on the Internet, both for purchase and to download for free. Poems about the «great Russian army» that was coming to liberate everyone started finding their way into children’s books.

Given the number of Russian books with hateful content, in 2017, Ukraine restricted book imports from Russia — however, the restrictions affected only printed material with anti-Ukrainian content, including books calling for liquidation of Ukraine’s independence, promoting violence, stoking inter-ethnic, racial, and religious hatred, encouraging perpetration of acts of terrorism or infringement on human rights and civil liberties. The State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine was charged with reviewing titles and issuing permits.

According to the Committee, since then, over 45,000 applications have been processed, with 39,416 applications approved and 5,275 denied. Additionally, the Committee revoked 2,227 approvals it had issued previously.

Among the titles that have been rejected, many were authored by people who were included on the list of persons posing a threat to national security, such as Zakhar Prilepin, Alexander Dugin, and Alexander Tamonikov. The latter’s claim to fame is that no less than 20 of his books landed on the list of anti-Ukrainian publications — not just because they contained some elements of propaganda, but because their whole thrust was stoking hatred against Ukraine and Ukrainians.

Nine Russian publishers were found to systematically publish anti-Ukrainian literature:

Eksmo (51 of their books landed on the list of anti-Ukrainian publications), Algoritm (31), Knizhny Mir (27), Veche (19), Tsentrpolygraph (15), Yauza (15), Yauza-Press (12), AST (11), and Peter Publishing House (10).

These publishers were denied the right to import any books to Ukraine. In particular, one-fifth of all books included on the list of anti-Ukrainian titles belong to the «Eksmo» publishing house, which has recently published an open letter calling on the world community to end the boycott of Russian books so as to «make the world a better place».

In response to this letter and numerous inquiries from our foreign partners, Chytomo has processed almost three hundred books included on the List of anti-Ukrainian publications; the most telling ones are presented here.

The presented descriptions of the books do not reflect the opinions of the editors, but are translations of the abstracts to these editions.

Ukraine is Russia

Puchkov, Dmitry. (2015). Ukraine Is Russia. (The Men’s Club Library series). Saint Petersburg: Krylov Publishers. ISBN: 978-5-4226-0256-8.

Russians and Ukrainians have always lived together as friends. The West’s foremost desire has always been to drive a wedge between the Slav brothers. It found its willing agents from among the ranks of the disgruntled, and paid them handsomely. Their efforts met with success in Ukraine but not in Russia. Ukraine Is Russia lays out how creeping revolutions unfolded in our countries and what effects the CIA handiwork had on the bystanding population and the members of the fifth column. The readers will find everything they wanted but could not find in previous books:

How people are turned into zombies
What the Maidowns were jumping for [ed. note: «Maidown» is a derogatory reference to a participant in the Euromaidan revolution — a portmanteau of «Maidan» and «down,» which is a slur used for people with Down syndrome; the resulting slur-meme «Maidowns who were jumping on the square» became a staple description of the Euromaidan used by its detractors, meant to imply that the Euromaidan was a shindig of retards]
Who shot down the Boeing
Where in the Ukrainian steppe Blackwater mercenaries vanished
What a brown coup looks like
Whether you really need to go to a rally and take small children with you
How and why protests are dispersed
Where Russia’s most powerful thinkers — singers, performers, journalists — are leading the dissenters
Why anyone who is against the Soviet Union is always a Russophobe

Russia and Its «Colonies»: How Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltics and Other Republics Became Part of Russia

Strizhova, I., & Terekhova, N. (2007). Russia and Its «Colonies»: How Georgia, Ukraine, the Baltics and Other Republics Became Part of Russia. Moscow: Dar’. ISBN: 978-5-485-00111-7.

In recent years, many former Soviet republics, having become independent states, started impressing on their citizens and the whole world that Russia occupied them in the 20th century and spent decades suppressing their freedom and identity. The neophyte rulers forgot that their peoples had become part of Russia long before 1917 and that a centuries-long history connects us. The book is a collection of articles and documents laying out when and in what circumstances Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, and other countries joined Russia.

Bloodied Ukraine: The Banderite Genocide

Savitsky, Georgy. (2014). Bloodied Ukraine: The Banderite Genocide (Battlefield Ukraine series). Moscow: Yauza-press. ISBN: 978-5-9955-0730-7.

The timeliest military SF action book, written in the rebellious Donetsk. The upcoming war in Ukraine as told by one of its participants. The imminent future. The Kyiv junta, on the orders of its American masters, unleashes a genocide against the Russian population in southeastern Ukraine. [Novorossiya] is hemorrhaging but isn’t giving up. Unable to defeat the rebel militia, Nazi death squads request the help of NATO troops. The United States stage a direct intervention in Ukraine. The forces are too unequal; without outside help, the Donbas is doomed to destruction. Its last hope is Russia — the only power that can stop the Banderite genocide.

The Tragedy of Ukraine: A Concentration Camp Instead of a Paradise?

Koppel-Kovtun, S., Rev. Tkachev, A., & al. (2015). The Tragedy of Ukraine: A Concentration Camp Instead of a Paradise? Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN 978-5-699-78617-6.

In November 2013, Ukraine entered the twilight zone. The Euromaidan bore poisonous fruit that many knew about, but few believed that things would turn out this way. The naive dream of the European paradise blocked out reality. How could one think that violence and revolution would create a new Ukraine? Why did many Ukrainians turn out to be so naive and allow their «friends» from the US and the EU to rule over them? Where did hatred for Russia and the desire to kill «Russian terrorists» come from? The book is unique for its blending of secular and spiritual perspectives on the Euromaidan problem. This allows the reader not only to inform themselves about events and processes set into motion in Ukraine by political technologists but also to analyze the mechanics of how they influence people’s souls, to understand the spiritual and moral causes of the tragedy, and to build up their internal resistance to the chaff of propaganda through the seeds of Orthodox faith and the example of faith champions of yore.

Callsign Wolfhound

Savitsky, Georgy. (2018). Callsign Wolfhound. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-04-092588-9.

During an operation to capture terrorists from a «national battalion» in Donetsk, Viktor Rakitin, a military operator with the State Security Service of the Donetsk People’s republic gets blown up by a mine, but his consciousness is transferred to 80 years ago, as the battle for the city of Stalino is in full swing. [Ed. note: Donetsk was called Stalino from 1924 to 1961.] Viktor is accustomed to combat and to fighting enemy subversives, but in 1941, the situation at the front is much tougher, and the enemy is more vicious and ruthless. Rakitin will make his way from Stalino to Stalingrad in the fighting ranks as a lieutenant with the NKVD. Victor’s goal is not just to live to see the victory, but to get to the forerunners of modern Banderites and burn down their forest hideouts.

Kyiv Kaput

Limonov, Eduard. (2015). Kyiv Kaput. Moscow: Tsentrpolygraf. ISBN: 978-5-227-05727-3.

Eduard Limonov is a poet, a writer, a journalist, and a revolutionary. Very often, his pronouncements turn out to be prophetic. Under this book cover, you will find a diary of current events in Ukraine. It will take you from the national yellow-blue revolution on the Maidan, through the reunification of Crimea with Russia, to the uprising in the Donbas, the armistice, the Kyiv elections to the Rada and, finally, to the insurgency elections on November 2 in the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. The diary stops abruptly in the future. No one will be able to escape the events that will follow.

Ukraine: Chaos and Revolution As Weapons of the Dollar

Starikov, Nikolai. (2014). Ukraine: Chaos and Revolution As Weapons of the Dollar. Saint Petersburg: Piter. ISBN 978-5-496-01300-0.

Chaos and revolutions have become part and parcel of the life of «civilized humanity». One by one, seemingly prosperous countries are engulfed in unrest and teeter on the verge of disintegration. A year ago, no one could have predicted that Nazi militants would march through Ukrainian cities or imagined the bloodshed that would follow.

The driving reasons of these processes are explained in the new book by Nikolai Starikov, a well-known writer and public figure, author of the bestsellers Geopolitics: How It Is Done, Stalin: Remembering Him Together, and Nationalization of the Ruble As a Road to Russia’s Freedom.

In order to get its colossal national debt written off, the United States needs a war. First, they had a go at Libya and Syria. Now, it’s Ukraine.

The US has several goals:

destroying Ukraine and having the zone of instability spread over the border into Russia;
pushing Russia out of the Black Sea, removing its navy from Crimea;
creating alongside our borders an absolutely anti-Russian state where everyone speaks perfect Russian.

But the chief goal of our geopolitical adversaries is to break the Russian world into pieces. However, it isn’t working and should never work. We must be strong so that this chaos is banished from the Russian world. So that the United States would leave Ukraine alone and no more blood would be shed on the streets of our cities. Because we are one people. And because it is Russia’s calling to maintain the balance of justice in the world.

Russia. Crimea. History

Starikov, Nikolai, & Belyaev, Dmitry. (2015). Russia. Crimea. History. Saint Petersburg: Piter. ISBN: 978-5-4461-0529-8.

Russia and Crimea. Crimea and Russia. They are one — a juncture where history and geopolitics are interwoven. This unity is revealed in the heroic pages of two defenses of Sevastopol. It is revealed in the persons of Suvorov and Kutuzov, of Admirals Nakhimov, Kornilov, and Istomin. It is revealed in the wise policy of Catherine the Great and the borderline-treasonous foolishness of Nikita Khrushchev. Every time Russia brought Crimea in, it became a superpower. Every time Crimea was lost resulted in the loss of this status. And thus, in 2014, our country became a superpower again, thanks to the courage and resilience of the Crimean people and the political will of the Russian president.

The Ukraine Catastrophe: From American Aggression to a World War?

Glazyev, Sergey. (2015). The Ukraine Catastrophe: From American Aggression to a World War? Moscow: Knizhny Mir. ISBN: 978-5-8041-0727-8.

If someone thinks that the fascist plague that has engulfed Ukraine does not concern them and is «neither their headache, nor their piece of cake», the new book by Academician Glazyev, a recognized expert in long-term economic forecasting, will sound a fair warning. The corridors of power in Washington D.C., as ever under the thumb of large transnational capital, have zeroed in on Russia as the main target of their next attack. A war with Russia, unleashed by the hands of Ukrainian Nazis, will assuredly lead to an abrupt economic downturn both in the post-Soviet space and in the EU. To this end, in February 2014, the United States, aided and abetted by EU officials, staged a coup in Ukraine, bringing neo-Nazis to power. By organizing the genocide of the Russian population in the southeast of Ukraine, they want to provoke Russia into military action, thus aiming to start another world war in Europe. Can Russia prevent the civil war in Ukraine from escalating into a Fourth World War and preserve the unity of the Russian world?

How to Sic Ukraine on Russia: The Myth of the «Stalin Holodomor»

Mukhin, Yuri. (2014). How to Sic Ukraine on Russia: The Myth of the «Stalin Holodomor». Moscow: Yauza-catalog. ISBN: 978-5-906716-25-5.

The so-called Holodomor became the main trump card in the information war the Ukrainian Nazis are waging against Russia, the banner of aggressive Russophobia. Although the terrible famine of 1932–1933, caused by drought and overzealous collectivization, affected not only Ukraine but also Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and other Soviet republics, the «orange» [supporters of the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, — ed. note] declared the Holodomor a «deliberate genocide» of the Ukrainian nation alone, «the Ukrainian Holocaust.» The purpose of this lie is obvious — to drive a wedge between brotherly nations, to sic Ukrainians on Russians, and to tear Little Russia [«Malorossia» — the term used for Ukrainian lands under the Russian Empire, — ed. note] away from Russia forever. The masterminds are also well-known — it’s no wonder that the Banderites are moving heaven and earth to have the Holodomor myth be recognized in the West. This book demolishes this calumny, unmasks the falsifiers of history, and exposes the dirty mechanics of distortion, fraud, and forgery used by fascist Maidowns.

The Fault Line

Afanasyev, Alexander. (2014). The Fault Line. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-74824-2.

It’s 2020. Ukraine is under Nazi rule. The Russian language is strictly forbidden, the population is forced to worship Bandera and Shukhevych, and any dissent is brutally suppressed. The regime enjoys the unconditional support of the West, which controls all natural resources and whatever remains of the country’s industrial production facilities. However, not everyone likes life in the Banderite paradise, and millions of refugees on the other side of the Russian border are trying to free their homeland from the brown plague. A guerrilla war breaks out in Ukraine, and erstwhile friends and neighbors find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades. To complicate matters further, the fray is joined by powerful external forces that decide to shift the combat zone to Russia…

The True History of the Russian and Ukrainian Peoples

Medvedev, Andrei. (2015). The True History of the Russian and Ukrainian Peoples. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-84897-3.

The events of the winter of 2014 in Ukraine made us remember that we know almost nothing about this country. It seems to us that Ukraine has always been there. As recently as 100 years ago, people in the Russian Empire had no idea that there was a Ukraine. They would also need an explanation for who «Ukrainians» were. How did it come about that a new country and a new identity were created in just one century? Why did this identity become predicated on the rejection of Russia and everything Russian? Are there any grounds for this? Who invented the history of Ukraine, who created the Ukrainian language and how was it created, who came up with the notion of two non-brotherly peoples, what is History of Ruthenians and who are «ancient Ukrs»? [Ed. note: History of Ruthenians is an anonymous book written some time around the turn of the 19th century that was popular among Ukrainian intellectuals in the 19th century who were part of the general European trend that culminated in the [Springtime of the Peoples]. «Ancient Ukrs» is a reference to a fake widely «reported» on in Russian media (including TV), according to which, Ukrainian historians think that the Black Sea was dug out by «ancient Ukrs»; in fact, the concept of «ancient Ukrs» comes from [a mockumentary-style comedy show that ran on Ukrainian TV in the early 2000s]; Russian propaganda presented this as official Ukrainian historiography and mocked Ukraine for this.] Why was the city of Lviv considered the center of the struggle for Russian identity, and who were the first concentration camps in Europe built for? Why should Ukrainian nationalists venerate Lazar Kaganovich instead of Stepan Bandera, and what potential did Ukraine have in 1991? [Ed. note: a staple of Russian propaganda is underscoring the economic potential of Ukraine in 1991 (which was as much in shambles as the rest of the Soviet Union) that was supposedly wasted by inept rulers over the time of Ukraine’s independence, with the implication that Ukraine can only develop economically if joined with/ruled by Russia.]

The Collapse of Ukraine: Dismantling the Wannabe State

Ishchenko, Rostislav. (2015). The Collapse of Ukraine: Dismantling the Wannabe State. Moscow: Yauza. ISBN: 978-5-9955-0770-3.

This book hands down the sentence not only to the Kyiv junta, but also to the entire stillborn «Ukraine project». It is a nail in the coffin of a good-for-nothing wannabe state that has surpassed even Yeltsin’s Russia in its thievery and brutishness. Here, you will find the whole truth about how the «nationally aware» Nazis Maidano-frittered away the country, replacing one set of thieves with another set of thieves and voluntarily becoming the serfs of Europe. This is a slap in the face of Banderite sellouts who exchanged their birthright and a centuries-old brotherhood for Judas’ thirty pieces of silver.

The Historical Chessboard of Ukraine: Heroes and Antiheroes of Little Russia’s History

Karevin, Alexander. (2015). The Historical Chessboard of Ukraine: Heroes and Antiheroes of Little Russia’s History. Moscow: Tsentrpolygraf. ISBN 978-5-227-06095-2

The book is a gallery of historical portraits of various Ukrainian (Little Russian) figures, as well as people born in Ukraine (Little Russia) who attained fame beyond its territories. Some of these figures of the past are virtually unknown to the general public. Alternatively, others are well known, but shown in the book from an unexpected angle. Contrary to the recently popularized idea about the unsuitability of black-and-white evaluations of historical figures, the author shows that there were individuals in history who, over the entire course of their lives, painted themselves unequivocally black or unequivocally white. Although, of course, historical chess (unlike classical chess) has colorful pieces, too. These are also presented in the book. Hetmans and religious fanatics, public figures and revolutionaries, Ukrainian (Little Russian) politicians, scientists, writers — they are the focus of this book.

The Secret Training Site

Tamonikov, Alexander. (2016). The Secret Training Site. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-92054-9.

At a secret training site in western Ukraine, American instructors are preparing a particularly ruthless group of Nazi terrorists to be sent to the Donbas. The group is led by Captain Igor Burkovsky. However, a Russian secret agent who had infiltrated the Security Service of Ukraine manages to warn the Donbas militia about the planned terror attack. Captain Gleb Kholodov and his special detachment of militia operators are instructed to give them a proper welcome. But suddenly, things start going very wrong. Captain Kholodov, who has never known defeat, suddenly stumbles into one failure after another. And then the experienced operator realizes there is a mole in the militia intelligence headquarters and that the information from the secret agent in Kyiv is coming through distorted…

Crimea: The History of Return

Grigoriev, Maxim, & Kovitidi, Olga. (2014). Crimea: The History of Return. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN: 978-5-9950-0430-1.

The book by M. Grigoriev and O. Kovitidi tells the story of reunification of Russia and Crimea. The account is based on unique testimonies of actual participants in these events — those who were the driving force behind «the Crimean spring», — as well as on official government documents, statements by parties and public organizations, newspaper articles, photos from those days, and other historical sources. This book is part of the Logic of Power series, curated by the Kuchkovo Pole publishing house and the Foundation for the Study of Democracy Issues.

The wrath of Novorossia

Savitsky, Georgy. (2014). The Wrath of Novorossiya. Moscow: Yauza. ISBN: 978-5-699-75690-2.

The near future. The civil war unleashed by the Kyiv junta is rapidly engulfing Ukraine. Far-right brigands roam the country, ransacking everything in their way and shooting civilians for even looking at them sideways. After one of the gangs attacks the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Russia decides to send peacekeepers to the southeast of the country… It’s Russian paratroopers against «nationally aware» killers; it’s Novorossiya’s regular army against the «national guard». An airborne assault force lands in Dnipropetrovsk with a view to capturing these war criminals. You are not my brother, you Banderite schmuck!

Bandera and the Banderite Cabal

Sever, Alexander. (2014). Bandera and the Banderite Cabal. (The Titans and Tyrants series). Moscow: Algoritm. ISBN: 978-5-4438-0744-7.

Having seized power in Ukraine, the Right Sector and the new Banderites are enforcing an openly Russophobic, provocative, hostile policy toward Russia. Official Kyiv propaganda basically sics Ukrainians on Russians, perverting history and depicting our nations’ past as a constant string of Russo-Ukrainian wars. The person of Stepan Bandera, a vehement enemy of Russia, is a mainstay of this propaganda. All the while, we are just keeping mum. We are turning a blind eye to uncomfortable facts. Although it is high time to admit the obvious – there have always been, there are, and there will always be two Ukraines. The first one — the real Ukraine of the Pereyaslav Agreement, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, and the brotherhood of Slavs – is united with Russia. Another one — a pseudo-Ukraine of Mazepas and Yatsenyuks — is our sworn, ruthless enemy. We fought this pro-Western Russophobic Ukraine many times in the past. And if this version of Ukraine wins — if Banderites remain in power — there is a fair chance that we will have to fight it again in the future.

The Battlefield Is Ukraine: The Broken Trident

Savitsky, Georgy. (2009). The Battlefield Is Ukraine: The Broken Trident. Moscow: Eksmo, Yauza. ISBN: 978-5-699-33396-7.

The year is 2009. Having provoked mass riots, the «orange» Nazis unleash a civil war in Ukraine. With the help of a NATO «peacekeeping» regiment, under cover of American aircraft and armor, death squads of West-Ukrainians with tridents on their shoulder boards begin exterminating the Russian-speaking population, wiping out entire cities. Poltava perishes in the fire and Dnipropetrovsk is razed to the ground. The whole of the Dnieper’s Left Bank, Crimea, and Novorossiya rise against the occupiers. Russia is helping the Resistance fighters with the latest weapons, volunteers, and military advisers … They will crush the accursed Banderite trident! NATO «hawks» will get the works! The battlefield is Ukraine! This is our last and decisive battle!

The end of the Ukraine project

Korovin, Valeriy. (2015). The End of the Ukraine Project. Saint Petersburg: Peter. ISBN: 978-5-496-01448-9.

A nation is a complex thing. Being a nation and calling oneself a nation are two different things. And if one wants to be a nation — what kind of nation then?

Ukraine has never become a proper nation in the more than twenty years of independence from Russia. […] The project of the Ukrainian nation-state became obsolete as soon as it was proclaimed. The world has entered the era of big blocs, where security can be ensured only within large supranational formations. But becoming a political nation is not an easy task. You need to shape up into a people with a common language and a unified cultural matrix — only then can you have a crack at leveling up to a political nation.

However, Ukraine, created as an artificial historical entity by Comrade Lenin, having plodded through the period of Soviet rule turned out to be entirely unprepared for independent statehood. The Ukraine project is about to reach its logical conclusion in front of our very eyes. We are on the verge of a historical choice about to be made by the peoples that populate the space between Russia and Europe. This space has every chance of becoming a pin that will connect parts of the grand continental bloc which will stretch from Vladivostok to Dublin and which was the dream of European geopoliticians of the 20th century.

Ukraine and the Rest of Russia

Wasserman, Anatoliy. (2013). Ukraine and the Rest of Russia. Moscow: AST. ISBN: 978-5-17-077204-9.

According to Anatoly Wasserman, a political adviser and the legend of the Russian internet, Ukraine’s reincorporation into Russia is a foregone conclusion. This book offers a historical, political and, finally, panhumanism-based proof of the desperate need for such a reunion. The book is an updated edition of the bestseller which was published 3 years ago and is now a bibliographic rarity. Fun fact! Recently, after the stir caused by Mr. Wasserman’s writings, a small flash-mob swept through Livejournal under the slogan, «Anatoly Wasserman for President of Ukraine.» After reading this book, you will come to share this opinion.

The New Russian Demons

Khotinenko, Vladimir. (2015). The New Russian Demons. (The Battle for Russia series). Moscow: Algoritm. ISBN: 978-5-4438-0900-7.

Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky’s «Demons» is a novel that remains relevant even today. Fyodor Mikhailovich’s brilliant prophecy, positing that «Ivans who do not remember their kin,» people who hate the Russian way of life and do not acknowledge Russia’s distinctive national traits can bring about our country’s undoing, is more relevant than ever. […] Khotinenko follows in the footsteps of the great Russian writer in that he is not afraid to throw angry words of condemnation in the faces of Russian-speaking «demons.» In his book, he boldly tears the fig leaf of «universal values» off of liberals of all stripes and persuasions while showing the way of salvation — Russian Orthodox tradition, Russian culture, and Russian civilization.

Khotynenko is not overlooking the situation in Ukraine either: he writes about why he refused to make a film based on a book by Alexander Turchynov, acting President of Ukraine, and lays out the benefits accruing to Russia from the reincorporation of Crimea.

Ukraine: Regions in Confrontation

Shirokorad, Alexander. (2009). Ukraine: Regions in Confrontation. Moscow: AST. ISBN: 978-5-17-060253-7.

Is the republic of Ukraine a unitary state with centuries-old history that has been occupied by Russia for the last three centuries, or an array of regions that are not related either culturally or economically? The book presents a history of all regions of Ukraine, analyzes the effects of Ukrainianization as implemented both under the Communist and the «orange» rule, and examines their prospects for development. The author explores the myths and the reality of the formation of Ukrainian statehood, the Holodomor and the reunion of Western and Eastern Ukraine, touches on the issue of Crimea, and offers his prognosis for the future of relations with Russia.

Ukraine in Global Politics

Ishchenko, Rostislav. (2015). Ukraine in Global Politics. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-78940-5.

This book is about the 2014 civil war in Ukraine, but not just about that. Rostislav Ishchenko explores the causes and preconditions for the impoverishment of the wealthiest and most stable republic of the USSR, its rapid transmutation into a failed state, and the fracturing and radicalization of its society. The author takes a dynamic view of developments in Ukraine. He sees the origins of today’s conflict in the geopolitical context of how Ukraine obtained its independence in 1991, as well as in the fact that Ukrainian elites turned out to be professionally and intellectually unequal to the challenges placed before the new state by history.

The author posits that the Ukrainian crisis is just one constituent piece of the global crisis of the unipolar world system, led by the United States, which came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Ukrainian crisis cannot be resolved and the war cannot end before a final winner is determined in the ongoing and growing global confrontation between Russia (which is the driving force of a new system of international political, financial, and economic relations, the contours of which are only just being determined as this crisis unfolds) and the United States (which is frantically trying to prolong the agony of the old world).

Ukraine As Eternal Ruin: Hopak in Puddles of Blood

Vershinin, Lev. (2014). Ukraine As Eternal Ruin: Hopak in Puddles of Blood. (The Information War series.) Moscow: Yauza-press. ISBN 978-5-9955-0726-0.

At the heart of the cannibalistic ideology of Ukrainian Nazism is the Ukrainians’ inferiority complex. In their attempts to cover up the bitter truth of the fundamental substandardness of their wannabe state, Banderites substitute delusional myths for the real past. This book makes short work of the deliberate lies and reestablishes the true history of the Ukrainian tragedy. This historical inquiry demonstrates how Ukrainian pseudo-elites repeatedly led their people to national catastrophe, chaos, anarchy, and destruction — to the nightmare properly called the Ruin. This bestseller is a slap in the face of the Kyiv junta that is once again turning Little Russia into a Ruin by dancing hopak in puddles of blood.

Ukraine on Fire: The Age of the Stillborn

Bobrov, Gleb. (2014). Ukraine on Fire: The Age of the Stillborn. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-71752-1.

The plot is set in the near future. The Russophobic policy of the «opposition» is tearing Ukraine asunder. «Svidomites» [ed. note: a portmanteau slur formed from the Ukrainian adjective «svidomyi» ((nationally) aware) and the word «sodomite»] supported by NATO are trying to pacify the territories on the left bank of the Dnieper by force. Eastern Little Russia’s response to occupation is guerrilla war. The brutal «age of the stillborn» is coming… It would be a total misnomer to call this novel «science fiction». This is more than fiction. Gleb Bobrov, himself an Afghan War vet, knows the underside of war firsthand. This book could only be written by a veteran — so powerful and authentic is it, not eschewing details of combat and sabotage, with such naturalism and complete immersion in the bloody nightmare of the future. And don’t kid yourself. This novel is not about Ukraine. After Little Russia, it’s Russia’s turn. «So ask not for whom the bell tolls — it tolls for you.»

The Maidan Derangement: Long-Distance Conversations with a Friend

Holzmann, Klaus. (2015). The Maidan Derangement: Long-Distance Conversations with a Friend. Moscow: Algoritm. ISBN: 978-5-4438-0967-0.

The author, resident abroad, is talking to his friend who lives in Russia. They take up the most pressing and painful topics, including the degree of guilt of Nazi Germany in the initiation and the horrors of World War II. The dialogue is sometimes strident, sometimes overly frank because the opponents’ views on past events often diverge… Among other things the author can’t remain indifferent to are the recent events on Kyiv’s Maidan, which is strangely reminiscent of what happened in Nazi Germany: pogroms, massacres, murders, threats to Jews…

The third empire. Russia, as it should be

Yuryev, Mikhail. Tublin Publishing House, Limbus Press, 2019. – p. 656. –ISBN 978-5-8370-0874-0

The Third Empire is a utopia that paints a picture of the future world, a book-forecast, a book of expected changes. In 2053, as a result of the global wars, only five superpowers are remained on the political map, each of which is a special type of civilization. One of them is Russia, stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to the Pacific Ocean … This edition reproduces the second part of The Third Empire, which describes the state and its social system, as well as material and spiritual life of russia in the second half of the XXI century.

Ukraine After Euromaidan: Democracy Under Fire

Bedritsky, Alexander, Byshok, Stanislav, & Kochetkov, Alexei. (2015). Ukraine After Euromaidan: Democracy Under Fire. Moscow: FRIGO «Popular Diplomacy.» ISBN: 978-5-8041-0806-0.

The Minsk peace process that is unfolding against the background of on-and-off flareups of hostilities in the Donbas has offered illusory hope for a return to normal in the region as well as for normalization of Russo-Ukrainian relations and Russia’s relations with the West. At the same time, the neo-Banderite and Russophobic ideology that has swept post-Maidan Ukraine impedes this process. Events of the Ukrainian revolution of 2013-2014 resulted not only in political changes in Ukraine but also in the transformation of its map. To wit: the Crimean peninsula rejoined Russia, while the east saw the proclamation of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics which belong to the lands of historic Novorossiya (New Russia).

Novorossiya in My Heart

Barkov, Alexander. (2018). Novorossiya in My Heart. Moscow: Izdatelskiye Resheniya. ISBN: 978-5-4490-2172-4.

Alexander Barkov, a member of the militia and an eyewitness, tells the story of the Donbas revolution and war of 2014. The author answers the burning questions of today, namely:

– who shot down the MH17 flight on July 17, 2014;

– why Sergey Kurginyan traveled to Donetsk and openly challenged the commander of the DNR militia Igor Strelkov;

– how the Slovyansk armored unit heroically broke out of encirclement on July 4, 2014;

– why the militia retreated from Slovyansk, Severodonetsk, and Lysychansk.

The author also recounts the fates of militia members.

Bloody Crimes of the Banderite Junta

Kochetkov, Alexei. (2015). Bloody Crimes of the Banderite Junta. (The Antimaidan Library series). Moscow: Knizny Mir. ISBN: 978-5-8041-0759-9.

Rivers of blood of innocent people have already been shed. Putting an end to this senseless massacre is long overdue, but peace in Ukraine is not in sight. The new book by Alexei Kochetkov dispels the illusions of those who still believe that the political situation in Ukraine can return to normal on its own. The author collected documentary evidence: police reports, eyewitness accounts, quotes from speeches by politicians about the bloody crimes perpetrated by the neo-Nazi junta against its own people. It will not be easy for the world community to put the fascism genie back in the bottle.

The Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk regions as well as other lands of southeastern Ukraine rose as one to defend their homeland and their loved ones from occupiers and their death squads […]

A Brutal Ceasefire

Tamonikov, Alexander. (2015). A Brutal Ceasefire. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-80607-2.

Eastern Ukraine, 70 km from Donetsk. Former police captain Andrei Okulenko, taking advantage of a declared ceasefire, sends his wife and young daughter to Russia. The officer’s family leaves the city and dies, hit by a volley of artillery fire from Ukrainians. Andrei is left alone: his life is shattered, and he has nothing to lose. His soul is consumed by a ferocious, uncontrollable desire to punish the killers. He gathers a small group of militiamen and makes a covert dash to the rear of the junta positions to destroy artillery systems. The mission is incredibly challenging, and the chances of returning alive are almost nil.

The Kyiv Junta

Chelnokov, Alexei. (2014). The Kyiv Junta. Moscow: Yauza-press. ISBN: 978-5-9955-0758-1.

It is for good reason that the criminal Kyiv regime has been slapped with the monikers «junta» and «oligarchic feudalism». Having ousted one set of billionaire thieves, Maidowns have immediately stuck their necks into a yoke for another group of billionaire thieves who are even more vicious than the previous ones. Ukrainian «elites» were always notable for their criminal mentality.

Did you know that «President Petro Poroshenko» hails from the family of one Alexei Walzman who made his fortune on the Q.T. through a covert business in Soviet times and took his wife’s last name? Did you know that the «Jewish Banderite» Kolomoisky was excommunicated by the local Jewish community? How much money did Tymoshenko and Akhmetov steal? How much blood is on the hands of Yarosh and Avakov? How many boys did Lyashko the pervert seduce? What are the dirty little secrets that Turchynov and Yatsenyuk are trying to cover up? This book is the first ever compendium of reliable compromising information on the top tier of the Kyiv junta, the leaders of Banderite death squads and the Fuhrers of «nationally aware» Nazis. This investigation shows the true colors of the con artists, thieves, and murderers who are principally responsible for the Ukrainian tragedy.

The «Ukraine» Experiment: A Century-Long Sham

Zuyev, Victor. (2018). The «Ukraine» Experiment: A Century-Long Sham. Moscow: Veche. ISBN: 978-5-4444-5747-4.

2018 marks the centennial of an experiment launched by the leaders of the Communist Party first of Russia, and then of the Soviet Union. According to the author, Victor Pavlovich Zuyev, part of this experiment was the creation of artificial states that had never before existed on the world map — the overwhelming majority of the republics of the USSR. One such artificial state is Ukraine. Lacking its own history or a distinct culture, Ukraine, populated mainly by Russians, started constructing (not without outside help) its own identity based on outright Russophobia and rejection of all things Russian.

The new post-Soviet Ukraine adopted Hitler’s stooges, traitors, and fascists as its ideological leaders and heroes. Russia was made the archenemy, and this resulted in numerous combat clashes between Ukrainian Nazis and representatives of the healthy part of the society in this pseudo-state, in deaths of tens of thousands of people, and in the secession of Crimea and a larger part of the Donbas from Ukraine. This book lays out the history of the whole of present-day Ukraine and the territory it comprises, explains the current developments, and takes a peek into the future that awaits its multi-ethnic population.

Ukraine is Russia

Smolin, Mikhail, Volkonsky, Alexander, & Sobolevsky, Alexei. (2014). Ukraine is Russia. Moscow: Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. ISBN: 978-5-7893-0195-1.

This anthology’s main theme is the unity of the Russian world and the need to overcome the radical regionalism of the «Ukrainianism» variety. In the situation that came together in the 20th century, when the Russian civilization was afflicted by complex internal moods, doubt was cast on the expediency of participation of the South-Russian population in the construction of the all-Russian world. The post-Soviet elites of the South-Russian population were struck by the virus of narcissistic regionalism.

Unlike all-Russian Westernism, which embraced primarily liberal and social ideas of Western Europe that didn’t pertain to matters of nationality or religion, «Ukrainianism» turned out to be a peculiarly South Russian regionalist Westernism that grounded its ideological preferences in the Polish-Catholic worldview. The book will appeal to everyone who is interested in Russian history, political science, and the clash of ideologies of Russian unity and Ukrainian separatism.

The Superhuman Speaks Russian

Kalashnikov, Maxim, & Rusov, Rodion. (2006). The Superhuman Speaks Russian. Moscow: AST. ISBN: 5-17-037432-1, 5-271-14118-7.

Is the evolution of Homo Sapiens still ongoing? Will we live in a world populated by several species of intelligent beings? And who will rule the Earth in the near future? An evil intelligent beast embodying the dreams of Nazis and adherents of eugenics — or a kind superhuman created by the Russian tradition? The authors of the book boldly explore these difficult questions. And they make a stunning conclusion: the arrival of superhumans is imminent. The revolutionary development of information and biomedical technologies, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology — all of this can be likened either to a new ice age or to a mutation-triggering nuclear war. The evolution of Homo sapiens is galloping forward head over heels, like a horse singed by a whip. Part of humanity is doomed to degradation, while another part is bound to ascend to the next level and be transformed into a new race. But there are two fundamentally different portraits of this new race. If the Russian civilization does not produce its own superhuman, we will end up with a genetically and nanotechnologically modified beast created by the rulers of the Western world. Losing this race is tantamount to death. But can the Russian civilization, which suffered a catastrophic defeat in 1991, hold its own in a competition with moneybags who profited from the collapse of the USSR? It surely can! And it should! Because the Soviet Union was quite ahead of its time. And the first attempt to launch Project Superhuman was made in the late 1970s.

Igor Strelkov: The horror of the Banderite Junta. Defending the Donbas

Polikarpov, Mikhail. (2014). Igor Strelkov: The horror of the Banderite Junta. Defending the Donbas. Moscow: Knizhny Mir. ISBN: 978-5-8041-0715-5.

Novorossiya is in the flames of war. Will this war become the starting point for Russia’s revival? Who can answer this question? Maybe Igor Strelkov and his stalwart insurgents who have stood in the gap and shielded Donbas cities and villages from the onslaught of American-Ukrainian fascist hordes?

Colonel Strelkov — historian, reenactor, journalist and soldier who has been through the Transnistria, Yugoslavia and Chechnya wars and who was even just yesterday not very well known in Russia — has become the new face of Russia rising from its knees. […] This book is the first biography of the mysterious hero of our time, Colonel Strelkov. It presents both reminiscences by his close friends and material from various sources, including personal diaries of the commander of the Armed Forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic, in which he describes the battle for Slovyansk and gives frank answers to uncomfortable questions.

Ukraine. Was there Ukraine?

Anatoliy Tereshchenko. Ukraine. Was there Ukraine? – Moscow: Arguments of the Week, 2017. – p. 352. ISBN: 978-5-9908778-3-2

Various modern Ukrainian encyclopedias say something along these lines: Ukraine is an independent unitary state of Eastern Slavs located in the center of Europe. The term “independent” is always emphasized! So, what is Ukraine? When did this name appear, and what does it mean? Which direction should it take and with whom should it walk this path, according to the very logic of its existence?

Lieutenant from the Future: GRU Special Forces Against Banderites

Valin, Yuri. (2014). Lieutenant from the Future: GRU Special Forces Against Banderites. Moscow: Eksmo, Yauza. ISBN: 978-5-699-73575-4.

A new military SF action novel from the bestselling author of The Youngest Lieutenant and Paratroopers Fight to the Last Man. A GRU spec ops unit is transported from our time to 1944 to prevent a secret Nazi organization from changing the course of WWII. The scouts from the future have a mission — in Lviv, a front line city, they must capture an SS Obersturmbannführer who is in charge of secret operations aimed at transforming reality. The Russian spec ops unit will have to plunge headlong into the bloody maelstrom of urban warfare where assault formations of the Red Army are fighting German Jäger units and the Banderites comprising the Waffen-SS Division ‘Galicia’.

Crimea Forever with Russia: Historical and Legal Rationales for the Reunification of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol with the Russian Federation

Baburin, Sergei. (2016). Crimea Forever with Russia: Historical and Legal Rationales for the Reunification of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol with the Russian Federation. Moscow: LitRes. ISBN: 978-5-8041-0703-2.

On March 16th, 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea. It was conducted in full accordance with democratic procedures and international law requirements. More than 82% of voters took part in the poll. Over 96% of them were in favor of reunification with Russia. The numbers are beyond dispute. The Crimeans have taken an adamant, unyielding, unequivocal stance. The referendum was held openly and honestly. The people of Crimea expressed their will clearly and categorically — they want to be with Russia.

In order to understand why precisely this choice was made, it is enough to know the history of Crimea and to know what Russia has always meant and still means to Crimea and what Crimea means to Russia.

The Point of No Return

Prozorov, Vasiliy. (2020). The Point of No Return. Moscow: ArsisBooks. ISBN: 978-5-9041-5553-0.

The novel’s protagonist is Andriy Shevchenko, an officer in the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). After the Maidan, he gets transferred to the SSU headquarters and is regularly sent on missions to the combat zone in the Donbas. Gaining an inside view of the underbelly of the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” [ed. note — this was a temporary name given by the Ukrainian authorities to the hostilities in eastern Ukraine against the Russian-backed, Russian-led, and Russian-supplied “republics”] and access to classified information, Shevchenko realizes he can no longer serve a government that is waging a brutal and cynical war against its own people. He makes a fully deliberate if personally difficult choice to start cooperating with Russian intelligence. The author gives an astute description of the psychological profile of his protagonist and the moral and ethical quandaries inherent in being a double agent in times of active combat. Risking his life and family, Shevchenko obtains valuable information, promptly delivering it to the intelligence headquarters and thus helping save hundreds of lives of militiamen and civilians in the Donbas. This fascinating and, to some extent, autobiographical novel will show the reader what it is that can become a “point of no return” for millions of residents of Ukraine.

The Colorados

Yeranosyan, Vladimir. (2015). The Colorados. (The Nation: Hot-Button Novels for Today series.) Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-79033-3

[Ed. note regarding the title: “colorados” is a slur used by Ukrainians to describe pro-Russian agitators. It is a reference to colorado beetles whose stripes are visually similar to the ribbon of St. George, a symbol widely used to signify allegiance to Russia.]

War is disgusting. It is twice as disgusting when it’s a war between brotherly peoples. Poisoned by blood, confused by propaganda, brutalized by mutual hatred, people who take up arms on both sides lose their humanity and turn into dumb, rabid animals. Only those with a strong character and unshakable moral principles stay human… A retired Russian Navy officer, call sign Crimea, is fighting in the Donbas on the side of pro-Russian militias. Crimea accidentally discovers that his commander, Pugachev, intends to sell prisoners of war to Ukrainian security forces instead of exchanging them for captured militiamen. Crimea tries to prevent the deal, but Pugachev orders that the mutineer be shot. At the last moment, the commander changes his mind and sells Crimea, along with the POWs, to a gang of neo-Nazis led by a Greek Catholic Church fanatic. This is how Crimea, against his will, finds himself in the enemy camp.

The Non-Russian Rus: How the “Ridna Mova” [(Ukrainian) “native language”] Was Birthed

Karevin, Alexander. (2006). The Non-Russian Rus: How the “Ridna Mova” [(Ukrainian) “native language”] Was Birthed. Moscow: Aletheia. ISBN: 978-5-89097-068-8.

This book by Kyiv-based historian Alexander Karevin gives a detailed account of how the so-called “Ukrainian language” was created: what forces by what kind of means and under what circumstances combined some rural dialects to concoct a language that is even farther removed from the common-Russian language than Polish. The phenomenon of the so-called “Ukrainian language” is all the more astonishing as hardly anybody actually speaks it, save for a handful of politicians, journalists, and professional patriots. Nevertheless, there are constant calls for imposing it by force and protecting it from the common-Russian language embodied in the writings of Gogol, Bulgakov, Korolenko, and even the Ukrainians’ idol, [Taras] Shevchenko. The author carefully examines such questions as: What was this artificial language created for? Were there any external forces behind the creators of the “mova” [ed. note: Ukrainian for “language”; the word acquires derogatory connotations when used by Russian detractors]? And if they were, which forces were those? Read this book for answers to these and other questions.

Volunteers in the XXI Century: The Battle for Novorossiya in the Portraits of Its Heroes

Semenova, Elena. (2015). Volunteers in the XXI Century: The Battle for Novorossiya in the Portraits of Its Heroes. Moscow: Traditsiya. ISBN: 978-5-90507-474-5.

Military glory is often unfair. Popular memory usually preserves only the names of leaders and commanders (even those who were not quite worthy of it). Only occasionally does it preserve some names of ordinary soldiers, plucked out of the mass of rank-and-file fighters by the hand of fate. But among these countless rank-and-file warriors, there are undoubtedly many more soldiers whose exploits were no less significant than those that made it into the canon. At best, they are remembered by their families, while sometimes, it all ends with “those who took the final battle becoming but dust and grass.” In that regard, the current war is no exception. This book cannot claim to be comprehensive. Far from it. It preserves only a fraction of our glory. I believe that the time will come when the names of all heroes, whether alive or fallen, will be forever inscribed in golden letters in the annals of Russian Military Glory, and their heroic feats will be used as examples when bringing up new generations — generations that will be brought up by Russians.

Belarusian Nationalism Against the Russian World

Averyanov-Minsky, Kirill, & Maltsev, Vladislav. (2015). Belarusian Nationalism Against the Russian World. Moscow: MMO “CIS-EMO”. ISBN: 978-5-8041-0808-4.

In the Russian Federation, since the Soviet times, it has been customary to refer to Belarusians as a “brotherly people,” and to Belarus as a “brotherly republic.” Indeed, there is no cultural distance between Great Russians (Russians) and White Russians (Belarusians): we are united by a common Russian history, the Russian literary language, and the adherence of most believers to the Russian Orthodox Church. Belarus participates in all integration projects initiated by Russia in the post-Soviet space: the Union State, the Eurasian Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, etc.

However, for a quarter of a century now, the Republic of Belarus has been a sovereign state struggling to find what would be a suitable identity. Since the pan-Russian ideology that posits national unity of Great Russians and Belarusians has been tacitly banned in Belarus (despite populist statements by President Lukashenka to the effect that “we are all Russians”), parochial nationalism, which is traditionally anti-Russian, is getting more and more entrenched in the Belarusian society with each passing year.

Nationalist tendencies became much more pronounced in Belarus as the Ukrainian crisis unfolded: dozens of young Belarusians made their way to the Donbas to take part in punitive operations against the population of historical Novorossiya. […]

The Roads of the Apocalypse

Savitsky, Georgy. (2019). The Roads of Apocalypse. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-04-089928-9.

Even the most brutal and horrific war comes to an end at some point. But peaceful life does not get restored overnight. Convoys with humanitarian aid are moving along the roads of Ukraine which has been ripped apart into small “appanage principalities”. This is Novorossiya, the land of coal mines and powerful factories, hardened by years of confrontation with the fascists, and now providing brotherly aid to residents of central regions. Poltava and Chernihiv oblasts, once rich lands, are now depleted and cannot feed their people. But the roads are dangerous — numerous gangs of Banderites that have not been finished off are eager to get their hands on at least some of that humanitarian aid. To hold off these prowlers, convoys are escorted by armored truc

The Reunification

Danilin, Pavel. (2015). The Reunification. Moscow: Argumenty nedeli. ISBN: 978-5-9905755-7-8.

They say that, in February 2014, Russia was faced with a difficult choice: intervene in the Crimean crisis or pretend that it was none of its concern. That is not true. Russia had no choice. Not intervening meant endangering the lives of two million residents of the Crimean peninsula. Not intervening also meant risking the lives of 145 million people. Nuclear weapons and NATO military bases appearing in Crimea would put paid to any attempts by Russia to safeguard its sovereignty in the modern world. We would also have to either roll over and give it all up to Washington or sell ourselves out to Beijing — all fairly bleak prospects. But the key thing was that, if we hadn’t intervened, the blood spilled in Crimea would forever be a stain on the conscience of every Russian person. Russia decided to help Crimea. “Polite people” showed up, and less than a month later, a grateful Crimea rejoined Russia.

The Donbas Avenger

Peresvet, Alexander. (2017). The Donbas Avenger. Moscow: Veche. ISBN: 978-5-4444-6110-5.

Civil wars are possibly the most horrific type of war in the history of humankind. They pit brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, and one part of a nation is ready to exterminate the other part. In these kinds of wars, it is impossible to stay away. Everyone has to choose their path. Alexei Kravchenko, a former resident of Luhansk and Bryansk, a Donbas boy and a Russian officer, has made his choice. He’s heading to the war that is raging in eastern Ukraine not only for personal reasons but also because the pain of people burned by this criminal and senseless massacre is something he takes personally.

The Shadow of the Downed Airliner

Baikalov, Albert. (2015). The Shadow of the Downed Airliner. Moscow: Eksmo. ISBN: 978-5-699-83403-7.

Retired military operator Kirill Bulatnikov gets contacted by Taras Suprunenko, his former service mate and now an officer in the National Guard of Ukraine. Taras tells him that Kyiv is planning a large-scale bloody provocation aimed at discrediting Russia in the eyes of the world. Agents of the Security Service of Ukraine have captured several Russian officers and intend to shoot down a passenger airliner over the territory of Novorossiya and present the captives as the crew of a surface-to-air missile system which purportedly destroyed the plane. Kirill Bulatnikov gets the order to cross the border into Ukraine and, with the help of Taras and a group of militiamen, extract the captured Russian servicemen and bring them back to their homeland.