About the book: 2015 / The book by famous historians Yuri Felshtinsky (USA) and Mikhail Stanchev (Ukraine) is dedicated to the flaring up Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which, according to the authors, is a prelude to a major - Third World War - provoked by Russia. Taking readers through the entire history of Ukraine, from antiquity to the present day, the authors focus primarily on the period of Ukrainian independence, which this country gained with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Particular attention in the book is paid to the periods of rule of independent presidents of Ukraine - Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych; prominent opposition figures such as Yulia Tymoshenko; high-profile murders and attempted murders that left a deep mark on the political history of Ukraine, such as the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze and the attempt on the life (poisoning) of Yushchenko; problems of European integration of Ukraine; the opposition that Russia has shown and is showing to Ukraine’s intentions to join the European Union and become a member of NATO; economic and, above all, “gas” blackmail to which Russia subjects Ukraine and, indirectly, all of Europe; Russia's attempts to create a springboard for subsequent advance from Ukraine and Russia to the Eastern European states: Belarus, Moldova and the Baltic states, modifying the political landscape that emerged in Europe after 1991, and using for this the techniques and tactics of Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union from 1938- 1940s. Russia's war against Ukraine, which, according to the authors, is the first stage of President Putin's plan to recreate a new Russian empire, cannot but lead Europe and NATO to a new world war, and Russia, ultimately, to total defeat. Whether the battle for Ukraine will escalate into a world war or become a new Afghanistan for Russia, leading to the collapse of the Putin regime, the future will tell.