About this book:

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What You'll Find Inside:

• The book traces the Slavic peoples from their prehistoric homeland between the Vistula and Dnieper rivers through their expansive sixth‑century migration that reshaped Europe’s linguistic map.
• It details the emergence of the first Slavic states—Great Moravia and Kievan Rus'—and the pivotal role of the Cyrillo‑Methodian mission in creating a Slavic liturgy and the Cyrillic alphabet.
• The narrative follows the rise and decline of major Slavic powers, including the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Muscovite/Russian state, and the South Slavic realms under Ottoman rule, highlighting periods of independence, foreign domination, and internal strife.
• It examines how external shocks—Mongol invasions, Ottoman conquests, World Wars, and the Cold War—interacted with internal movements such as national awakenings, Pan‑Slavism, and the Solidarity uprising to forge modern Slavic identities.
• The concluding chapters explore the 20th‑century collapse of empires, the birth and breakup of the USSR and Yugoslavia, and the contemporary struggle for European integration versus a resurgent Russian civilizational vision.

Who's It For:

This book is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of European or Slavic studies, as well as general readers with a keen interest in the historical forces that shaped Eastern Europe. It will also benefit scholars seeking a comprehensive, single‑volume reference that ties together linguistic, religious, political, and cultural developments across over a millennium of Slavic history. Policymakers and journalists covering contemporary Eastern European affairs will find the deep historical context invaluable for understanding current conflicts and integration debates.