With eastern Europe apparently on the brink of war and Vladimir Putin citing history as pretext, what exactly is Ukraine? Is it distinct from Russia, and how long has it existed? Tom and Dominic run through a brutal and fractured history, from the Viking conquest and Kyivan Rus', to the ever-shifting landscape in the early modern period, to the incredibly complicated Russian Civil War, right up to the modern day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.