Unmaking Imperial Russia examines Hrushevsky's construction of a new historical paradigm that brought about the nationalization of the Ukrainian past and established Ukrainian history as a separate field of study.

'Serhii Plokhy is to be congratulated on producing a magisterial survey of Ukraine's "national historian" ... this is a book which matches up to the shape of Hrushevsky's work--a big and bold achievemnt.' -- Andrew Wilson Slavonic and East European Review 'Plokhy leaves no stone unturned in this most detailed intellectual biography of Hrushevsky. A major contribution to the field of Ukrainian history, this book will become a standard work on this subject.' -- Serhy Yekelchyk The American Historical Review 'Plokhy's account of Hrushevsky's role in nationalizing the past of a part of Eastern Europe into "Ukrainian history," thereby "unmaking imperial Russia," is truly, as advertised, a fine piece of scholarship. A nuanced, complex analysis that cannot be summarized in a short review...' -- Stephen Velychenko Russian Review 'The particular strength of Plokhy's ... superbly structured, beautifully written, impeccably annotated and intellectually exciting book ... lies in the analysis of [Hrushevsky's ]historical writings. [O]nly an author to whom nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ukrainian historians such as Mykola Kostomarov, Volodymyr Antonovych, Dmytro Bahalii and Matvii Iavorsky are everyday companions is in a position to convey the nature and extent of Hrushevsky's achievement; and few such authors are to be found.' -- David Saunders The English Historical Review

'In this fine piece of scholarship, Serhii Plokhy lucidly discusses the ways in which Mykhailo Hrushevsky and other Ukrainian historians unmasked the imperial Russian historical narrative and aided in the construction of a Ukrainian national history. With extraordinary erudition, Plokhy discusses the complex interactions of Hrushevsky the historian, Hrushevsky the populist, and Hrushevsky the statist. Unmaking Imperial Russia is a great contribution to Ukrainian studies as well as the broader field of Russian and Soviet studies.' -- Hiroaki Kuromiya, Department of History, Indiana University 'Plokhy masterfully synthesizes the bountiful material, incorporating new archival sources. It is unlikely that any treatment will ever rival this one in detail and understanding. He stays close to Hrushevsky's perspective, rendering what he saw and how he thought.' -- Timothy Snyder, Times Literary Supplement