Pereyaslav and after: the Russian—Ukrainian relationship

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the two largest successor states, Russia and Ukraine, have been in conflict over a wide range of economic, political and, most notably, security issues. John Morrison examines this tension, and its important implications for the Western world, from the historical perspective of Ukrainianfeelings about the Pereyaslav agreement of 1654 and Russia's perceived 'imperial thinking', as both states seek to establish political and legal rights as independent states.