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Serhii Plokhy

セルヒイ・ミコラヨヴィチ・プロヒイ

Serhii Mykolayovych Plokhy

Aliases: Serhii Plokhii / Сергій Плохій

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1957-05-23 （Nizhny Novgorod (then Gorky)）
Nationality
Ukrainian
Languages
Ukrainian, Russian, English
Residence History
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine → Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine → Edmonton, Canada → Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Career

Occupations
Historian, University Professor, Research Institute Director
Active Years
1982-2024
Affiliations
Harvard University, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
Influenced
Mykhailo Hrushevsky

Education

Oles Honchar Dnipro National University
History and Social Sciences
Degree: 学士
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: Ukraine
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
Historiography and Source Studies
Degree: 修士
Year of Graduation: 1982
Country: Russia
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
History
Degree: ハビリターション
Year of Graduation: 1990
Country: Ukraine

Awards

Lionel Gelber Prize
2015
Work: The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union
Organization: Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto
Result: winner
Pushkin House Russian Book Prize
2015
Work: The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union
Organization: Pushkin House
Result: winner
Baillie Gifford Prize
2018
Work: Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy
Result: winner
Arenberg Prize for History
2024
Work: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History
Organization: Arenberg Foundation
Result: winner
Antonovych Prize
2015
Result: winner
Shevchenko National Prize
2018
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yalta: The Price of Peace

2010 History

Detailed analysis of the Yalta Conference.

Cold WarEastern European History

The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union

2014 History 520 pages

Inside story of the Soviet Union's collapse.

Soviet CollapseUkrainian Independence

The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

2015 Ukrainian History 395 pages

Comprehensive history of Ukraine from ancient times to present.

Ukrainian IdentityEast Slavs

Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy

2018 History

Detailed history of the Chernobyl disaster.

Nuclear DisasterSoviet Union

The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History

2023 Contemporary History

Historical context of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Modern UkraineConflict

Bibliography

  • The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine (2002)
  • Tsars and Cossacks: A Study in Iconography (2003)
  • Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine (2003)
  • Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History (2005)
  • The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus (2006)
  • Ukraine and Russia: Representations of the Past (2008)
  • Yalta: The Price of Peace (2010)
  • The Cossack Myth: History and Nationhood in the Age of Empires (2012)
  • The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union (2014)
  • The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine (2015)
  • The Man with the Poison Gun: A Cold War Spy Story (2016)
  • Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation (2017)
  • Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy (2018)
  • Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front (2019)
  • Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis (2021)
  • The Frontline: Essays on Ukraine's Past and Present (2021)
  • Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disaster (2022)
  • The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History (2023)
  • Chernobyl Roulette: A War Story (2024)
  • The Nuclear Age: An Epic Race for Arms, Power and Survival (2025)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Detailed historical analysisNarrative styleScholarly rigor
Recurring Motifs
Formation of Ukrainian identityPremodern East Slavic historyCold War and nuclear issuesSoviet collapse

Legacy

Renowned authority on Eastern European history, particularly Ukraine, Harvard professor with numerous awards. Internationally acclaimed for works on Soviet collapse, Chernobyl, and more.

In Popular Culture

  • Chernobyl book gained attention in context of HBO series

Trivia

  • Born in Russian SFSR to Ukrainian parents
  • Held professorship and administrative positions in Dnipro during perestroika
  • Leads MAPA: The Digital Atlas of Ukraine at Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute