Published 10 years after the second edition (CH, Nov'14, 52-1667), the third edition of Putin's Wars brings van Herpen's narrative to August 2023. While the remainder of the book, dealing with topics like Putin's wars in Chechnya and Georgia, has not been revised, the new, final 16-page chapter focuses entirely on issues relating to Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Van Herpen not only updates the continuing war in Ukraine but also strengthens his analysis and thesis with extensive new documentation. He argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is driven by Putin's determination to unify areas of the former Soviet Union that include large ethnic Russian populations under Moscow's control. Central to this project is the erasure of Ukraine as an independent state. Putin's wars, as manifestations of Moscow's imperialism, are at the core of his determination to restore Russia to its Great Power status. Acknowledging that one cannot predict how the war will end, van Herpen asserts that Ukraine is fighting for its own independence and for Western values. He concludes that the war's outcome will have major consequences for the future of Europe and the world. All libraries should acquire this editionfor its concise, well-documented, and well-argued update of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty.

Choice Reviews

The author analyzes the phenomenon of Russian imperialism, its origins, evolution, ideological foundations, and reciprocal ties with despotic rule in general. Van Herpen gives a detailed account of Putin’s revival of imperial doctrine and the related neocolonialist project of reintegrating post-Soviet space under the aegis of the Kremlin. . . . The book concludes with reflections on the Russian leadership’s ‘obsession’ with the ‘Ukrainian problem’ and its efforts to coerce Ukraine into joining the Eurasian Union by force. . . . The author’s logic is impeccable.

East/West: Journal of Ukranian Studies

In this sobering book, Marcel van Herpen ... reminds us that Russia’s actions, unlike those of other former European empires, demonstrate that decolonization is not an irreversible process.

Survival: Global Politics and Strategy

Many books on Russian government and politics tend to focus on one specific element of the complex autocracy of the Kremlin, while neglecting the context. What separates Van Herpen’s work from other similar books is the rigorous holistic approach to the matter. This book is much more than a chronicle of armed conflicts I was originally looking for.

Miroslav Shapovalov, University of Central Florida