Trama

In the film Battle for Ukraine Andrei Konchalovsky, the famous Russian director, analyzes how Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Empire and present big European country, struggles to escape from the close embrace of the former big brother, Russia, and not to become one of the American satellites. This extensive study lasted for almost three years. Many Ukrainian, Russian and American historians, politicians and journalists took part in this study, as well as the ex-President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski, the ex-President of Slovakia Rudolf Schuster, the ex-President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, the ex-Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the businessman Boris Berezovsky.—Anonymous

The Cold War is long gone. Uncle Sam with a bomb in his hand and the evil Bolshevik with a hammer and a sickle are just dramatic pictures from the history books. Russians are not trying to foist nuclear warheads in Cuba, Americans are not napalming the Communist threat in Vietnam, and the Soviet Politburo is not giving orders to send troops to Afghanistan to establish the loyal government there. The two superpowers have long stopped to tear the planet into pieces - thank God! But have they? In the film Battle for Ukraine Andrei Konchalovsky, the famous Russian director, analyzes how Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Empire and present big European country, struggles to escape from the close embrace of the former big brother, Russia, and not to become one of the American satellites. This extensive study lasted for almost three years. Many Ukrainian, Russian and American historians, politicians and journalists took part in this study, as well as the ex-President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski, the ex-President of Slovakia Rudolf Schuster, the ex-President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, the ex-Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the businessman Boris Berezovsky. One of the main experts in this film is the second President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma. It was he who was the President when the Orange Revolution happened, when Russia and America once again were fighting at the territory of some other country. The film Battle for Ukraine asks many questions. What are the cultural roots of the confrontation between East and West? Can the country located at the crossing of the interests of Russia and Europe be independent? What is the price for this independence? Andrei Konchalovsky is a Russian film director, and that is why the thought that Ukraine is not Russia in spite of common history is very important for his study. This conclusion is painful for Russia and for a part of the Ukrainian society. But only after accepting this fact Russia can stop reviving the ghosts of the Cold War.—Anonymous