Timothy Snyder traces the emergence of four rival modern nationalist ideologies from common medieval notions of citizenship. He presents the ideological innovations and ethnic cleansings that abetted the spread of modern nationalism but also examines recent statesmanship that has allowed national interests to be channeled toward peace.A work of profound scholarship and considerable importance.--Timothy Garton Ash, St. Antony's College, University of OxfordTimothy Snyder's style is a welcome reminder that history writing can be--indeed, ought to be--a literary pursuit.--Charles King, Times Literary SupplementA brilliant and fascinating analysis of the subtleties, complexities, and paradoxes of the evolution of nations in Eastern Europe. It has major implications for all of us who want to understand the processes of state collapse and nation-building in the world.--Samuel P. Huntington, Harvard Academy for International and Area StudiesSnyder's ultimate query in this fresh and stimulating look at the path to nationhood is how the bitter experiences along the way, including the bitterest--ethnic cleansing--are to be overcome.--Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs Timothy Snyder traces the emergence of four rival modern nationalist ideologies from common medieval notions of citizenship. Names and Sources, ix Gazetteer, xi Maps, xiii Introduction, 1(14) Part I The Contested Lithuanian-Belarusian Fatherland 1 The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1569-1863), 15(16) 2 Lithuania! My Fatherland! (1863-1914), 31(21) 3 The First World War and the Wilno Question (1914-1939), 52(21) 4 The Second World War and the Vilnius Question (1939-1945), 73(17) 5 Epilogue: Soviet Lithuanian Vilnius (1945-1991), 90(15) Part II The Embattled Ukrainian Borderland 6 Early Modern Ukraine (1569-1914), 105(28) 7 Galicia and Volhynia at the Margin (1914-1939), 133(21) 8 The Ethnic Cleansing of Western Ukraine (1939-1945), 154(25) 9 The Ethnic Cleansing of Southeastern Poland (1945-1947), 179(23) 10 Epilogue: Communism and Cleansed Memories (1947-1981), 202(15) Part III The Reconstructed Polish Homeland 11 Patriotic Oppositions and State Interests (1945-1989), 217(15) 12 The Normative Nation-State (1989-1991), 232(24) 13 European Standards and Polish Interests (1992-1993), 256(21) 14 Envoi: Returns to Europe, 277(17) Abbreviations, 294(1) Archives, 295(1) Document Collections, 296(3) Notes, 299(51) Acknowledgments, 350(5) Index, 355