As the war in the Donbas drags on, President Petro Poroshenko faces the impossible task of stabilizing Ukraine while fighting Russia-backed forces in the east. Volunteer battalions step in, NATO trainers arrive, and a new Ukrainian army begins to take shape. But on the home front, the economy collapses, IMF loans bring austerity, and corruption remains a constant battle despite the creation of NABU.
Civil society and investigative journalists push back — exposing scandals like the Panama Papers — while activists risk everything to keep reform alive. Language and culture become acts of resistance, music and media embraceUkrainian identity, and the Orthodox Church divide deepens as Kyiv challenges Moscow’s spiritual influence. Meanwhile, everyday life at the front is marked by mud, trenches, and endurance.
By 2016, Ukraine is battered but moving forward — building a stronger army, reshaping its identity, and edging closer to Europe with EU integration and visa-free travel. This is the story of a country holding on, reforming under fire, and choosing its direction toward the West.
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Some wars end. Others just hit “pause.” In this Dad Tangent, we dig into the world of frozen conflicts — places like Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Donbas — where peace treaties are paperwork and the fighting never really stops. History with Dad explains how these stalemates shape modern geopolitics with the usual mix of dad jokes and clear-eyed history.
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In this Dad Tangent, we take a lighthearted look at the 2014 Crimea “referendum” — the vote that offered two choices and neither involved staying with Ukraine. History with Dad breaks down how Russia staged the ballot, why international observers called it illegal, and what the numbers really meant. Turns out democracy gets tricky when all the boxes lead to Moscow.
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When Russia’s so-called “little green men” appeared in Crimea in 2014, the world watched Ukraine lose its peninsula almost overnight. In this episode, History with Dad explains Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the outbreak of war in eastern Ukraine, and the brutal battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve. Discover how a passenger jet was shot down, sanctions reshaped Europe’s response, and the Minsk agreements failed to stop the Donbas conflict.
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When Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych fled in 2014, it wasn’t a graceful exit — it was a slapstick road trip. From Kharkiv to Crimea to Russia, he zigzagged across the map while protesters discovered golden bathrooms, aprivate zoo, and paperwork floating in his pond. Join Dad for the tale of how a “strongman” became history’s most awkward backseat passenger.
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In 2014, “little green men” appeared in Crimea — soldiers with shiny gear, armored vehicles, and zero insignia. Russia swore they weren’t theirs… until they were. Join Dad as we unravel how these mystery troops turned denial into a strategy, and why history’s “aliens” sometimes come with tanks.
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From a few hundred students in Kyiv’s Independence Square to the fall of a president and the annexation of Crimea, the Revolution of Dignity changed Ukraine forever. In this episode, we trace how peaceful protests turned intobarricades, how the “Heavenly Hundred” gave their lives, and how Russia seized its chance in Crimea. A story of courage, corruption, and a country choosing its future.
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What do Roman emperors, French kings, modern dictators, and Viktor Yanukovych have in common? An obsession with showing off wealth in the weirdest ways possible — and sometimes, that meant gold in the bathroom.
In this Dad Tangent, we tour history’s most extravagant homes and bathrooms: from Versailles’ gilded halls with no toilets, to Saddam Hussein’s marble palaces, to Yanukovych’s infamous golden commode at Mezhyhirya. Along the way,we’ll discover why toilets became symbols of excess — and how one shiny seat came to represent corruption in Ukraine.
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In April 2010, Ukraine’s parliament turned into a slapstick comedy show. As lawmakers voted on the controversial Kharkiv Accords, opposition deputies unleashed a barrage of eggs at the Speaker, security guards raised umbrellas asshields, and smoke bombs filled the chamber. Yes — this really happened.
In this Dad Tangent, we crack open the story of Ukraine’s most famous egg fight, explore the country’s wild tradition of parliamentary brawls, and show how a messy protest became a symbol of the country’s high-stakes politics.
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After the collapse of the Orange Revolution coalition, Viktor Yanukovych made his comeback — and this time, he wasn’t letting go of power. From rewriting the constitution to jailing rivals and cutting deals with oligarchs, Yanukovych turned Ukraine’s fragile democracy into his personal power base. Moscow moved back into the picture with gas discounts and the Kharkiv Accords, while Brussels dangled the EU Association Agreement — and Ukrainians found themselves pulled between two worlds.
But in November 2013, Yanukovych made his choice. He walked away from Europe, cut a deal with Moscow, and lit the fuse for the protests that would become Euromaidan.
Join History with Dad as we trace Ukraine’s path fromcautious hope to explosive betrayal — and set the stage for the uprising tocome.
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What do Winston Churchill’s cigar, Napoleon’s pose, and Margaret Thatcher’s handbag all have in common? They’re iconic political trademarks. And in Ukraine during the 2000s, that trademark was Yulia Tymoshenko’s braid.
In this Dad Tangent, we explore how Tymoshenko turned a traditional Ukrainian crown braid into a powerful political brand. From her “Gas Princess” roots to her rise as a populist firebrand, her hairstyle became both a nod to folk tradition and a symbol of modern leadership. Along the way, we’ll compare Ukraine’s political battles to a clash of hairstyles — Tymoshenko’s braid, Yushchenko’s scars, and Yanukovych’s… well, comb-over.
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What happens when your neighbor owns the thermostat — and half the continent’s gas supply? In this Dad Tangent, we dive into Ukraine’s infamous gas wars with Russia in the 2000s. From Putin turning off the taps in the dead of winter, to accusations of gas “theft,” to shady middlemen who made Dad’s tangled Christmas lights look organized — it’s a story where energy meets politics, and everyone ends up cold.
Discover how Ukraine’s struggle to keep warm in 2006 and 2009 turned into a wake-up call for Europe — and why pipelines aren’t just about fuel, but about power.
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The Orange Revolution of 2004 filled Ukraine with hope — a peaceful protest that overturned a rigged election and promised a new era of reform. But what happens after the tents come down and the scarves are put away? In this episode, Dad explores the messy years that followed, when big promises collided with political rivalries, economic shocks, and old habits that refused to die.
We’ll look at Viktor Yushchenko’s early reform efforts, Yulia Tymoshenko’s fiery charisma (and rivalry), the infamous “gas wars” with Russia, and how infighting within the Orange camp eroded public trust. Add in the 2008 globalfinancial crisis, plummeting approval ratings, and the political comeback of Viktor Yanukovych — and Ukraine’s bright Orange glow dimmed into widespread disillusionment.
By 2010, the Orange Revolution’s hero was sidelined, and the man it once defeated, Yanukovych, had reclaimed the presidency. Ukraine had learned the hard way that winning a revolution is one thing — but building lasting change is another.
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Ukraine’s Orange Revolution wasn’t the only time people used colors to challenge corruption and fraud. In this Dad Tangent, we explore the early 2000s wave of “color revolutions” across the post-Soviet world — from Georgia’s roses, to Kyrgyzstan’s tulips, to Ukraine’s bright orange glow.
Think of it as the paint aisle of democracy: roses, oranges,tulips — each one a peaceful but powerful challenge to authoritarian rule. And along the way, you’ll learn why Moscow hated this rainbow of revolutions almost as much as it feared them.
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In the late 1990s, Ukraine was rocked by a scandal straight out of a spy thriller — except the spy gear was a cassette recorder hidden under the president’s couch. In this Dad Tangent, we dive into Kuchmagate, when secret tapes allegedly captured President Leonid Kuchma discussing shady deals, media crackdowns, and even a journalist’s murder.
It’s Ukraine’s own Watergate, only with worse sound quality and more cassette hiss. Discover how a bodyguard with a tape deck helped light the fuse that would later explode into the Orange Revolution.
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Ukraine entered the 2000s weighed down by corruption scandals, media crackdowns, and the infamous “Kuchmagate” tapes that exposed the dark side of President Leonid Kuchma’s rule. But out of that crisis came a showdown that would shake the country — and the world.
In this episode, Dad walks us through the late 1990s and early 2000s: Kuchma’s decline, the rise of two rival Viktors, the shocking poisoning of reformist Viktor Yushchenko, and a rigged 2004 election that pushed ordinary Ukrainians into the streets. With orange scarves, tents, and a determination to be heard, the people of Ukraine launched a peaceful revolution that overturned fraud and changed their nation’s political culture forever.
The Orange Revolution didn’t fix everything — corruption, divisions, and Moscow’s influence didn’t just disappear — but it showed that Ukrainians could stand up for their democracy, and win.
Follow History with Dadfor more stories of resilience, rebellion, and the power of people in Ukraine’slong journey through history.
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In 1994, Crimea elected its first — and only — president, Yuriy Meshkov. His bold plan? Pull Crimea closer to Russia and loosen Kyiv’s grip. Within a year, Ukraine’s parliament abolished his office entirely, leaving Meshkov as a political one-hit wonder. In this Dad Tangent, Dad tells the quirky story of Crimea’s short-lived presidency — a reminder of how fragile Ukraine’s unity was in the 1990s.
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In 1996, Ukraine’s lawmakers pulled the ultimate all-nighter — not for exams, but to write a Constitution. After 23 straight hours of arguments, naps on the parliament floor, and plenty of coffee, Ukraine finally adopted its first modern Constitution. In this Dad Tangent, Dad tells the story of the world’s sleepiest slumber party that somehow produced the rulebook for a nation.
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Ukraine entered the mid-1990s with new leadership and big decisions to make. In this episode, Dad explores the country’s second presidential election and peaceful transfer of power, the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, theintroduction of the hryvnia, and the adoption of Ukraine’s first modern constitution. We’ll see oligarchs tighten their grip, Crimea’s autonomy challenged, and President Leonid Kuchma try to balance Ukraine between Russia and the West — all while ordinary people navigated poverty, corruption, and glimpses of a new cultural identity.
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After the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine and Russia weren’t just arguing about borders — they were fighting over an entire navy. Welcome to the Black Sea Fleet squabble, where sailors switched flags, politicians swapped threats, and warships became bargaining chips. It was part comedy, part crisis, and a warning that independence comes with more than just a new flag.
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