title: Explaining Ukraine
abstract: This chapter examines underlying regional and linguistic distinctions within Ukraine and it pays special attention to the position of the Crimea and the Donbas region before war broke out in 2014. It also examines the political system, including both formal arrangements of the constitution and the 'informal politics' that lies beneath. The chapter describes the tension between a corrupt and predatory state and a civil society that has grown in strength since 1991, resulting in the 'Orange Revolu