This book discusses the crucial strategic topic for the practical implementation of transitional justice in post-conflict societies by arguing that the dilemma is defined by the extent to which the actual achievement of the political goals of transition is a necessary condition for the long-term observance and implementation of justice. While in many cases the ‘blind’ criminal justice does not enhance, and even militates against, the achievement of political transitions, an understanding of transitional justice as a fundamentally political process is novel, controversial and a concept which may shape the future of transitional justice. This collection contributes to developing this concept both theoretically and through concrete and current case studies from the worlds most pronounced crisis spots for transitional justice.

This is the very first ‘inside story’ of a key part of the Soviet manned space programme, detailing the development of Soviet/Russian spacesuits. The authors, as participants in the programme, provide details of events, previously unknown in the West, including their technical development. These space suits were an important part of the many Soviet firsts in the space race – Yuri Gagarin’s flight, Valentina Tereskova, the first woman in space, the first space walk by Alexei Leonov, and the first transfer on orbit from one spacecraft to another. All previous books on Soviet manned space flights focus on the spacecraft and cosmonaut teams. This book provides a total overview of the successful Soviet/Russian development of space suits and subsequent space walks from Vostok to MIR and ISS.

In early 2014, sparked by an assault by their government on peaceful students, Ukrainians rose up against a deeply corrupt, Moscow-backed regime. Initially demonstrating under the banner of EU integration, the Maidan protesters proclaimed their right to a dignified existence; they learned to organize, to act collectively, to become a civil society. Most prominently, they established a new Ukrainian identity: territorial, inclusive, and present-focused with powerful mobilizing symbols. Driven by an urban “bourgeoisie” that rejected the hierarchies of industrial society in favor of a post-modern heterarchy, a previously passive post-Soviet country experienced a profound social revolution that generated new senses: “Dignity” and “fairness” became rallying cries for millions. Europe as the symbolic target of political aspiration gradually faded, but the impact (including on Europe) of Ukraine’s revolution remained. When Russia invaded—illegally annexing Crimea and then feeding continuous military conflict in the Donbas—, Ukrainians responded with a massive volunteer effort and touching patriotism. In the process, they transformed their country, the region, and indeed the world. This book provides a chronicle of Ukraine’s Maidan and Russia’s ongoing war, and puts forth an analysis of the Revolution of Dignity from the perspective of a participant observer.