In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and attempted to conquer part of Ukraine. While the world watched in outrage, this violation of national sovereignty was, in fact, just the latest manifestation of a centuries-long effort to expand Russia's borders and create a pan-Russian nation. In "Lost Kingdom," award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues that we can only understand the interplay of imperialism and nationalism in today's Russia by delving into its history. Over a span of more than two thousand years, from the end of Mongol rule to the present, Plokhy illustrates how leaders from Ivan the Terrible to Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin have exploited existing forms of identity, warfare, and territorial expansion to achieve imperial supremacy. A strikingly ambitious book, "Lost Kingdom" documents the long and violent history of Russia's empire and its quest for nation-building.