A towering figure in the fields of Russian and Ukrainian history, Serhii Plokhii (Plokhy) has published widely on the intellectual, cultural, and international history of the region, with an emphasis on Ukraine. Published in three languages–English, Ukrainian, and Russian–his work has gained international recognition. Plokhii is the Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University and director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, where he leads a group of scholars working on MAPA: The Digital Atlas of Ukraine, an online, GIS-based project.

Plokhii’s work covers a vast time period, from medieval history in The Origins of the Slavic Nation (Cambridge University Press, 2010) through to the present day in The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History (W. W. Norton, 2023) and Chernobyl Roulette: War in the Nuclear Disaster Zone (W. W. Norton, 2024). As a scholar with unparalleled knowledge about the complex history of Ukraine in relationship to Russia, he has provided a much-needed nuanced approach to understanding the historical background of the war in Ukraine and the larger elements that are shaping the conflict in both Russia and Ukraine. As a towering figure in the history of the Post-Soviet Region with works like The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine (Basic Books, 2015), he also has a global scope, especially in his work on nuclear disasters, Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters (W. W. Norton, 2022). He has published over 20 books, 10 edited volumes, and countless articles. Through his research, he has influenced generations of scholars interested in the twentieth century.

Serhii Plokhii’s books have won over 20 awards, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for the best English-language book on international relations, the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and the Duke d’Arenberg Prize in European History. The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union (Basic Books, 2015) alone received three such awards including the Pushkin House (London) Book Prize in 2015, an honor he again received in 2018 for Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy (Penguin, 2019). Most recently, his Atoms and Ashes: From Bikini Atoll to Fukushima (Allen Lane, 2022) was named Book of the Year 2022 by History Today and one of the 25 Best History Books of 2022 by The Times (London).

Plokhii also writes eloquently and compellingly for general audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. His expertise has been recognized as important for understanding the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, being published on this topic by the UK think tank Chatham House, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Washington Post among others. In addition, he has appeared on innumerable podcasts, including the BBC World Service’s HARDTalk, The Telegraph’s Ukraine: The Latest, and a whole range of others from the popular current event and finance podcast Hidden Forces to the award-winning history podcast Travels Through Time.