Ukraine was one of the empire’s most valuable—and most contested—regions, and this episode explores how Russian and Soviet rulers tried to dominate a nation with a strong cultural identity and deep strategic importance. From Alexander II’s early Russification drives to the trauma of Stalin’s Holodomor and Khrushchev’s attempts at limited reform, Ukraine reveals the recurring tension between imperial ambition and national resistance. Across the period, it stands as a powerful example of how far rulers would go to secure control—and how fiercely Ukrainians pushed back.