Acknowledgements

First, I want to thank my infinitely patient and generous wife, Viktoriia, without whose unwavering support and sacrifice I would not have been able to muster the strength and determination to finish the book. My infinite gratitude extends to all my family. My parents never stopped believing in me. My friends, who, like my family, forgave my neglect, as I devoted myself to this project, and patiently waited and extended their generosity of understanding, who offered me hugs, advice, love and solidarity. I thank you with all my heart.

I am deeply grateful and indebted to Professor Damien Short and his excellent and invigorating intellectual insights, sage advice and the time he generously shared with me. I want to extend my gratitude to Dr Padraic Gibson and Professor Paul Burkett, whose stimulating discussions cast light on my research topic that proved invaluable, and all the figures who are no longer with us, without whose pioneering and fearless work I could not have written this book.

Above all, I want to dedicate this work to those Indigenous people who contributed to the book and to all those resisting all forms of oppression. It is their struggle that offers us a beacon of hope in a world under a pall.