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In this essay, the author addresses the question of Ukraine's and Russia's relations with the West in the modern and contemporary era. He believes that the revolution in Ukraine in 2013/2014 signifies a successive stage in Ukraine's emancipation and modernization, which began with the emergence of a separate nation on its territory in the 19th century. The author is in favor of the further use of such conceptual categories as the 'centre', the 'periphery', and 'modernization'. He thinks they still permit the description of the real developmental distance between different parts of the world and the analysis of strategies aimed at diminishing that distance. In his opinion, Ukraine's present chance for modernization is unambiguously connected with its choice of the 'western' road of development. He interprets the Russian attempt to counteract this choice by force as an expression of the disappointment experienced by the elite of the former empire. In essence, it is a sign that Russia is remaining in a peripheral situation in regard to the West, which is 'escaping' it.