In normal circumstances, the death of Mikhail Gorbachev – undeniably a world historical figure – would have prompted more pause for reflection and a longer-running consideration of his impact on world affairs. These are far from normal circumstances. Vladimir Putin’s non-attendance of Gorbachev’s funeral was just one of the more trivial indications of this.

Gorbachev is so despised by Putin as, through policies such as ‘perestroika’ (economic restructuring) and ‘glasnost’ (freedom and openness) – concepts that are, increasingly, anathema in modern-day Russia – he set in train the inevitable splintering of the Union of Socialist Satellite Republics and Ukraine’s independence in 1991. Three decades of dysfunctional relations with Russia – including the ousting of Moscow’s puppet President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, in 2014 following the Automaidan protests against his corrupt regime, and the subsequent annexation of Crimea by Putin’s forces – have led to where we are today.

Those, like Putin, who adopt a somewhat Hegelian view, may consider this the ‘unstoppable march of history’. Those of us with a rather more optimistic perspective, retain the hope that history will show democracy, rule of law, liberal institutions, the European Union, the United Nations and the International Criminal Court can prevail. Our cover feature (the fourth in a series of in-depth analyses of the events unfolding in Ukraine, viewed, as is always the case in Global Insight, through the lens of international rule of law) looks in detail at what Ukraine needs to do to complete its journey from Soviet Satellite Republic to becoming a fully-fledged member of the EU. Augmenting this coverage is an exclusive interview with one of the key figures in achieving this and proving the ‘rule of law can prevail over rule of force’, as he puts it. Ukraine’s newly appointed Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, speaks in inspirational terms about how he believes that, by remaining united, these goals can be achieved.