In this collection of scholarly essays, Michael Moser examines the history of the Ukrainian language and takes issue with the verdict of the infamous Russian Valuev Directive of 1863 that Ukrainian is "a language that did not, does not, and cannot exist." Moser shows that Ukrainian is as deeply rooted in the past as any other Slavic language, has developed on an autochthonous basis, and has been in contact with other languages. Moser demonstrates that the elaboration of Modern Standard Ukrainian was the result of complex efforts of codification carried out under specific historical circumstances. Finally, he examines specific problems of the history of the Ukrainian language in Galicia, Transcarpathia, and North America and discusses the impact of language policy on the more recent history of the Ukrainian language.