In Breaking the Bonds of Corruption, Elena Denisova-Schmidt investigates corrupt behavior in higher education, both in the Ukraine and internationally, as well as reliance on corruption in Ukrainian business. This is the first English-language book dedicated to examining corruption as a widespread social phenomenon in post-Soviet Ukraine.

In Breaking the Bonds of Corruption, Elena Denisova-Schmidt takes a broad view of corruption and its prevalence in global societies, using the case of Ukraine to examine practices that are considered corrupt in historical, social, and economic perspectives. She investigates corrupt behavior in higher education, both in Ukraine and internationally, as well as reliance on corruption in Ukrainian business. For both areas, the author relies on studies and polling that she and her colleagues administered at a number of Ukrainian universities and with Ukrainian businesses. This is the first English-language book dedicated to examining corruption as a widespread social phenomenon in post-Soviet Ukraine and makes an important contribution to the maturing study of informal practices in Ukraine and the region.