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Korine Amacher / Andrii Portnov / Viktoriia Serhiienko (eds.)

“Official history” is generally understood as the state-sponsored and ideologically-inclined construction of the past which serves the particular political aims of mostly non-democratic regimes. The optimistic belief that it would end up with the collapse of the Soviet Union has proved rather naive. As Pierre Nora argued, over the last thirty years we have experienced a “general politicization of history” – the process of transforming what historians produce into an ideology. How are the intellectual choices made by historians today influenced by the long twentieth-century experiences of Eastern Europe? What could “official history” mean for a stateless nation or a self-proclaimed “republic”? How did Ukrainian historiography become or how was it forced to become Soviet? What spaces for individual research initiatives or even for modest disagreement with obligatory planned research existed in the official history institutions of Soviet Ukraine and socialist Poland? How were Russian textbooks on history re-written during the post-Soviet years? What role do literature, film, monuments, holidays or rituals play in the politics of history? How have memories of the Second World War been instrumentalised in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict and how have images of the ongoing war in the Donbas influenced memory debates in neighbouring post-Soviet states?

HISTOIRE PARTAGÉE, MÉMOIRES DIVISÉES: UKRAINE, RUSSIE, POLOGNE

Amacher Korine, Aunoble Éric, Portnov Andrii

Déboulonnement de statues de Lénine en Ukraine; réhabilitation du passé impérial et stalinien en Russie; nouvelle « politique historique» officielle en Pologne: depuis la chute du communisme en 1989-1991, les questions mémorielles sont au centre del’ actualité polonaise, ukrainienne et russe. Elles alimentent les batailles géopolitiques en cours autour de l’ancrage européen de la Pologne ou de l’Ukraine, de l’annexion de la Crimée ou de la guerre dans le Donbass. Or, la Russie, l’Ukraine et la Pologne sont liées par une histoire commune où les conflits font disparaître les cohabitations et la diversité humaine de ces territoires. En éclairant des espaces, des événements et des figures qui ont été l’objet de récits historiques divergents, voire conflictuels, cet ouvrage montre comment, de l’histoire à la mémoire, des « romans nationaux» antagonistes sont écrits.

Запорізький фестиваль, присвячений поету-футуристу Велімиру Хлєбникову. Інтерв’ю з Іриною Шатовою – Фабіан Шаллер, Рена Зейналова

Вікторія Забава – Осіння рапсодія

Наталия Волчкова – У потязі

On the occasion of Euromaidan’s 7th anniversary, KYIV DIALOGUE and Junge DGO invite you to look back at Euromaidan and to listen to different voices on how the Revolution of Dignity influenced people. Moreover, we will look at expectations that were or weren’t met and what still remains to be done.

Registation & Program

Birkbeck, University of London, calls for proposal submissions for the symposium ‘Being a Minority in Times of Catastrophe’ on 25-26 June 2021.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, surveys by the British Medical Association and other organisations reported that persons from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have suffered disproportionately, both in health and economic terms. While it is too early to draw conclusions regarding the reasons and outcomes of these inequalities, this symposium wishes to explore historical parallels in which minority groups were similarly affected by sudden or prolonged periods of crisis. The organisers wish to bring together scholars to discuss the experiences of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe’s minorities in times of historical disaster, natural and man-made, and the responses these engendered such as the provision of relief and medical aid or maintaining law and order. Papers exploring the impact of, or reactions to, specific environmental and public health emergencies, such as famines, floods or epidemic disease, from the late eighteenth century onwards are especially welcome.

The deadline for proposal submissions is 14th January 2021.

Details about the application SGMH CfP 2021

What unites Ukrainians?

Ukraine has long been portrayed as a divided country, split along linguistic, ethnic and historical lines. However, following the Euromaidan revolution, several studies have shown the strength of civic identity in Ukraine, and that the regional variability of social attitudes is far more nuanced than the supposed east-west dichotomy.

The project “Knowledge Exchange and Academic Cultures in the Humanities. Europe and the Black Sea Region” (KEAS-BSR) attempts to systematically investigate knowledge and cultural exchanges between the BSR and Western Europe from the late 18th century to the present theoretical and to establish methodological approaches with the potential of new pathways for future research and in its foregrounding of gender aspects.

Nataliya Borys wrote a report on the last KEAS-BSR conference “Knowledge and ideological frontlines. Europe and the Black Sea region after World War II”,  Blagoevgrad University, Bulgaria, 24 April 2020 on the Blog The Soviet History Lab 

In her latest book chapter Regionalism in Ukraine: Historic Evolution, Regional Claim-Making, and Centre–Periphery Conflict Resolution  Oksana Myshlovska contributes to the following debate: Recently, scholars have been occupied with explaining why the previous phases of contention in Ukraine had unfolded in a non-violent manner, while the 2013–2014 contention cycle turned into a violent conflict. The chapter aims to make several contributions. First, it analyzes identity and regional cleavages in Ukraine and the evolution and dynamics of claim-making and center-periphery contention related to them in different regions. Second, it studies the non-violent forms of contention in Ukraine from the late 1980s until the eruption of violent conflict in 2014. The findings are consistent with theories of conflict that posit that non-violent forms of conflict precede escalation into violent conflict.

Shelest, Hanna/ Rabinovych, Maryna (eds): Decentralization, Regional Diversity, and Conflict. The Case of Ukraine, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham 2020.

Drawing on quantitative data drawn from a range of trials Kateryna Dysa first describes the ideological background of the tribunals based on works written by priests and theologians that reflect attitudes toward the devil and witches. The main focus of her work, however, is the process leading to witchcraft accusations. From the stories of participants of the trials she shows what led people to enunciate first suspicions then accusations of witchcraft. Finally, she presents a microhistory from one Volhynian village, comparing attitudes toward two “female crimes” in the Ukrainian courts.

The study is based on archival research including witch trials transcripts. Dysa approaches the trials as indications of belief and practice, attempting to understand the actors involved rather than dismiss or condemn them. She takes care to situate early modern Ukrainian witchcraft and its accompanying trials in a broader European context, with comparisons to some African cases as well.

Shadows of Empires. Imperial Legacies and Mythologies in East Central Europe

Transregional Academy organized by Prisma Ukraïna – Research Network Eastern Europe in cooperation with CAS Centre for Advanced Study Sofia, Center for Governance and Culture in Europe, University St. Gallen, and the German Historical Institute Warsaw

14-21 September, 2020, Sofia, Bulgaria

More information and the CfA

The Centre for Ukrainian Studies at the Ivan Franko University in L’viv is calling for application for a summerschool, which offers you to:

• enrich your knowledge of Ukrainian through an intensive class using modern teaching;
• study in small groups (under 7 people) with qualified teachers of Ukrainian as a foreign language;
• receive a certificate grading the level of your Ukrainian in correspondence with the CEFR scale;
• widen your knowledge of Ukraine through lectures in history, economics, culture, politics and literature;
• travel to the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains and other picturesque destinations in Western Ukraine;
• enjoy the unforgettable atmosphere of Lviv and experience true Ukrainian hospitality;
• get a credit (University Credits) (in case of an agreement on cooperation with Ivan Franko National University in Lviv).

Apply until the 25 of June 2020!

How can peace and conflict studies contribute to understanding conflict dynamics in Ukraine? What are the opportunities for conflict settlement in Ukraine through dialogue at the local, national and international levels? What obstacles do these efforts face?

The 2020 swisspeace summer school provides an overview of current academic and policy debates on conflict resolution, dialogue and peacebuilding and critically reflects on their relevance for the Ukraine context. Following an introduction to peace and conflict theories and the architecture of international peacebuilding, participants will analyze the situation in Ukraine and reflect on opportunities and pitfalls for dialogue and conflict settlement in the current context.

More information on the flyer:

The topic of this issue is the relations between Russia and Ukraine. Firstly, André Härtel discusses recent developments in the Donbas conflict. He posits that as of yet there is no clear path forward as Ukrainian president Zelensky is still formulating policies, Russia seems to benefit from the status quo, and the West seems more focused on other issue. Secondly, Julia Kusznir analyses the progress of the ongoing negotiations for a new gas transit contract between Ukraine and Russia. Different interests, viewpoints and hurdles have so far prevented the signing of a new treaty.

The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien invites scholars to apply for a three-month Visiting Fellowship in 2020 within the framework of the research program Prisma Ukraïna – Research Network Eastern Europe. Location: Berlin / Closing date: January 31, 2020

Read the report of Mykhailo Minakov and Matt Rojansky on Focus Ukraine, the blog of the Kennan Institute:

The Embassy of Ukraine in Switzerland and the Université de Fribourg kindly invites you to the podium discussion “Ukraine – Switzerland: A Century of Mutual Diplomatic Presence”.

Ukrainian and Swiss historians and diplomats will touch upon both historical and contemporary events of Ukraine-Switzerland bilateral relations. The discussion will help verifying perspectives as well as facilitating contacts between scientists of both countries.

The curator of the Lavra Museum of Historical Treasures Evgenija Velychko helds a talk about the North Pontic’s Antiquities in the Museums and Collections of Kyiv. Find all details of the event at the University of Lausanne here:

Ukrainian-as-a-foreign-language program in Ukraine

Each day of the Program consists of language classes, individual tutoring, workshops or lectures and excursions – as well as a unique two-week Carpathian program at the beginning of our School. University ECTS credits can be received on completion of the course.

Summer program

Spring/Fall program

Conférence donnée par le prof. Andreas Kappeler : Le « grand frère » et sa « petite sœur », les relations russo-ukrainiennes à travers les siècles

Mardi 29 octobre 2019 à 18h15 dans la salle M2160 à Uni-Mail

Cooperation of the University of Bern with the EDA and DEZA and our URIS Fellow Mykhailo Minakov:

Further information to this exciting event at the Soviet history research lab:

Read the comment of our first URIS-fellow Georgiy Kasianov about the reason and consequences of the dismissal of the head of the Ukrainian Institut of National Memory on Carnegie Moscow Center: