Ukraine

87 articles tagged with ukraine were found.

Decolonization of memory in the former Soviet spaces Introduction. Theme Section.

The section is an invitation to think further on the possibilities of implementing decolonial theory in the memory field of the countries that were dominated by the Soviet Union.

By Yuliya Yurchuk December 10, 2024

Decolonization of the space. The uncomfortable heritage of Ukrainian socialist cities

The process of decolonization in Ukrainian cities is significant because of the remaining socialist heritage. This includes architecture, urban planning structures, toponyms, and symbolic spaces. While this heritage is deeply implemented in the contemporary cityscape, it has also become the subject of criticism, particularly after the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014. Socialist cities such as Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kryvyi Rig played a prominent role in shaping the urban landscape and were conceptualized by Soviet urbanists in the 1920s and 1930s. These cities were designed to gain complete control over the social and professional aspects of residents’ lives, reflecting the ideological ambitions of the communist party. This article explores the importance of socialist cities in the context of colonial heritage, examining the origins of the idea and its ideological significance.

Essay by Anastasiia Bozhenko and Olesya Chagovets December 10, 2024

Decolonizing knowledge production UKRAINE BETWEEN RUSSIAN, SOVIET, AND POST-SOVIET SPACES

The essay analyzes the role of Western art institutions in supporting and promoting imperialist views on both the cultural and political history of what once was the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union, and then the so-called “post-Soviet” space while they universalized and homogenized the multiple, complex, heterogenic, interconnected voices that temporally and spatially fell within the boundaries of the Russian Empire in its various forms. It looks into the case of the market-driven umbrella terms of “Russian art” and “Russian avant-garde,” as presented in several exhibitions in major Western museums between 2016 and 2019, dedicated to the centennial of the October Revolution, often called the Russian Revolution. The research focuses on the artists connected to Ukraine. It attempts to do them epistemic justice by restoring the complexity of the interconnections, contexts, and traditions they grew out of and were inspired by, as well as the ones they reworked, deconstructed, and revolutionized. By referring to decolonial thinkers, it combines and compares how imperial thinking, frames of reference, and coloniality work in symbolic and knowledge production.

Essay by Kateryna Botanova December 10, 2024

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR: The tragedy of the cultural heritage of Ukraine

This article exposes the extent of Russian cultural aggression: the looting of museums and appropriation of items of the Ukrainian museum foundation, the damage to and demolition of archaeological sites of Ukraine, the explosion of the Kakhovka dam and the consequences of this disaster for Ukrainian cultural heritage, and the cultural erasure of Crimean Tatars.

Essay by Elmira Ablyalimova et al December 10, 2024

War as a trigger THE AGGRAVATION OF INTER-ORTHODOX RELATIONS IN UKRAINE AND THE WORLD

In this article the authors seek to analyze the difficult situation in which Orthodoxy finds itself in Ukraine. It shows that as a result of the Russian Federation’s military attack on sovereign Ukraine, inter-Orthodox relations, already complicated, have been further challenged. The authors investigate the factors that aggravate inter-Orthodox relations, their influence on world Orthodoxy, the reaction of Ukrainian citizens to confrontation in the religious sphere, and possible ways of overcoming inter- Orthodox confrontation.

Essay by Hanna Kulahina-Stadnichenko and Liudmyla Fylypovych December 10, 2024

Catching the Specter: Stepan Bandera between Myth, Meme, Death, and Memory in War-Turn Ukraine

In this essay, the author is engaging with the transforming presence of Stepan Bandera (1909-1959) in the Ukrainian social media space between 2014 and 2024. Building along and against the mainstream discussions on collective memory, The author argues that with the presence of war, the Ukrainian social media users memefied Bandera, making him a useful tool for politically-driven activities and an emptied signifier to be used in ironic contexts. The author also shows that in war-torn Ukraine, the meme and the myth of Bandera are intertwined with the commemorations of those who died on the frontline, which requires a nuanced understanding of the country’s changing memory landscape.

Essay by Yevhen Yashchuk November 5, 2024

Who gets to speak about the past?

This essay reflects on the issues of the past, memory practices, decolonisation, and reconciliation, as discussed during the 2024 CBEES Summer School. The author applies these reflections to think of her own research on LGBTQ+ Ukrainians’ wartime embodied relationalities, and how the discussed issues might manifest for her studied group. She further reflects on importance of positionality in discussions on postwar memory.

Essay by Eugenia Seleznova October 7, 2024

How Are We Going to Remember? Envisioning Postwar Memory and Commemoration in Ukraine

This essay explores the intersection of personal reflection and Ukraine’s collective journey towards reconciliation amid the ongoing war with Russia. Set against the peaceful backdrop of a CBEES Summer School, the author delves into the challenges of memory construction, highlighting Ukraine’s historical complexities and the importance of inclusive memorialization in shaping a unified postwar identity. The essay draws comparisons with Eastern Europe’s post-communist memory work, emphasizing reconciliation and social cohesion.

Essay by Eva Ievgeniia Babenko October 2, 2024

Maidan, memory, and museum Relations between aesthetics and revolution, 2014–2021

This paper delves into the ways in which art and cultural expressions have helped to preserve the memory of the Ukrainian Revolution and how the Maidan Museum contributes to this effort. Specifically, the study explores the significance of the Maidan event in Ukraine’s national memory culture and how it is being integrated into the country’s historical narrative as part of the decommunization and decolonization processes. Additionally, the text examines how the politics of memory, as expressed through the museum’s performances and aesthetics, can serve as a tool of collective and national resistance. Ultimately, the article argues that the Maidan event is not fixed but rather dynamic, and Maidan memory plays a critical role in Ukraine’s ongoing transition away from a shared historical past with Russia.

By Galyna Kutsovska April 23, 2024

What art knows about democracy The aesthetics of the Revolution in Ukraine 2013–2014

Based in part on interviews and fieldwork, this article analyzes how artworks produced during the Ukrainian Revolution (2013–2014) present the political emergence of the Ukrainian people as a collective fused by bonds of solidarity. At first characterized by a strong universal thrust, presenting a boundless democratic anticipation, this solidarity was subsequently contained by religious-political traditions and specific forms of self-sacrificing and masculinist nationalism, often projected as a revolutionary utopia in its own right, which has been operationalized in the defense against Russia’s invasion. To substantiate the argument, the text analyzes numerous artworks from the Ukrainian Revolution. These interpretations demonstrate how aesthetic acts contribute to the production of bonds of solidarity that transcend existing modes of political and cultural representation of Ukraine.

By Stefan Jonsson April 23, 2024