On January 27, 2023, on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, at the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the 16th round table “Ukrainian society and the memory of the Holocaust: the experience of the modern war against Ukraine” was held. The scientific round table was co-organized by the Ukrainian Center for the Study of the History of the Holocaust, the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine with the support of the “Learning to Remember” project of the Jewish community of Dusseldorf.

In 2005, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution No. 60/7, declaring January 27 the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust. The resolution emphasizes the importance of education and awareness-raising in order to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and prevent future manifestations of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice. At the state level, Ukraine joined the commemoration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2011. In accordance with the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine dated 07/05/2011 No. 3560-VI “On the 70th anniversary of the Babyny Yar tragedy”, Ukraine annually celebrates Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

The participants of the round table observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and the victims of the modern war against Ukraine

Non-governmental scientific and educational institutions of Ukraine joined the celebration of this day immediately after the adoption of the UN Resolution.

This year’s round table “Ukrainian society and memory of the Holocaust” took place in the conditions of a full-scale war, unleashed against our state by the Russian aggressor. That is why the accents of all reports and discussions were dictated by the age and objective circumstances. The focus, as always, was on modern research and educational methods in this area, the issue of commemorating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, combating discrimination, anti-Semitism, Gypsies phobia, and any manifestations of genocide. Leading scientists, educators, public figures and officials representing different regions of the country: Kharkiv, Odesa, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Poltava, the capital of Ukraine, were invited to participate in the work of the round table.

Oleksandr Mayboroda is speaking

The round table was opened by the Deputy Director for scientific work of our Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Oleksandr Mayboroda. In his speech, he emphasized that the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has always supported studies on Jewish history and culture, in particular research on the history of the Holocaust, preservation of the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in modern Ukraine, ethno-political aspects of this issue. We have special challenges in this area now, during the Russian attack on our country, emphasized Professor O. Mayboroda.

One of the speakers of the round table was the Leading Researcher of the Department of Political Culture and Ideology of the Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Yuriy Nikolaiets. He gave a speech “Historical memory of the Second World War: manipulation in the conditions of Russian aggression.” The focus of this speech was the analysis of modern falsifications of the history of the Second World War by the aggressor country. The distorted history of that war is one of the cornerstones of the enemy’s anti-Ukrainian propaganda, which was actively exploited by him throughout the war.

Yuriy Nikolaiets is speaking

One of the central reports of the round table was the speech of Oksana Dovgopolova, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Philosophy of the Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University located in Odesa, curator of the memory culture platform “Past / Future / Art”. The speaker presented the topic “Mutual reflections of “final decisions”: memory of the Holocaust in the light of the Russian-Ukrainian war.” It was about current challenges for Ukrainian academic humanities and historical education regarding responsible and professional comparisons of the crimes of National Socialism, Communism and modern Russian ideology and practice.

During the work of the round table

 The round table was moderated by a leading researcher of the Department of Ethnopolitics of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Candidate of Historical Sciences Anatoliy Podolskiy. During the closing of the round table, the moderator emphasized that the memory of the past, the responsibility to remember it now – during the war – is also a weapon. The ability, under the current conditions, when the Russian aggressor destroys our lives every day, to remember the victims of the Second World War, especially the victims of the Holocaust, is a testament to the strength of our spirit. We live on our land, honoring the past and choosing right now our right to live in a free country, where human life, freedom, human rights, and dignity are indisputable values.

All presentations of the round table “Ukrainian society and memory of the Holocaust: the experience of the modern war against Ukraine” have video recordings (each report is recorded separately) and will soon be available for viewing on the YouTube platform.

Round table program

More about the round table

Photo gallery

On January 24, 2023, an All-Ukrainian round table was held at the Research Institute of Ukraine Studies of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dedicated to the Day of the Unity of Ukraine, the 104th anniversary of the proclamation of the Unification Act of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic (January 22, 1919) and the 105th anniversary of the publication of the IV Universal of the Central Council and the declaration of independence of Ukraine (January 22, 1918).

The main researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of our Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor T. A. Bevz, took part in the work of the All-Ukrainian Round Table, and delivered a report “Updating the topic of unification in political discourse.” The speaker emphasized the relevance of the subject of the Unity in the conditions of a full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. At the beginning of her report, Tetyana Bevz thanked the defenders of Ukraine and the captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine V. Ya. Mykhailenko, who was personally present at the event, for their heroic fight against the Russian aggressors. The speaker also emphasized that the unity is the basis of the resistance of Ukrainians to the Russian occupiers, the unity is the singleness on which the Ukrainian state rests, and unity is “the foundation of our successes, the guarantee of a strong independent state and the restoration of its territorial integrity. This is a fundamental value for us.”

Tetyana Bevz

In the speaker’s opinion, the study of the phenomenon of Unity needs a new understanding in the context of modern challenges and threats. The subject of the study should be not only memories of the turbulent events of that time, scientific works, but also modern social and political events, conceptualization of the very idea of Unity.

Today, the Unity of Ukraine means the de-occupation of all its temporarily occupied territories, the restoration of singleness with Donetsk region, Luhansk region and Crimea. And it is no coincidence that the slogan of this year’s Unity Day is: “Ukraine is united.” Together to victory!”, “We are returning ours. Unity is the goal of Victory.”

The speaker expressed her confidence that the idea of Unity is determined primarily by the unity of values, ideals and interests of the citizens of Ukraine, the main goal of which is currently victory over the enemy.

After the work of the round table, its participants watched the performance of the Mariupol Theater of the author’s play, dedicated to the current events of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the fate of the citizens of Ukraine (children, youth, adults and elderly people) who got into the terrifying grinds of war. The performance of the actors, who became refugees in their own country, made a deep impression on the audience.

More about the round table

The text of O. Kondratenko’s monograph “Ukraine in world democracy ratings” is posted on the Institute’s website in the “Our Publications” section.

The monograph highlights the issue of political governance in Ukraine according to world ratings of democracy. Scientific studies and analytical reports of such international non-governmental organizations as “Freedom House”, “The Economist Intelligence Unit”, “Reporter without Borders” and others are taken into account. Based on the analysis of these materials, the dynamics of the index and rating of Ukraine’s democracy against the background of the state of global freedom during 1996–2021 – the period of active monitoring of Ukrainian political processes – were determined. The monograph is intended for social scientists, politicians, experts and all those interested in the issues of democratization of governmental processes in Ukraine.

Text of the monograph (PDF)

On the eve of the Day of Unity of Ukraine, on January 19, 2023, at the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Scientific Conference “The Unity of Ukraine: History and Modernity” was held. The conference was co-organized by V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University.

More than 50 scientists from different regions of Ukraine took part in the work of the All-Ukrainian scientific event. Students of V. I. Vernadsky Taurida National University took part in the work of the conference.

Conference program

The Director of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Oleg Oleksiyovych Rafalskiy. He congratulated the participants of the conference on behalf of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and emphasized the urgency of the problem to which the conference is devoted, not only from a scientific point of view, but also from a political point of view.

The theme of the unity of Ukraine, noted O. O. Rafalskiy, resonates especially in the current times, when our people are again forced to defend themselves and their state, as it was more than a hundred years ago. The Unification Act, adopted at the meeting on Sofia Square on January 22, 1919, is a significant milestone in our history. This fateful event was forever etched in the memory of the people of Ukraine. Evaluating the events of that time, it is necessary to emphasize their historical determinism, based on the primordial dream of Ukrainians for an independent and united state. In the end, O. O. Rafalskiy emphasized, it was born of the revolutionary struggle of manifestations of the will of Ukrainians for ethnic and territorial consolidation, evidence of a powerful urge to form a political nation.

Oleg Rafalskiy

As it is known, the conciliar aspirations of the Ukrainians at that time were not realized due to a number of subjective and objective factors. However, the non-implementation of the Unification Act cannot override its historical and ideological-political significance. After all, it was an example of a conscious unification movement, a civilized gathering of ethnic territories in a single sovereign state. This example of unity left a deep mark in the fate and historical memory of the Ukrainian people, and in the following decades it remained a powerful integrational factor and a high ideological imperative of all political forces and camps without exception.

At the end of his speech, O. O. Rafalskiy noted that the organization of scientific and scientific-practical events dedicated to the problems of the Ukrainian revolution, Ukrainian statehood and Ukrainian unity is an established tradition. Each such event, as well as the current conference, marks a certain milestone in the research development of an extremely important topic, leaving behind new ideas, report materials, collections of articles, special issues of specialized publications. O. Rafalskiy wished a creative mood to the participants of the scientific conference and ended his speech by mentioning the famous saying of the ancient Latins: “Ubi сoncordia, ibi victoria!” (Where there is harmony, there is victory!).

In his greeting to the participants of the scientific event, the director of the Educational and Scientific Humanitarian Institute of the V. I. Vernadsky Taurida National University, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Ihor Kudrya emphasized the political relevance of the topic of the All-Ukrainian scientific conference. He noted that the Day of Unity, as a national holiday, is perceived in a special way now, when the unity of the people of Ukraine is a necessary prerequisite for victory in the resistance to Russia’s military aggression against our country.

Kudrya emphasized the role of historical memory in the formation of the worldview of modern student youth, noted the thoughtfulness of the conference program and the comprehensiveness of the topics of the speeches proposed in it. At the end of his address to the participants of the conference, I. Kudrya wished success in its work and expressed confidence in its effectiveness.

The Chief Researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Tetyana Bevz spoke with the report “The Phenomenon of the Unity of Ukraine in Political Discourse“.

Tetyana Bevz

The speaker, in particular, noted that the idea of the unity of all Ukrainian territories has always been relevant, since Unity is one of the basic concepts of Ukrainian statehood. The topic of Unity remains among the top priorities on the agenda of national tasks. The integrity and unity of Ukraine are fundamental values of Ukrainian statehood. Outlining the political relevance of Sobornost, the President of Ukraine V. Zelenskiy emphasized that “Proclamation of Unification Act is an important page in the annals of state formation, and now, after more than a century, we understand that the unity of Ukraine is not only about history, it is about our present and future “.

During the work of the scientific conference

And indeed, the speaker pointed out, Unity is not only a memory of the past, but also the present – united joint work and interaction, unity in resisting Russian military aggression.

Bevz emphasized that in the current conditions of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the political essence of the phenomenon of unity, national and political unity, and cohesion in defense of the country’s territorial integrity needs a new understanding and interpretation. In the conditions of war, it is important to understand the value of the unified Ukrainian state, its unity. Preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine, strengthening the unity of its regions, the diversity and distinction of which have developed as a result of historical circumstances, will continue to be a relevant and urgent task. T. Bevz stressed that the study of the phenomenon of unity requires modern scientific theories that offer a different perspective not only on history, political science, but also on politics.

In the speeches of the participants of the conference, a number of scientific problems in historical and modern dimensions were highlighted. Doctor of Political Sciences, Associate Professor V. Yaremchuk – leading researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine devoted his speech to the development of the idea of the unity of Ukraine during the First World War. The problems of the Eastern Galician issue in the international workshop (1920s) – Сandidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Philosophy and History of the V. I. Vernadsky National University Z. Zahojay.

The interest of the participants of the conference was aroused by the speeches of the Professor of the Department of International Relations and Social Sciences of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, O. Lyubovets “The first attempt to annex Crimea in the 1990s as a manifestation of the imperial ambitions of the Russian Federation” and Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy and History of the V. I. Vernadsky Taurida National University E. Goryunova – “Crimea as an inseparable part of the united Ukraine“.

During the work of the scientific conference

Most of the speeches of the participants of the scientific conference were devoted to contemporary events and the role of ideas of union in the processes of social consolidation: “The union of Ukraine in the light of the civilizational analysis of history” – Doctor of Historical Sciences V. Kosmina, “The Jewish community and the unity of Ukraine: the challenges of today. Ukrainian Jews in the struggle against Russian aggression” – a leading researcher of the Department of Ethnopolitics of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Candidate of Historical Sciences A. Podolskiy, “Decentralization in Ukraine: Tests by War” – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, M. Gorbatyuk, and others. O. Yaremchuk, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Leading Researcher of the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, devoted his speech to the political and psychological problems of the consolidation of Ukrainian society at the current stage of state formation.

In the online format, the Head of the Department of Political Science of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor A. Romanyuk (“Transformations of Ukraine’s political parties on the eve of the war: what’s next?“), Leading Researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Political Sciences V. Grynevych (“The Unity of Ukrainian Lands in Stalin’s Style (1939-1945)“), Senior Researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Candidate of Political Sciences O. Zorych (“The concept of unity as a factor of social transformations“) and others. The speeches of the Deputy Director for scientific work of the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine L. Naidyonova and Professor of the State University of Infrastructure and Technologies, Doctor of Psychological Sciences M. Naidyonov devoted their speeches to issues of socio-psychological components of modern socio-political processes.

The scientific conference was moderated by the Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Yu. Shaihorodskyi.

The summaries of the participants’ speeches are planned to be published in the collection of materials of the All-Ukrainian scientific conference “The Unity of Ukraine: History and Modernity”.

The Chief Researcher at the Department of Political Culture and Ideology of our Institute, Doctor of Political Sciences, Volodymyr Kulyk, ordered from KIIS a survey on language and identity with the help of a grant from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

According to Volodymyr Kulyk, the most important change compared to the 2017 survey is a sharp increase in the share of respondents who (say that) speak mainly Ukrainian in everyday life, and a corresponding decrease in the share of Russian language speakers. In December 2022, 41% of respondents said that they communicate only in Ukrainian, another 17% – “in most situations” in Ukrainian, on the other hand, 6% speak only Russian, and mainly Russian – 9% (another 24% said that they use both languages “equally”).

Compared to 2017, the share of full and predominant Ukrainian speakers increased by 8%, and the share of Russian speakers decreased by as much as 11%. The regional distribution is even more impressive: even in the East and South, according to the answers, Ukrainian speakers are now no less than Russian speakers (29% versus 27%).

As for identity, the results of the survey show that compared to 2017 (then, of course, respondents were asked who they “consider themselves to be by nationality”), the share of Ukrainian nationality increased by 7%, while the share of Russian nationality decreased by 5%, and the share of dual nationality decreased by 2%. Now, even in the South and East, as many as 90% associate themselves with Ukrainian nationality, while five years ago it was only 64%. Judging by these data, Ukraine has, in fact, ceased to be a multi-ethnic state, because untitled nationalities make up only a few percent of the population. Accordingly, ethnopolitics will not play a significant role in the national political process, although it will remain a factor in some regions and in Ukraine’s relations with international organizations that care about minority rights.

The survey was conducted from December 4 to 27, 2022, and 2,005 respondents who lived in Ukraine at that time (within the boundaries controlled by the Ukrainian authorities until February 24, 2022) were interviewed by telephone interviews using a computer. The maximum error of the survey results is 2.4%.

Information about our colleague’s research is posted on the website of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

 More about the results of the study

On January 12-13, 2023, the International Scientific Conference “Democracy in the Process of Changes” was held at Maria Sklodowska-Curie University (Poland). In their speeches, the participants of the conference emphasized that the Russian military aggression became a catalyst for radical changes not only in Ukraine and in the countries that support it in the fight against the enemy, but also in the Russian Federation itself.

At the panel discussion of the conference “Democracy vs. dictatorship in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine”, the Head of the department of Political institutions and processes of our Institute, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Professor Galyna Zelenko, presented her report on the topic “Russian military aggression as a catalyst for socio-political transformations in Ukraine”.

International scientific conference “Democracy in the process of changes”

For a long time, the speaker noted, socio-political processes in Ukraine developed extremely contradictory. A high level of paternalism, political absenteeism, a rather low level of political culture, and the inability to use the so-called “tools of democracy” were present and hindered the development of democracy. The consequence of these and other phenomena was the radicalization of the political scene, a low level of trust and, accordingly, membership in political parties, public organizations, public anomie and distrust of state authorities, sometimes polar opposite foreign policy orientations, etc.

However, during the years of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which began in 2014, significant changes occurred in the political identity of Ukrainians. So far, socio-political divisions caused by the dilemma of national, linguistic or religious (church) self-identification, and the choice of foreign policy priorities have significantly weakened. These changes enabled, along with the existing clan-oligarchic system, the country’s dynamic movement in the direction of Euro-Atlantic structures.

During the work of the international conference

The speaker noted that now there is every reason to talk about the completion of the process of forming a political nation in Ukraine, about significant gains in the development of social capital, which is based on institutional trust, caused in particular by such a phenomenon as volunteerism, etc. That is, G. Zelenko emphasized, there have been significant qualitative shifts in the socio-cultural sphere, thanks to which a peculiar window of opportunities is being formed for qualitative changes in the political regime in Ukraine. At the same time, according to the speaker, war is primarily a terrible human and colossal economic loss, which forms potential lines of socio-political divisions and which should already be the subject of accurate study.

Doctor of Political Sciences, Senior Researcher of the Department of Global Political Development Problems of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Sergiy Rymarenko, who conducts research at the University of Sydney under the SAR program, gave a speech “Ethnic relations and democratization” at the scientific seminar “Justice, Peace and Conflict” of the School of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Sydney.

The speaker touched on several topics: “Can new European models of liberal pluralism contribute to the democratization and stabilization of Ukraine?”, “Democratic transitions and ethnicity”, “Theoretical foundations of Western models of minority rights. Fundamental principles and practices”.

Researchers from Australia, the USA, Chile, Germany and other countries took part in the work of the scientific seminar.

Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine became a member of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). ECPR is a Charitable Non-Governmental Organization (CIO) registered and based in the UK.

The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) was founded in 1970 by a group of twelve European universities with the aim of overcoming national barriers and creating a strong international community of scholars in Europe. The consortium is the leading scientific society of political scientists in Europe.

Currently, the Consortium has more than 300 institutional members, uniting tens of thousands of scientists and representing almost 50 countries of the world.

ECPR unites political scientists in a global network for the development of researches in the field of political science and the promotion of international scientific cooperation by:

• conducting methodological and professional training to promote the career growth of graduate students and researchers;
• providing forums for the development of researches and the formation of cooperation networks;
• issuing grants and ensuring the possibility of funding for scientists;
• managing a prestigious publishing program that shares the latest researches with the widest possible audience.

The organization is headed by Jean Blondel and Stein Rokkan.

ECPR official website: https://ecpr.eu/

By the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated December 23, 2022 No. 1166 at the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine formed a specialized academic council for awarding the scientific degree of Doctor of Sciences D 26.181.01.

Specialization of the specialized scientific council of the Institute:

• 23.00.01 – Theory and history of political science.
• 23.00.02 – Political institutions and processes.
• 23.00.05 – Ethnopolitics and ethno-state studies.

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has published the results of the competition for conducting scientific works under the program “Supporting the development of priority areas of scientific researches” for 2023-2024.

The scientific project of our Institute “Adaptive changes in the functioning of the political system of Ukraine in the conditions of war and post-war reconstruction” was recognized as the winner of the competition under the priority direction “Ukrainian society in the conditions of war, post-war transformation and European integration”.

The text of the monograph „Crises of political development in Ukraine: causes, content and methods of leveling”.

The monograph analyzes political development crises as components of the modernization crisis syndrome. The neo-institutional approach, which is the basis of the proposed research, made it possible to analyze the development of Ukraine during the years of independence through the prism of crisis phenomena, which have a systemic and permanent nature and, in their combination, convergence and interpenetration, slow down, and sometimes make impossible, the processes of democratization. Crises of political development, among which the authors analyze the crisis of identity, the crisis of legitimacy, the crisis of penetration, the crisis of distribution, and the crisis of participation in their interaction, as well as due to extremely contradictory external influences due to a specific geopolitical environment (between two large centers of power, which is also analyzed in the monograph), have effectively led to the trials and tribulations that the Ukrainian state is currently undergoing.

The monograph is intended for social scientists, politicians, experts and anyone interested in the political development of Ukraine.

On December 22, 2022, during the meeting of the Institute’s academic council, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University and the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

The subject of the agreement was the combination of efforts of institutions for joint activities in the scientific, educational and social spheres in the following areas:

• exchange of scientific information, materials of international and all-Ukrainian conferences, monographic literature and professional publications, as well as special computer programs;
• participation in the development of joint research programs, the work of scientific conferences and symposia;
• professional development of scientific and pedagogical personnel;

Signing the agreement

• reviewing scientific and scientific-pedagogical products, scientific-methodical developments at the request of the Parties;
• creation of conditions for the publication of scientific products within the limits of scientific research work plans and publishing capabilities of the Parties;
• providing the opportunity for employment if there are vacancies and fulfilling the conditions of competitive selection.

Oleg Rafalskiy and Yevgen Sobol exchange copies of the agreement

On behalf of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Oleg Rafalskiy, the director, and Yevgen Sobol, the rector of the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed our colleague – Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, famous religious scholar Viktor Yevgenovych Yelensky as the Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience.

Among the main tasks of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience is the implementation of state policy in the field of international relations, religion and the protection of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine.

Viktor Yelensky

Pursuant to the Decree of the President of Ukraine and the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, on December 6, 2022, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience received the status of a central body of executive power with subordinate directly to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Within a two-month period, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience is tasked with conducting a theological examination of the Statute on the Administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the presence of a church-canonical connection with the Moscow Patriarchate, and if necessary, to take the measures provided for by the law.

The appointment of V. Yelensky as the Head of the State Service is an evidence of high confidence in him as a statesman, patriot and scientist.

The staff of the Institute congratulates its colleague on the appointment to a high state position, wishes him inspiration and perseverance in the implementation of complex tasks in the formation of state policy in the field of religion and ethnic communities.

On December 6-7, 2022, the conference “Thirty years after the collapse of the USSR from the perspective of Warsaw” was held at the University of Warsaw.

As part of the conference, a round table devoted to armed conflicts (wars) in the post-Soviet space and its prospects was held, the moderator of which was the Head of the Department of Political Institutions and Processes of our Institute, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Galyna Zelenko.

The participants of the round table representing Azerbaijan, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan characterized the essence of the armed conflicts taking place in their countries, the ratio of internal and external prerequisites of these conflicts.

During the round table

The main focus of the participants of the round table was on the impact of Russian military aggression against Ukraine on socio-political transformations in the post-Soviet space. The participants agreed that the future of the geopolitical space that will emerge from the so-called “post-Soviet” space, including the territory of present-day Russia, will depend on how the Russian-Ukrainian war ends. Probably, the Russian military aggression has already started the disintegration processes in these territories, since these countries, for the sake of self-preservation, on the one hand, are allegedly maneuvering in this military conflict, not accepting anyone’s side, and on the other hand, their society, in view of the dangers to their independence, understand the potential danger of Russian expansionist policy.

From November 28 to December 1, 2022, a meeting of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) was held in Gothenburg (Sweden).

Plenary sessions of the forum, which were attended by experts, political representatives, representatives of international organizations and civil society, contributed to the exchange of opinions regarding the development of the educational and scientific spheres of Holocaust memory.

On November 28, 2022, at the meeting of the Academic Working group of the International Alliance, the leading researcher of our Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Anatoliy Podolskyi, spoke (online).

A. Podolskiy’s speech during the meeting of the IHRA Academic Working Group

In his speech, the scientist emphasized that during the Russian aggression and war against Ukraine, in particular after the enemy’s full-scale invasion into Ukrainian lands, new challenges appeared in the study and preservation of the memory of the Holocaust during the times of the defense of the country against the brutal war crimes of the occupiers. During the years of independence in Ukraine, a scientific school of humanitarian researchers was gradually formed on the issue of Holocaust Studies, this topic became an integral part of the study of the history of the Second World War in educational institutions of the country at all levels.

Also, it was during the years of sovereign Ukraine that the politics and culture of commemorating the victims of the Holocaust appeared and achieved significant success in society and the state.

The Russian aggressor in Ukraine kills people, destroys buildings, cultural monuments, memorial sites, including memorials and memorial signs to Ukrainian Jews – victims of the Holocaust. Bombs and rockets of the enemy hit the terrain of Babyn Yar in Kyiv, destroyed part of the memorial in Drobitsky Yar in Kharkiv. As a result of aggression and war, the teaching of the history of the Holocaust is also changing. Ukrainian scientists and educators have embarked on the path of comparing the crimes of Hitler’s and Putin’s dictatorships.

Russian aggression and the aggressive policy of the Russian occupiers, the speaker noted, are also destroying Ukrainian culture, which is connected with the history of the Jews of Ukraine, a culture that was carefully created during the years of independence. The enemy shows its cave-like, terrible and cruel Ukrainophobia and anti-Semitism.

Learn more about IHRA meetings

On November 22-23, 2022, in Kyiv Mariupol State University organized and held the 3rd International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Phenomenon of Post-Globalism Culture”. In addition to Ukrainian scientists, the participants of the event were scientists from Poland, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, and Greece.

At the plenary session of the conference, the leading researcher of the department of ethno-political science, PhD of political science, associate professor Anastasiia Dehterenko spoke with the report “Ethno-political management and the strategy of the revival of Ukraine in the post-war period“.

The speaker emphasized that at the strategic level of ethnopolitical management, it is necessary to ensure a clear legal framework for ethnopolitics with relevant legislative documents – the “Concept of State Ethnonational Policy of Ukraine”, the updated Law “On National Minorities in Ukraine”; at the tactical level – to ensure the formation of an effective mechanism for the development of specific methods and means of implementing the adopted decisions; on the operative level – in order to implement state ethnopolitics in the regions in conditions of full-scale war, constant population migrations and changes in the location of a large number of ethnic groups (Greeks of the Azov region, Bulgarians of the South, etc.), to identify the actual ethnic structure of the population in the regions, as well as temporary places of residence of a significant part of ethnic groups and to conduct an inventory of the possibilities of intensifying the work of regional centers of national minorities in Ukraine and abroad.

The relevance of the problem to which the report is devoted is due primarily to the fact that transformations in the system of ethno-political management can positively affect the daily life of thousands of Mariupol residents who were forced to leave the temporarily occupied city.

At the conference, the project “Green Corridors. Evacuation of students and teachers of the Mariupol State University from the occupied territory.”

On the website of the Institute, in the “Our Publications” section, is placed an electronic version of the scientific specialist publication – the journal “Political Studies”, the founder of which is the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

In the current issue of the magazine, articles on the problems of the theory and history of political science, the study of political institutions and processes, political culture and ideology, scientific researches on the problems of world political development, ethno-political science and ethno-state science are published.

       Until March 14, 2023, the acceptance of manuscripts of articles that will be published in the next issue (No. 1 (5)’ 2023) of the journal continues. Publication will be made until April 30, 2023.

On November 14, 2022, Anatoliy Podolskiy, a Leading Researcher of the Department of Ethnopolitics of our Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences, gave a lengthy interview to the Hromadske Radio. During the discussion, the issues of historical memory of the Second World War and the history of the Holocaust were discussed.

Why is it important to preserve historical and cultural memory and why was it impossible during the USSR? Why does historical memory help us now to resist the enemy who wants to destroy our state and cultural identity?

In his interview, Anatoliy Podolskiy said in particular: “What is happening now is very important. Russian aggression against us calls into question the teaching of the history of the Second World War, in particular, the history of the Holocaust. Now we can no longer teach the way we taught it until February 24, 2022. We are doomed to associations, comparing the crimes of communism and National Socialism with the crimes of Russia nowadays.”

Anatoly Podolsky during an interview

Also, during the discussion at Hromadske, it was emphasized that during the Soviet period the topic of the Holocaust was silenced, as were the topics of the Ukrainian national movement, the Holodomor, prisoners of war, and forced laborers. The Soviet regime was not interested in people, their suffering and grief. It was profitable for the communist dictatorship to highlight only examples of heroism… Today, we suffer from Russian imperial aspirations, the autocratic regime of our northern neighbor, in particular, because we did not sufficiently highlight the past and memory about it.

At the end of the discussion, A. Podolskiy noted: “Russian aggression has been going on for 8 years and 8 months. And we defend ourselves and destroy the enemy. We will win. Many people give their lives for Ukraine. Now there are many Ukrainian Jews at the front. They, like all citizens of Ukraine, defend their Motherland. Thus, we understand that the tragedy of the Holodomor, the Gulag, and the Holocaust is not someone else’s story. This is our common history…”

Full text and audio recording of the interview

Mykola Riabchuk, a leading researcher at the Department of Political Culture and Ideology of our Institute, gave lectures at US universities.

The topic of the scientists’ report: “Imperial Knowledge and Anti-Colonial Wars: What the Russo-Ukrainian ‘Conflict’ Teaches Us”. M. Riabchuk spoke with it on November 4 – at the Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas); November 10 – at Princeton University (New Jersey).

Southern Methodist University (Dallas, USA)

“Imperial knowledge” was described by the speaker (according to Edward Said) as a system of narratives aimed at silencing, undermining and provincializing the subjugated nations, making them voiceless and almost invisible on the international scene, insofar as the empire monopolizes the authority to speak and act on their behalf. The Russian Empire, the scientist emphasized, has created and disseminated this “knowledge” for several centuries with the help of powerful state institutions, transforming it into “international” knowledge,  adopted in Western media, academia and mass culture and transformed into “common knowledge” and therefore unquestionable “truth” . As a result, the West got used to looking at Russia and its possessions through the prism of that “knowledge”, through “Russian eyes”, not understanding many important things and not reacting to them properly.

Princeton University (Princeton, USA)

The degradation of Putin’s regime into a fascist dictatorship and his genocidal war in Ukraine took place, to a large extent, thanks to the self-poisoning of the West with that “knowledge”, and thus self-blinding. Today, we finally have to radically revise that “knowledge” – within the framework of the belated decolonization of Western mentality and institutions.

On October 27-28, 2022, the 4th All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference “Political Processes of Modernity: Global and Regional Dimensions” was held on the basis of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University. The event was co-organized by the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Scientists of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, teachers of higher education institutions in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Uzhgorod, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Odesa and other cities of Ukraine, as well as students of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University took part in the conference.

The scientific event was opened and moderated by the Head of the Political Science department of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Vasyl Klymonchuk. Professor V. Klymonchuk emphasized the importance of broad public discussion, critical understanding of modern political processes in their global and regional dimensions, development of proposals and recommendations regarding current problems.

The Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Serhiy Sharyn addressed the participants of the conference with a welcome speech. He emphasized that the current meeting of scientists is a response to fundamental requests of society and an understanding of the impact of political processes on the regional and global dimensions of politics, on the challenges facing Ukraine and the world in the context of modern events and a full-scale war.

The deputy director for scientific work of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Oleksandr Mayboroda, who outlined the main scientific directions of the conference, noted the special relevance of the scientific problems brought up for discussion and emphasized the feasibility of further cooperation between scientific institutions in the study of current problems of modern world and Ukrainian politics.

Among the main directions of the conference were:

• Theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of political processes;
• Political institutions and processes at the current stage of social development;
• Elections and electoral processes in Ukraine and the countries of Central-Eastern Europe: global and regional dimensions;
• Consolidation of Ukrainian society: ethnopolitical and valuable dimensions;
• Modern system of international relations. Conflicts and criseses of the 21st century;
• Russian-Ukrainian war: prerequisites, causes and course of the war, consequences for Ukraine, the countries of Central-Eastern Europe and the world.

Conference program

Doctor of Political Sciences, Associate Professor, leading researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Vyacheslav Yaremchuk delivered the report “Ukrainian society in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war (the first consequences of 2022)” at the plenary session of the conference.

The speaker noted that the Ukrainian society, being at the epicenter of the global conflict, received a deep moral and psychological trauma. However, in the conditions of a real threat of annihilation, Ukrainian society (which was largely expected) proved capable of mobilizing efforts in the fight against the aggressor. According to the speaker, a number of factors contributed to this, including a high level of consolidation of Ukrainians (the unification of society in the name of achieving a common goal, as a decisive basis for the self-preservation of the nation), the establishment of the phenomena of solidarity (the presence of agreed interests, a harmonious combination of social and personal) and unity (as a manifestation of the ethno-national consolidating process, the primacy of the territorial integrity of the country), based on the deep-rooted state, spiritual and cultural traditions of Ukrainians, aware of their uniqueness, continuity and inseparable connection of generations with their genetic roots, unification around a common core, which is the Ukrainian state. The consequence of the first months of the Russian-Ukrainian war was that, despite significant losses, the Ukrainian state and its society became stronger and more united. The radical liberation of Ukrainians from the remnants of hostile ideological stratifications and stereotypes, imperial Russian narratives about the past had a significant impact on both the projection of the formation of the future (including the European vector of development) and the consolidation of the Ukrainian political nation, which must be preserved against the background of the emergence of new realities, probable global and regional challenges and threats.

During Vyacheslav Yaremchuk’s report

The report “Russian-Ukrainian War as a Catalyst of Socio-Political Changes in Ukraine” by Galyna Zelenko, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, was devoted to the problems of socio-political transformations in Ukraine under the influence of the full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.

The speaker, analyzing the consequences of the large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, emphasized first of all the significant acceleration of the processes of nation-building. Political scientists compare the development trajectory of transit societies like the Ukrainian one to a square wheel, when a very, very strong push is needed to make it roll to a new edge. Maidans were such impulses in Ukraine. Now such an impetus was given by the war – incomparable in strength with the Maidans, since it is about the survival of the country in principle. What used to take decades is now changing in months or even weeks.

The scientist emphasized that the state of Ukraine turned out to be much stronger than it seemed. Moreover, the national stability of Ukraine, as the war showed, is primarily based on the ability to self-organize. Thus, the latest data of sociological studies indicate that the stage of civic (political) self-identification of Ukraine has passed. The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine practically completed the processes of forming a political nation and significantly eliminated those socio-political divisions that have always created an identity crisis in Ukraine – religion, language, ethnicity, foreign policy orientations. The tragic realities associated with the full-scale Russian invasion contributed to the acceleration of the formation among Ukrainians of certain monadic communities, united around such stable ideologies as a strong nation, a strong state, a single state language, a common enemy, and protection through integration into the EU and NATO. Such results are currently a stable trend, as Ukrainian society has demonstrated them for the eighth year in a row. The national idea of ​​resisting the war with Russia and national revitalization also became prominent in Ukraine. At the same time, problems of a systemic nature will remain in post-war Ukraine, which relate to the institutional capacity of the state. Although the war surprised us in this matter as well, because the state institutions demonstrated unexpected resilience and capacity. And this indicates significant qualitative changes in the system of political institutions.

During Halyna Zelenko’s report

After the plenary session was over, the conference continued its work in a sectional format. Scientists, teachers, graduate students, master’s students and students gave scientific reports and discussed theoretical and methodological approaches to the analysis of modern political processes, trends and direction of modern political processes, electoral processes in Ukraine and in the countries of Central-Eastern Europe, problems of consolidation of Ukrainian society in the ethno-political and value dimensions, dynamics and prospects for the development of political processes in Ukraine and the world, the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Unfortunately, the work of the conference was affected by the realities of martial law in Ukraine. After a few hours of communication between scientists (discussion of speeches and debates), air alarms were announced in Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk, and later the electricity supply was turned off. Despite this, the moderators of the conference managed to bring the scientific event to completion, to formulate scientific and practical recommendations based on its results. Changes to the current format of the scientific and practical conference, which is being held for the fourth year in a row together with the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University were also proposed. It is planned that the next conference will receive international status.