The emergence of a modern Ukrainian nation raises questions about national existence, history's influence, and post-colonial multilingual dynamics.
Nations like Ukraine, embroiled in Soviet and Nazi terror, reflect on past tragedies to shape future promises and potential.
Deep dives
Various Revolutions and Republics in the 1918 Era
In the transition to the 19th and 20th centuries, revolutions and republics arise. The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 attempts to start anew but faces weighty historical legacies. The lecture delves into the foundation of the Polish, West Ukrainian National, and Ukrainian National Republics, highlighting the challenges faced in breaking away from imperial pasts.
Legacy of the Habsburg Monarchy and Russian Empire's Endings
The Habsburg monarchy, existing for over 500 years, comes to an end in 1918. Similarly, the Russian Empire, dating back to the 15th and 18th centuries, concludes in 1917. Despite attempts at fresh starts, history indicates continuing legacies post-empire collapses.
Industrialization Shifts in Eastern Ukraine
The industrialization shift in Southeast Ukraine's Donbas region starts in the 1870s, becoming a coal mining hub. Foreign companies, like John Hughes from Wales, play a role in the region's development. The coal production, under internal tariffs, signifies a colonial exploitation pattern within the Russian Empire.
National Self-Determination Amidst Empires' Decline
National self-determination principles emerge post-empire collapses. Lenin's strategic use of globalization theories guides Bolshevik Revolution intentions for a worldwide uprising. Amidst chaos and power struggles, Ukraine declares independence, leading to conflicts with various armies. The treaties signed eventually divide territories between Poland and the Soviet Union, marking a new East-West separation.
Class 13 details the converging forces and end of empires.
Timothy Snyder is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. He speaks five and reads ten European languages.
Ukraine must have existed as a society and polity on 23 February 2022, else Ukrainians would not have collectively resisted Russian invasion the next day. What does it mean for a nation to exist? Is this a matter of structures, actions, or both? Why has the existence of Ukraine occasioned such controversy? In what ways are Polish, Russian, and Jewish self-understanding dependent upon experiences in Ukraine? Just how and when did a modern Ukrainian nation emerge? For that matter, how does any modern nation emerge? Why some and not others? Can nations be chosen, and can choices be decisive? If so, whose, and how? Ukraine was the country most touched by Soviet and Nazi terror: what can we learn about those systems, then, from Ukraine? Is the post-colonial, multilingual Ukrainian nation a holdover from the past, or does it hold some promise for the future?
Course reading list
Video version of this course available on YouTube.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
