War and Peace: Exploring Contemporary Uk

On 24 February 2022 Russia attacked Ukraine. How did we get there? This seminar will explore the complex relationship between Ukraine, Russia, and the West on the eve of Russia’s war in Ukraine. We will cover Ukraine’s pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet history, with special attention to the country’s current political, social, and cultural issues, including the legacies of the past in post-1991 Ukraine, corruption, the power of oligarchs, the role of mass civic protests such as Euromaidan, Ukraine’s new cultural achievements, decommunization, post-Soviet urbanism, the shaping of an inclusive civic identity, and the challenge of radical nationalism in the wake of the Russian invasion. Students will learn why Ukraine and Russia have followed diverging political paths since 2000. The seminar will also provide students with tools for verifying information in the fast-moving context of war. Finally, students will be asked to think about and develop postwar scenarios.