History of Ukraine: Statehood and Identity, Lectures

The course consists of lectures. We study historical works and historians of Ukraine published in English language or in English translation as well as additional primary sources written by experts. The course addresses core questions of how Ukraine´s statehood and identity was formed and cemented. We discover how Ukraine´s history has been impacted by economic, political, societal and international relations developments and begin our examination from the 17^th century onwards. The course deals with the emergence of the Soviet Union from the perspective of Ukraine´s development and also the contribution Ukrainian historical figures made towards the USSR. We examine the post-Soviet transition towards democracy. Key topics including the Orange Revolution (2004-2005) and Euromaidan (2013-2014) uprisings as well as Nato´s 2008 Bucharest summit to shed light on the nature of development of Ukraine as a regional and international actor. We consider the relationship between Ukraine´s post-Communist development and the European Union and international politics. We examine the ongoing Russia´s war of aggression against Ukraine.