Culture, Nation, & Identity: The Ukrainian-Russian Encounter (1600-1945)

The series of four sessions on the Russian-Ukrainian encounter held alternately at Columbia University and Cologne University from June 1994 to September 1995 had their origin in both the world of great political events and the world of scholarly discussion. Ukraine's declaration of independence, ratified by the referendum of 1 December 1991, and subsequent international recognition were followed by the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 25 December 1991. These developments made Ukrainian-Russian relations a major international issue. A new, difficult, and uncertain phase in these relations began with the establishment of these two independent neighbouring states. Since Russia would clearly remain a major world power, while Ukraine was the largest and one of the most populous states of Europe, those relations took on more than binational significance. The future of the post-Soviet order depends largely on how these two largely Slavic countries work out their relations. The editors of Culture, Nation, and Identity, representing the Seminar for East European History at Cologne University, the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta, invited seventy specialists to examine the Russian-Ukrainian encounter in four chronological symposia, from the seventeenth century to the present. The papers on the contemporary period were published in the Harriman Review. The present volume is a selection of sixteen articles developed from presentations on the Ukrainian-Russian encounter from the early modern period to World War II. Historians and Slavists from Canada, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States employ diverse methodologies to examine the many spheres in which Russians and Ukrainians and their identities and cultures interacted. This title consists of sixteen essays, a preface, and an afterword. Contributors include Viktor Zhivov, Zenon E. Kohut, Frank E. Sysyn, Paul Bushkovitch, Andreas Kappeler, Olga Andriewsky, Serhy Yekelchyk, Dieter Pohl, Yuri Shapoval, and many others.