On Friday, November 27, Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak will deliver RAAM’s tenth annual lecture in the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam. Hrytsak is the author of the best-selling book Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation. In his lecture, he will unravel Ukraine’s complex history, which has more in common with our own history than we sometimes realise.
Since the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022, all eyes in Europe have been fixed on Ukraine. Until then, to the outside world, it was little more than a ‘borderland’, as the country’s name is often translated. Erroneously so, according to Yaroslav Hrytsak, who is a professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv.
In fact, Ukraine was often situated in the very heart of Europe, rather than on the continent’s periphery. All major confrontations between East and West played out, to varying degrees, in Ukraine. Over the centuries, the country has been shaped by numerous Western influences that bypassed Russia entirely.
On November 27, in the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam, Yaroslav Hrytsak will dive into a Ukrainian past that has long remained hidden from the general public and is denied by Russia: a European history that continues to shape how Ukrainian civil society resists oppression and imperialism to this very day.
This event will be in English. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A with journalist Kysia Hekster (NOS), and a musical conclusion by a renowned Ukrainian chamber group.
This event is co-organised by Platform RAAM and Rode Hoed.
About Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation:
"Hrytsak’s vivid, sweeping book lays bare the enduring pride that persuaded his countrymen to resist Russian aggression and offers grounds for hope. ~ Luke Harding, The Guardian
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"Anyone who has time to read only one of the outstanding publications on Ukraine would be well served by this work. ~ Frank Herold, Tagesspiegel
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"Hrytsak is such a master of his sources that he has no need to be contrarian for the sake of effect. The Forging of a Nation offers a wealth of knowledge and analysis to both layperson and expert. ~ Hubert Smeets, RAAM
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Founded in 2016, Platform RAAM aims to deepen understanding in the Netherlands of political, social, and cultural developments in Eastern Europe. In line with this mission, RAAM considers it essential to invite colleagues from the countries in question and provide them with a platform to share their perspectives.
