Myroslav Shkandrij is a prominent scholar of Ukrainian cultural history and Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba in Canada.

He has written extensively on topics such as avant-garde art in Ukraine, Ukrainian nationalism, Jews in Ukrainian literature, cultural imperialism, and decolonization.

His book “Russia and Ukraine: Literature and the Discourse of Empire, from Napoleonic to Postcolonial Times”, published in 2001, remains a classic text on Russian cultural imperialism and Ukrainian resistance to it.

Find the book here: https://diasporiana.org.ua/literaturoznavstvo/shkandrij-m-russia-and-ukraine-literature-and-the-discourse-of-empire-from-napoleonic-to-postcolonial-times/

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I invited Myroslav to revisit this work and reflect on how literature has, for centuries, served as a battleground of ideas between Russia and Ukraine.

My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko. I’m a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

UkraineWorld.org is an English-language media outlet that explores Ukraine and its connections to the wider world. It is run by Internews Ukraine.

Choose your platform: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

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Donations are welcome via PayPal at: [email protected].

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This episode is made in partnership with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and under the framework of the project “HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine”, co-funded by the EU within the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Policy Debate action.

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Contents:

00:00 - Intro. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

08:46 - Why is assimilation so crucial to Russian imperialism?

16:59 - Were there any anti-imperial voices within Russian culture?

21:30 - Who were the key figures of Ukrainian intellectual resistance in the 19th century?

35:33 - Why did Ukraine's fight for independence fail after 1917?

40:56 - How does "decolonization" theory apply to Ukraine's struggle?