The mission of the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies (CEERES) is to promote research, scholarship, and teaching related to our region. We see this as particularly crucial in the context of a war justified by widespread misinformation and distortions of history, and are committed to supporting and providing factual information, context, and expert perspectives.
This page will serve as a summary of resources and events regarding Ukraine and the current crisis there. It will include both CEERES events and materials as well as resources from other academic institutions and scholars.
Events
CEERES will regularly update our list of events. But for a more comprehensive list of all the events that are happening we highly recommend regularly checking the UKRAINE EVENTS CALENDAR organized by ASEEES.
CEERES Videos and other Resources
Soviet Ukraine In A Nutshell
When the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917 during World War I, the lands of today’s Ukraine became a battleground of violence and instability until 1922. Multiple communities of former tsarist imperial subjects imagined the future in radically different ways. Written by Mayhill Fowler. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, this video is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University.
War in Ukraine Roundtable Discussion
Tymofiy Mylovanov, the President of the Kyiv School of Economics, joins with academic experts from Chicago to offer perspectives on the conflict in Ukraine: the current challenges and hopes for the future. Recorded June 22, 2022.
Life and Organization Management in War-Torn Ukraine
A webinar and a panel discussion with Ukrainian non-profit, education, business, and policy professionals about life and work under the state of war. The panel participants will speak about how they have transitioned their organizations’ activities and management strategies to the realities of the ongoing war. They will share insights about crisis management strategies in the first days of the conflict and how they mobilized their teams to help Ukrainian people in need.
Remaining a Ukrainian Woman: Normative Femininity as "Armor" in the Gulag
In the 1940-50s, tens of thousands of Ukrainian women were sentenced to long-term imprisonment in the Gulag for political accusations. Until recently their experiences of living in the most brutal conditions of the Soviet camps have not been a subject of special research. This lecture examines personal memoirs of the Ukrainian female survivors of Gulag to reveal women’s gendered behaviors and daily practices aimed at preserving their endangered gender identities in confinement.
Nikita Kadan Artist's Talk: "Stone Hits Stone," Recorded from Kyiv
Artist Nikita Kadan (Kyiv) discusses his recent solo show 'STONE HITS STONE,' in which he delves deep into the (Ukrainian) avant-garde and engages with the history of last century in Ukraine. Permeating the entire exhibition are historical events, objects and designs which the artist re-interprets with regard to modern-day pressing need to resist geopolitical failures, and far-right ideologies. Recorded Wednesday, March 16 in Kyiv.
Russian State Media and the War in Ukraine
William Nickell and Anne Eakin Moss discuss internal Russian media and disinformation with Anton Shirikov (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Recorded March 11, 2022.
Roundtable Discussion - Reports from Kyiv, Moscow & Chicago
Panelists Scott Gehlbach,Tymofiy Mylovanov, Monika Nalepa, and Konstantin Sonin discuss recent developments. Recorded March 4, 2022.
PODCAST - The Naked Pravda - "Putin vs Ukrainian history"
"Putin vs Ukrainian history" is an interview by Meduza's Kevin Rothrock with Prof. Faith Hillis (UChicago)
Russia and Ukraine share a complex, tangled history
This interview on NPR's "The World" features Faith Hillis explaining the long, tangled history between Ukraine and Russia: https://theworld.org/media/2022-02-17/russia-and-ukraine-share-complex-tangled-history
How to Lose the Information War
How to Lose the Information War is a CEERES event with Nina Jankowicz and Konstantin Sonin of the University of Chicago about Jankowicz's book "How to Lose the Information War," recorded on October 13, 2020. It focuses on Russia's disinformation campaign in Ukraine.
What is Happening in Russia? Understanding the 2021 Protests
What Is Happening in Russia? Understanding the 2021 Protests is a CEERES panel event focusing on what protests in Russia mean for the Putin regime, recorded May 12, 2021.
UCHICAGO BOOTH ProMarket Ukraine Resources Page
This page collects UChicago Booth school resources on Ukraine and the effects of the war.
Opportunities to help:
The list below is provided solely for informational purposes and does not constitute an endorsement of the organizations, their views, or their services by the University of Chicago. Please ensure you are comfortable with the resource(s) before making any contributions.
Members of the CEERES Executive Board and affiliates are involved in efforts to help scholars at risk in Ukraine. If you know of someone currently at risk who might benefit from a year in Chicago, please contact Prof. Hillis. If you would like to get involved in this project in other ways, please contact ceeres@uchicago.edu.
GoFundMe for Displaced Ukrainian Scholars organized by Faith Hillis.The University of Chicago will be hosting more than half a dozen scholars displaced by the war in Ukraine in the 2022-23 academic year. Our scholars will begin arriving in Chicago in September. We have partnered with the Hyde Park Refugee Project, which is generously providing housing and logistical assistance, but additional funds are needed to pay relocation-related expenses, including rental deposits and the purchase of furniture and other essentials. Your generous support will help our newest community members land on their feet!
The university has a number of scholars at risk arriving this fall. They are accomplished scholars, but they have never been to the US and are going to need a lot of practical support as they adjust to teaching at the university and living in Hyde Park. Please use this form to sign up for volunteer tasks. Most of our needs are one-off and will only require a few hours of commitment. However, if you are interested in being a member of our welcoming team who will work with them over the course of the year, there are opportunities for that as well.
For Ukrainian and Russian-speakers seeking volunteer opportunities, we recommend the Translation Crisis Group, which is looking for volunteer translation/interpretation services in both languages. https://respondcrisistranslation.org/en/get-involved
For those looking to donate, you can use this link to find non-profits and charitable foundations with a history of success and transparent reporting.
Toward Hopeful Skies: Two Ukrainian Children’s Books in Yiddish and English are now for sale, with proceeds going towards Ukrainian relief. These two beautifully illustrated children’s books by Yuriy Budiak were published first in Ukrainian in the 1920s and shortly thereafter in free Yiddish translations. As a testament to the universal appeal of children’s literature and the joyful contact of cultures these translations represent, they are presented trilingually – in the original Ukrainian, in the Yiddish of Yoysef Ravin, and in English translations by Jordan Finkin and Jessica Kirzane. Due to the rarity of the Ukrainian original of the second book, this volume also contains a Ukrainian back-translation from the Yiddish by Oksana Shcherba, sponsored by In geveb. Proceeds of the volume will go to support Ukrainian relief through the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. To purchase this book, please visit this link.
Online Resources
Ukraine research guide - NYU Libraries
This guide assembles recommended literature and other resources for all who are interested in the history of Ukraine and its place in the global context.
Russia's War on Ukraine - HURI
The Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University (HURI) has put together a list of resources for journalists, scholars, and the general public.
Resources for Understanding the Conflict in Ukraine - CSEEES
This is a list of resources, including articles, books, events, and films to help provide context and background for the conflict in Ukraine. The list will be regularly updated.
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Special Focus is a collection of articles by leading experts with their latest analysis on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Feature articles, opinion pieces, and links to pertinent resources have been collected here by the NATO Library staff here for easy access.
Encyclopedia of Ukraine
http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/ is an English language reference source that provides a lot of background information on Ukrainian topics.
East Carolina University
East Carolina University has put together guides to federal documents of interest regarding the conflict since 2014 available in two parts: general documents of interest and those specifically related to the military engagement.
The Ohio State University
OSU's Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies is maintaining a list of articles and books which provide background and context on the region and the invasion.
Kyiv School of Economics Videos
The Kyiv School of Economics produces regular video interviews covering all aspects of the war in Ukraine, featuring experts from around the world and reporters on the ground in Ukraine.
Twitter Accounts
The following are Twitter accounts by academics and reporters on the ground that will allow you to follow events faster than might be possible via news publications.
History:
Political science/Geopolitics:
@KofmanMichael
@sgehlbach
@monika_nalepa
English-language coverage of military operations and events on the ground:
Coverage of Ukrainian civil society:
Articles
Look here for academic and journalistic articles covering the region and crisis.
Financial Times Ukraine Reporting
The Financial Times has made its Ukraine reporting free to read for the duration of the crisis.
Pulizter Center on Crisis Reporting
The Pulitzer Center is an organization that awards grants to journalists reporting on conflicts and policy issues globally. This is their landing page for Ukraine/Russia related material.
Putin is gambling his future — and Russia’s
This article by UChicago faculty members Scott Gehlbach and Zhaotian Luo explore what the Russian invasion of Ukraine means for Ukraine and for Russia itself. This article requires a Washington Posts subscription to read.
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: An Explainer
This article responds to common questions about the conflict.
Russia, Ukraine and the West: A CPCS Virtual Issue
This virtual issue of Communist and Post-Communist Studies presents a range of articles published during the last decade that highlight the drivers of Russia’s foreign policy towards Ukraine and the West.
Fantasy is not history
This essay by Victoria Smolkin assesses Putin’s claim that modern-day Ukraine is a ‘gift’ from the Bolsheviks.
Ukraine articles from Nationalities Papers
This collection of articles is based on in-depth social science and historical studies and provides a new depth of understanding in light of ongoing events. They have compiled a syllabus broken down by theme of some of the most relevant articles on the subject. They will be free of charge until the end of March 2022.
Russia Just Seized Chernobyl. Here’s Why It Matters.
This interview with Kate Brown (MIT) discusses the ramifications of Russia seizing control of the Chernobyl plant.
Seize the Oligarchs’ Wealth
This essay in The Atlantic by UChicago Professor Faith Hillis examines how a crackdown on the Russian elite could help the situation in Ukraine and offer solutions to broader social problems. (Potential paywall)
The ruble has plummeted. It’s not the first time.
This piece by Kristy Ironside (Asst. Prof at McGill University) is on the history of ruble collapse.
Ukraine 2022: Why and What Next?
Andrzej Makowski’s text “Ukraine 2022: Why and What Next” as published in the latest (March) issue of The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs (XVI:1):