History News Network

Ukraine

Originally published 03/05/2014
Forget 1991 or World War II: The Real Historical Parallel to the Ukraine Crisis is Poland's 1863 Revolt Against the Tsar

In 1863 as well as as in 2014, the most important question facing the West is whether anything can deter use of Russian military force.

Originally published 03/05/2014
Ukraine's Toxic History of Fascism and Ethnic Cleansing

Far too many Ukrainians today have fond memories of Nazi-collaborating nationalists in World War II.

Originally published 03/04/2014
Smashing Lenin Won’t Save Ukraine

The vandalism and destruction of Lenin statues across Ukraine is only the latest attack on symbols of the old Soviet state and its Eastern European satellites.

Originally published 03/04/2014
Crimea, the Tinderbox

The United States, Russia, and Europe all have interests in forestalling a civil war in Ukraine.

Originally published 03/03/2014
The Truth About the Ukraine Crisis is That History Really Doesn't Matter That Much

Pre-1991 history, anyway. Padraic Kenney, an Eastern European historian at Indiana University, explains.

Originally published 02/27/2014
Ukraine: A Domino Falls

Another historic step in the spread of liberty.

Originally published 02/27/2014
What You Need to Know About Crimea: An Interview with Charles E. King

Georgetown University professor and Ukrainian specialist Charles King explains the history behind the crisis in Crimea.

Originally published 02/20/2014
Fascism, Russia, and Ukraine

The Ukrainian government is telling itself that its opponents are Jews and us that its opponents are Nazis.

Originally published 02/20/2014
Will Ukraine Break Apart?

In Ukraine’s two decades as an independent state, the prospect of disintegration has never looked so real.

Originally published 02/19/2014
Ukraine’s Promise of Peace Overtaken by Fresh Tragedy

Tuesday was the day that the Ukrainian parliament was supposed to begin discussions on the basic constitutional change needed.

Originally published 02/04/2014
Don’t Let Putin Grab Ukraine

If the present crisis ends with the fragmentation of the Ukrainian state, the result will be disastrous for all concerned, including Russia.

Originally published 01/23/2014
Ex-Soviet Republics Reject Full Independence

In a globalized economy, economic integration with larger unions has become essential.

Originally published 12/03/2013
Where to now, Ukraine?

Historian Stanislav Kulchytsky on the tumult in the streets of Kiev.

Originally published 10/01/2013
Ukraine’s Bumpy Road to Europe

Looking forward eagerly to Ukraine’s first step toward E.U. membership.

Originally published 09/15/2013
America's Fierce Quarrel over Entry into World War II (INTERVIEW)

Historian Lynne Olson on FDR, Charles Lindbergh and the dispute over entry into World War II.

Originally published 03/19/2013
Will Wikipedia replace the academic thesis?

KYIV, Ukraine — Click on a Wikipedia topic about optometry in the Polish language or Newtonian mechanics in Ukrainian and the article that pops up may well be a college student thesis.That’s because universities in Poland and Ukraine are exploring new requirements. Instead of cribbing research from Wikipedia for papers that will probably only gather dust, advocates of the idea say students would be better off writing their own Wikipedia articles.Although critics warn that Wikipedia articles are no substitute for rigorous academic papers, supporters say more than simply putting more information at public disposal, erasing boundaries between the internet and academia will invigorate scholarship by enabling it to benefit everyone.

Originally published 02/26/2013
Crimean War cemetery uncovered

The din of machinery mingled with the echo of the 19th century Crimean War when an excavator bucket stumbled upon the yellowed remains of long-dead French soldiers at a construction site in a southern Ukrainian port city.The haunting find at Sebastopol's Cane Bay beach in December revealed the site of a large cemetery of French soldiers who died in the war against the Russian Empire during the 1854-1856 Crimean War. The discovery has highlighted how many bodies could still be lying under the ground from the brutal conflict where an alliance of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire fought against Russia in what many see as one of the world's first modern conflicts....

Originally published 02/22/2014
The Strategic Consequences of an East-West Ukrainian Split

With freed former PM Yulia Tymoshenko rallying protesters in Kiev and President Yanukovych defiantly taking to the airwaves in Kharkov, the possibility of an East-West Ukrainian split remains dangerously high.