Commotion and Margin of Opportunity: How COVID-19 and the War Have Affected the Position of Nurses in Ukraine
During the last few years, there have been two major shakeups in the Ukrainian healthcare system: COVID-19 and the full-scale Russian invasion. Both of these events have increased the demand for healthcare medical staff, as has increased the real risk to their lives. And yet, the majority of healthcare workers in Ukraine are nurses. According […]
2004 and on: ‘Oligarchic Democracy’ and Crises
In this chapter of his book, The Making and Unmaking of the Ukrainian Working Class: Everyday Politics and Moral Economy in a Post-Soviet City, Denys Gorbach offers an overview of Ukraine’s politico-economic landscape. He puts the economic transformations over the last thirty years in the political and cultural context. The first part covers the 1990s […]
Ukrainian Political Economy: Property Regimes and Identity Cleavages
In this chapter of his book, The Making and Unmaking of the Ukrainian Working Class: Everyday Politics and Moral Economy in a Post-Soviet City, Denys Gorbach offers an overview of Ukraine’s politico-economic landscape. He puts the economic transformations over the last thirty years in the political and cultural context. The first part covers the 1990s […]
Land Reform and Agriculture in Ukraine During Wartime – Interview with Dr. Natalia Mamonova
What is the state of agriculture during wartime in Ukraine? What effects does the land reform have on the future of the country? And what a socially and ecologically just approach to postwar recovery of agriculture can look like? We discuss these and other questions with Dr. Natalia Mamonova – Senior Researcher at RURALIS, Institute […]
What happened to Ukraine’s May 9, Victory Day? A discussion with Ukrainian historian Georgiy Kasianov
Since Ukraine's declaration of independence, there have been shifts in various policies concerning the observance of May 9, whether as Victory Day or Memorial Day. How was Victory Day marked during the tenures of the first two presidents, Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma? Was there ongoing discourse regarding the commemoration and celebration of this occasion? […]
Notes of the Ukrainian conscripted civilian about the painful things
By the end of March, it was a year since I chose to leave my teaching and library work for the service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Therefore, I find it worthwhile to reflect a little bit on my personal "betrayals" and "victories", advantages and disadvantages, in other words to sum up the year. […]
Preventing schools and hospitals from being closed: how local communities forced the government to reckon with their interests
Reforms in education, healthcare, as well as the decentralization reform, have caused serious changes in the social sector, since the closure and “optimization” of a significant number of schools and hospitals was meant to be a part of these reforms, especially in rural areas. However, such unpopular changes can be successfully stopped when the community […]
Solidarity Is Our Weapon. What Do Left-Wing Activists in the Army Think
Two years ago on February 24 Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. Ahead of this anniversary, we spoke with left-wing activists from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus who decided to join the ranks of the Ukrainian army. In these frank monologues, they shared personal stories about how they made decisions, how their understanding of Russian […]
The Maidan Shooting: Conspiracy Theories and Unanswered Questions
A decade ago, the Euromaidan protests successfully toppled the Yanukovych government. Paradoxically, nobody faced justice for the bloodiest attack against the protesters, the mass shootings of people who went up Instytutska Street on 20 February. All the killed supporters of Euromaidan became immortalized as the Heavenly Hundred, with their names and photos being publicly displayed […]
Children of the Occupation: “I Feel Like a Nobody. It’s Like I Don’t Exist”
In 2014, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions were occupied. At the time, many children aged 10–15 lived there. Some of them left together with their parents, but then returned to the occupied territories, while others never left at all. During the 10 years of war, the children grew up, but for various reasons they […]
