Hanna Perekhoda will give a lecture on Ukraine's Centrality in the Russian Political Imaginary

On 1 April at 16:15 Hanna Perekhoda will give a lecture "Ukraine's Centrality in the Russian Political Imaginary: Explaining Continuity, Avoiding Essentialism" in room 230 of Jakobi study building. The lecture will be held in English. Everybody interested in the topic is welcome.

As evidenced by numerous public statements from Russian state officials, Ukraine plays a disproportionately important role in their self-representation and worldview. But what accounts for the persistent centrality of Ukraine within the Russian master narrative that seems to outlast the major historical divides of 1917 and 1991? This lecture seeks to provide an analysis that avoids essentialist and teleological explanations, which have resurfaced and even gained traction following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It's beyond doubt that the portrayal of Ukraine as a linchpin for both Russian internal stability and external power had already permeated the Russian political imaginary long before Putin’s rise to power. We will delve into the genealogy of this relationship, attempting to elucidate why the “Ukrainian problem” continues to haunt Russian elites to this day. The lecture traces the origins of these ideas to 19th-century European transformations, revealing the contradictions in Russian attempts at modernization and nationalization—efforts that have repeatedly destabilized the state and placed Ukraine at the center of its security narrative.

We contend that Russian elites, from the late tsarist era to Putin’s regime, have viewed Ukraine as essential to both constructing a unified Russian nation and sustaining Russia’s imperial ambitions. By unpacking the complex interplay between the imperial and the national in the Russian political imaginary concerning Ukraine, we aim to challenge the prevailing dualistic paradigm in the field, encouraging a reassessment of these categories' meanings and relevance.

Hanna Perekhoda, a historian from Donetsk, Ukraine, is a Ph.D. candidate and graduate assistant at the Institute of Political Studies at the University of Lausanne. Her doctoral research examines early 20th-century hegemonic struggles over Ukraine's socio-spatial definition and its border with Russia. Her articles contextualizing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine within broader historical frameworks have been published in various outlets.

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