Russian propaganda claims that Ukraine is not a separate nation, but merely a “preliminary form” of Russia. Today’s Kremlin ideology seeks to annex Ukrainian history in order to justify its territorial aggression. But this myth has a birth certificate. It emerged in the 19th century, when the Russian Empire started inventing its “ancient” medieval roots. Before that, Russian travellers in Ukrainian lands showed little interest in such historical questions.
In this episode, we trace the genealogy of the myth that Kyiv is a “Russian city” and that its history somehow belongs to Muscovy.
***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en
***
Guest: Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She has been a visiting fellow at Harvard, Stanford, Paris, and Oxford, and a visiting professor at the University of Basel. Currently, she is researching how the image of Kyiv was constructed in travel literature from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.
***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.
***
CONTENTS:
00:00 Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
00:15 Where and when did the myth of Kyiv belonging to Moscow actually begin?
02:05 How did 18th-century Russian travelers initially view Kyiv, and why was their interest superficial?
04:05 How did the rise of history as a discipline change Russia's perception of Kyiv?
12:17 Why did the French philosopher Madame de Staël describe Kyiv as a "semi-Tatar" or nomadic place?
15:17 What were the two extreme ways Westerners described Kyiv?
21:04 When did the annexation of the past become an "aggressive policy" and a part of Russian imperial ideology?
35:03 Why were Russian travelers unwilling to communicate with locals, stressing that Ukrainians were "the other"?
38:07 Why did Russian travelers consistently feel "not at home" in a place the Empire claimed as its "cradle"?
39:16 What aspects of Kyiv's social and cultural history in the 19th century still remain "understudied"?
***
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.
All content for Explaining Ukraine is the property of UkraineWorld and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Russian propaganda claims that Ukraine is not a separate nation, but merely a “preliminary form” of Russia. Today’s Kremlin ideology seeks to annex Ukrainian history in order to justify its territorial aggression. But this myth has a birth certificate. It emerged in the 19th century, when the Russian Empire started inventing its “ancient” medieval roots. Before that, Russian travellers in Ukrainian lands showed little interest in such historical questions.
In this episode, we trace the genealogy of the myth that Kyiv is a “Russian city” and that its history somehow belongs to Muscovy.
***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en
***
Guest: Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She has been a visiting fellow at Harvard, Stanford, Paris, and Oxford, and a visiting professor at the University of Basel. Currently, she is researching how the image of Kyiv was constructed in travel literature from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.
***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.
***
CONTENTS:
00:00 Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
00:15 Where and when did the myth of Kyiv belonging to Moscow actually begin?
02:05 How did 18th-century Russian travelers initially view Kyiv, and why was their interest superficial?
04:05 How did the rise of history as a discipline change Russia's perception of Kyiv?
12:17 Why did the French philosopher Madame de Staël describe Kyiv as a "semi-Tatar" or nomadic place?
15:17 What were the two extreme ways Westerners described Kyiv?
21:04 When did the annexation of the past become an "aggressive policy" and a part of Russian imperial ideology?
35:03 Why were Russian travelers unwilling to communicate with locals, stressing that Ukrainians were "the other"?
38:07 Why did Russian travelers consistently feel "not at home" in a place the Empire claimed as its "cradle"?
39:16 What aspects of Kyiv's social and cultural history in the 19th century still remain "understudied"?
***
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.
How Russians hunt civilians in Kherson - with Zarina Zabrisky
Explaining Ukraine
51 minutes 56 seconds
3 months ago
How Russians hunt civilians in Kherson - with Zarina Zabrisky
Kherson may be the most dangerous regional center in Ukraine. Occupied by Russian forces in 2022, its residents were subjected to torture and intimidation.
The city was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November 2022 — but almost immediately came under daily bombardment and shelling from Russian troops stationed just across the Dnipro River.
In June 2023, Kherson was hit by a catastrophic flood caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant — an explosion orchestrated by the Russian military.
Today, the city’s residents are hunted by Russian drones, as if caught in some macabre human safari.
“Kherson: Human Safari” is the title of a documentary film by Zarina Zabrisky, an American filmmaker who has spent significant time in Kherson, reporting from this brave and embattled city.
Link to the film: https://khersonhumansafari.com/
***
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Guest: Zarina Zabrisky, an American filmmaker and writer, author of the film “Kherson: Human Safari”.
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media project about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.
***
LISTEN on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
***
SUPPORT US:
You can support our work on Patreon: www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your contributions are essential, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also help fund our volunteer trips to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we support both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com
***
CONTENTS:
00:00 – Zarina Zabrisky, a U.S. journalist in Ukraine
02:30 – Why is Kherson so important in the war?
04:56 – Life in Kherson: What does it look like now?
13:50 – Why does a central store in Kherson look better than posh stores in the U.S.?
15:01 – In memory: Victoria Amelina in Kherson
16:12 – Kherson: Human Safari — the story of Kherson from the start of the full-scale invasion to date
19:40 – How did Zarina Zabrisky document the newest war crime against humanity?
24:02 – Do Russians conduct the “human safari” in Kherson for fun, or is it a strategy?
26:04 – A terror campaign: How does Russia attempt to erase Kherson?
29:20 – What exactly do Russians want to achieve with their cruelty toward Ukrainians in frontline territories?
36:00 – How Russia influences the ecosystem
41:12 – Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam: Survival and resistance stories from locals
43:30 – The rescue of Ukrainian children from Russian captivity
48:10 – Deportation of Ukrainian children as a form of genocide
50:00 - Support us: https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
Explaining Ukraine
Russian propaganda claims that Ukraine is not a separate nation, but merely a “preliminary form” of Russia. Today’s Kremlin ideology seeks to annex Ukrainian history in order to justify its territorial aggression. But this myth has a birth certificate. It emerged in the 19th century, when the Russian Empire started inventing its “ancient” medieval roots. Before that, Russian travellers in Ukrainian lands showed little interest in such historical questions.
In this episode, we trace the genealogy of the myth that Kyiv is a “Russian city” and that its history somehow belongs to Muscovy.
***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en
***
Guest: Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She has been a visiting fellow at Harvard, Stanford, Paris, and Oxford, and a visiting professor at the University of Basel. Currently, she is researching how the image of Kyiv was constructed in travel literature from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.
***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.
***
CONTENTS:
00:00 Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
00:15 Where and when did the myth of Kyiv belonging to Moscow actually begin?
02:05 How did 18th-century Russian travelers initially view Kyiv, and why was their interest superficial?
04:05 How did the rise of history as a discipline change Russia's perception of Kyiv?
12:17 Why did the French philosopher Madame de Staël describe Kyiv as a "semi-Tatar" or nomadic place?
15:17 What were the two extreme ways Westerners described Kyiv?
21:04 When did the annexation of the past become an "aggressive policy" and a part of Russian imperial ideology?
35:03 Why were Russian travelers unwilling to communicate with locals, stressing that Ukrainians were "the other"?
38:07 Why did Russian travelers consistently feel "not at home" in a place the Empire claimed as its "cradle"?
39:16 What aspects of Kyiv's social and cultural history in the 19th century still remain "understudied"?
***
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.
