My father always told me that every year on September 1, students in middle school had to write an essay reflecting on their experience during the summer. The typical experience of many students was visiting their grandparents. Following this tradition, my family and I almost every summer went to Kivertsi, a small town near Lutsk, where my grandparents live.... Read more about "HUSI – A Summer Experience Like No Other"
It was a rainy day in July 2020. After the first lecture by Professor Serhii Bilenky (an online lecture, unfortunately, because of COVID-19), my classmates and I stayed in the Zoom meeting a bit longer. We wanted to learn something new about each other and share our reflections about the first lecture. There were people from different countries, of different ages; they had diverse backgrounds and experiences. Some of them (including myself) were Ukrainian graduates or postgraduates. Suddenly, the question popped up: Why do Ukrainian students join HUSI if they studied Ukrainian history and literature before? Why cross the ocean (even virtually) for seven weeks to explore your own country?... Read more about "Why Should Ukrainian Students Participate in HUSI?"
While taking Professor Dibrova’s Ukrainian for Reading Knowledge course, I have had the fortune of engaging with the Ukrainian poetic tradition through small side projects. My first opportunity came within the first week, when we were asked to share our favorite poems. My taste in poetry is always changing, so I found myself reading The Frontier: 28 Contemporary Ukrainian Poets to prepare for class. Appearing in English translation by Anatoly Kudryavitsky, the poems were riveting. I was struck in particular by the poetry of Anna Chromova and Katrina Haddad.... Read more about "Stepping in a River Twice: Ukrainian Poetry in Translation"
Although I was born in Ukraine, I spent most of my life identifying as Russian. This was not meant to be a political statement by any means, but it started to feel uncomfortably political in 2013 when the Maidan protests started. Over the last seven years, this tension has led me to re-examine my identity as a Russian-Ukrainian, and it brought me to the Ukrainian for Reading Knowledge course at HUSI.... Read more about "Searching for Belonging: How Studying at HUSI Has Helped Me Connect with My Roots"
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Rustem Umerov, a Ukrainian MP and Crimean Tatar leader, about the situation of displaced people in Ukraine and the government’s efforts toward reintegration and reconciliation of currently occupied territories. One of the topics we discussed at some length was Crimean Tatars’ claim to be recognized as an indigenous population whose territory is the Crimean peninsula. This recognition—which would require changes to the Ukrainian constitution—would allow the Crimean Tatars to claim human rights violation based on international protections of indigenous populations.... Read more about "Autonomy for Crimea"
Note: This is a guest post from Tommaso Di Maria, an Italian student at the University of Naples "L'Orientale" with a strong interest in Ukraine. After reaching out to HURI and attending a few of our HUSI Public Lectures, Tommaso wanted to share an excerpt from an Italian source on Ukrainian literature. He offers here his own translation of the chapter on Panteleimon Kulish from Oxana Pachlovska's Civiltà letteraria ucraina. We hope he will soon join us as a student at HUSI!... Read more about Guest Post: "An Italian View of Panteleimon Kulish "
Borscht is the core foundation of culinary heritage and family dining in Ukraine. After participating in the HUSI lecture on Friday, June 26, Ukrainian Culinary Heritage: Bread, Borscht and Beyond with Marianna Dushar, the Head of the Ukrainian Culinary Heritage Project "Seeds and Roots" and a member of the "Club of Galician Cuisine," I was inspired to share my family’s culinary heritage.... Read more about "Borscht: A Family Tradition"
How have decommunization efforts participated in a larger Ukrainian history? In what ways have they shaped Ukraine today, and to what extent have they become part of its memory politics?
My father always told me that every year on September 1, students in middle school had to write an essay reflecting on their experience during the summer. The typical experience of many students was visiting their grandparents. Following this tradition, my family and I almost every summer went to Kivertsi, a small town near Lutsk, where my grandparents live.... 
It was a rainy day in July 2020. After the first lecture by Professor Serhii Bilenky (an online lecture, unfortunately, because of COVID-19), my classmates and I stayed in the Zoom meeting a bit longer. We wanted to learn something new about each other and share our reflections about the first lecture. There were people from different countries, of different ages; they had diverse backgrounds and experiences. Some of them (including myself) were Ukrainian graduates or postgraduates. Suddenly, the question popped up: Why do Ukrainian students join HUSI if they studied Ukrainian history and literature before? Why cross the ocean (even virtually) for seven weeks to explore your own country?... 
While taking Professor Dibrova’s 
Although I was born in Ukraine, I spent most of my life identifying as Russian. This was not meant to be a political statement by any means, but it started to feel uncomfortably political in 2013 when the Maidan protests started. Over the last seven years, this tension has led me to re-examine my identity as a Russian-Ukrainian, and it brought me to the Ukrainian for Reading Knowledge course at HUSI.... 
A few weeks ago, I interviewed Rustem Umerov, a Ukrainian MP and Crimean Tatar leader, about the situation of displaced people in Ukraine and the government’s efforts toward reintegration and reconciliation of currently occupied territories. One of the topics we discussed at some length was Crimean Tatars’ claim to be recognized as an indigenous population whose territory is the Crimean peninsula. This recognition—which would require changes to the Ukrainian constitution—would allow the Crimean Tatars to claim human rights violation based on international protections of indigenous populations.... 
Note: This is a guest post from Tommaso Di Maria, an Italian student at the University of Naples "L'Orientale" with a strong interest in Ukraine. After reaching out to HURI and attending a few of our HUSI Public Lectures, Tommaso wanted to share an excerpt from an Italian source on Ukrainian literature. He offers here his own translation of the chapter on Panteleimon Kulish from Oxana Pachlovska's Civiltà letteraria ucraina. We hope he will soon join us as a student at HUSI!... 
How have decommunization efforts participated in a larger Ukrainian history? In what ways have they shaped Ukraine today, and to what extent have they become part of its memory politics?