Explaining Ukraine

What are the roots of Ukrainian resistance? Why can we describe Ukrainian culture and statehood not as something that exists thanks to favorable circumstances, but as something that has survived and flourished despite oppression and countless obstacles? How does Ukraine’s struggle today fit into the broader global challenges facing democracies? And why is Ukrainian resistance crucial to the survival of democracy in Europe and around the world?

This is the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.

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Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

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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.

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CONTENTS:
0:00 - Intro
1:52 - How does the "culture of despite" translate into everyday practices during wartime?
6:01 - How do Ukrainians maintain culture and self-realization as vital for survival, even as millions of books are destroyed?
11:21 - Does contemporary philosophy truly engage with raw, unfiltered experience, or has it moved too far from it?
14:42 - How does a historian view the birth of powerful ideas and concepts from the depths of horrific circumstances? Marci Shore, a historian, reflects on the tradition of profound thinking emerging from prisons and ghettos, connecting it to the intensity of ideas lived in Ukraine.
20:09 - Why is understanding Ukraine's deep historical ties to the Greek world and the Black Sea crucial to perceiving its current struggle?
28:28 - How does Ukraine's dynamic sense of temporality, driven by a vision for the future, contrast with Russia's nihilistic erasure of both past and future?
35:05 - Has the "faith in progress" poisoned the West, leading to an inability to recognize recurring dangers like new forms of totalitarianism?
37:04 - What is the "moral abyss" facing the United States, and why should Europe be wary of relying on it? Marci Shore issues a stark warning about the moral nihilism she perceives in certain American political figures, urging Europeans to step up.
40:11 - How does Ukraine's "natality" and commitment to creating new democratic rules offer lessons for a disillusioned world? The discussion highlights Ukraine's focus on future-oriented creation and democratic reform as a beacon for global progress.
42:09 - Why is "angelization" of the Russian regime a dangerous fallacy, and what can be learned from Ukraine's asymmetric warfare tactics?
45:57 - In what ways should Europe learn from Ukraine's speed, adaptability, and clear vision for the future?
48:47 - Could Ukraine's post-war society, focused on inclusivity and human dignity, become the new avant-garde for a "sleepwalking" West? Shore envisions a future where Ukraine, having overcome "untime," leads the way in restoring fundamental human values.
51:19 - How can a "balance of fear" be restored in international relations, and why is Russia currently not afraid of the West?

What role does religion play in Ukraine? How pluralistic is the country’s religious landscape? Which Christian denominations are the most influential, and how does Christianity coexist with Islam and Judaism? Why is Ukrainian Orthodoxy divided, and what is the story behind the emergence of an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine? And how does Russia use its branch of Orthodoxy in Ukraine as an instrument of political influence and propaganda?

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Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Guest: Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, a prominent Ukrainian theologian.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.
We thank the Ukrainian History Global Initiative for helping us to organize this conversation.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
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:
00:04 Introduction. Support UkraineWorld: https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
01:57 What are the fundamental characteristics of religion in Ukraine today?
04:12 How does Ukraine challenge the simplified view of Eastern Orthodoxy being aligned with Moscow?
07:44 Beyond Orthodoxy, how diverse is Ukraine's religious landscape, and what makes its interfaith relations unique?
09:29 How did Ukrainian Orthodoxy, originally tied to Constantinople, become dominated by the Russian Church, and what has been the recent movement for autocephaly?
15:08 What is the fundamental difference in church-state relations between Western Christianity and Russian Orthodoxy, and how did the Orthodox "symphony" play out in Russia?
19:04 How does Ukrainian Orthodoxy's emphasis on "synodality" (conciliarity) offer a unique and horizontal model compared to the centralized Russian model?
24:27 Why does Ukrainian Orthodoxy remain tragically divided into two main parts despite the establishment of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine?
27:38 What specific reasons prevent many members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate-aligned) from transitioning to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine?
29:15 What are the ideal and realistic future scenarios for unity within Ukrainian Orthodoxy?
31:59 How does Russian propaganda weaponize the presence of the Greek Catholic Church, and what is the ironic outcome of Russia's "protection" of Orthodoxy in Ukraine?
35:52 How should misleading claims of “religious persecution” in Ukraine, particularly regarding the Russian Church, be understood in the context of propaganda and national security?

Why does Taras Shevchenko remain the central figure of Ukrainian culture? Why is a poet who lived in the 19th century still perceived in Ukraine almost as a contemporary?

How does Shevchenko’s understanding of time and history differ from our present-day perspective, so focused on the immediate moment and often lacking the depth of historical memory? And how did he articulate powerful anticolonial ideas as early as the 19th century — particularly through his empathy and solidarity with other oppressed peoples?

This is the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

***
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Rory Finnin, the Notre Dame Collegiate Mission Chair in Ukrainian Studies and Global Affairs and director of the Ukrainian Studies Hub at the University of Notre Dame. He is a scholar of Ukrainian culture, literature, and identity, and the author of the award-winning book Blood of Others: Stalin’s Crimean Atrocity and the Poetics of Solidarity.

***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.
We thank the Ukrainian History Global Initiative for helping us to organize this conversation.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
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 Why does Taras Shevchenko remain a central and contemporary figure in Ukrainian culture, articulating anti-colonial ideas from the 19th century?
01:55 Why is Shevchenko a contemporary figure, rather than just a historical classic?
03:02 How does the West's tendency to mirror Russia psychologically, but not rhetorically, hinder its understanding of the war?
06:15 How does Shevchenko's understanding of "imperialist time" contrast with the West's short-term perspective, as seen in Russia's 19th-century conquest of Circassia?
09:49 How does Shevchenko's empathy for oppressed peoples like the Circassians differ from the imperialist narratives found in Russian literature?
12:40 What makes Shevchenko's poetry so contemporary, and how does his use of "anti-repoussoir" allow readers to connect personally with the struggles of conquered peoples, even his own friend who died fighting them?
17:57 How does Shevchenko's view of history as an "eternal return" and a series of constant tests, like those faced by early Christians or Jan Hus, make his work timeless?
20:25 How is Shevchenko's biblical worldview centered on profound empathy for the vulnerable, even applying this lens to Christ himself?
22:42 What tragic event in 1978, involving Oleksa Hirnyk's self-immolation on Shevchenko's grave, underscores the poet's enduring anti-colonial message?
25:40 Why does the West continue to misunderstand Russia, despite ample historical literature, by focusing on a "soothing" alternative rather than its vast, multi-ethnic, and often oppressive reality?
30:12 How does Shevchenko's poem "Haydamaky" navigate the complex issue of violence, seemingly romanticizing it while simultaneously depicting its descent into madness?
31:19 Does "Haydamaky" romanticize violence, or does Shevchenko's original perspective condemn the internal infection of violence within Ukrainian society?
37:31 What is Shevchenko's dual legacy of creating a national myth while also offering a critical perspective on Ukrainian history and the importance of family bonds?
38:41 Closing remarks and support information for the "Explaining Ukraine" podcast.

Studying Ukrainian history can be far more fascinating than you might think. It can reveal deeper layers of our past than we ever imagined and help us better understand the history of humanity as a whole.
It can help us grasp why the interaction between settled and nomadic cultures has been so important throughout human history. Why some of the world's earliest proto-cities emerged in what is now central Ukraine. Why the origins of the Indo-European languages might lie here, too. And why Ukraine, situated between the vast forests and the vast steppe, on the shores of the Black Sea, has been a crossroads through which so many peoples have passed, shaping both our past and our present.

This is the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language multimedia project about Ukraine.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Timothy Snyder, the renowned American historian and thinker, the author of “Bloodlands”, “On Freedom”, “Black Earth” and many other books.

We recorded this conversation in Kyiv, on the sidelines of the Yalta European Strategy forum and ahead of the annual conference of the Ukrainian History Global Initiative.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
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:
00:05 - Introduction: What makes Ukrainian history so uniquely fascinating and revealing about humanity's past?
02:54 - Beyond Modern Anxiety: How does a deep historical perspective alleviate present-day anxieties about Ukraine's identity?
05:03 - Starting Points: Where should one truly begin to tell the extensive narrative of Ukrainian history?
06:12 - The Right to Exist: Does Ukraine's right to exist depend on proving its historical longevity?
09:51 - Ancient Echoes: How do ancient figures like Achilles and Amazons connect to modern Ukrainian identity and military units?
12:23 - Geography's Enduring Influence: How has Ukraine's unique geography shaped the historical tension between settled and nomadic cultures?
13:36 - Early Civilizations: What were the origins and significance of Ukraine's first proto-cities after the Ice Age?
15:24 - Clash and Creation: How did the encounter between Cucuteni-Trypillia culture and Yamna culture contribute to linguistic revolutions like the emergence of the Proto-Indo-European languages?
17:20 - Goddesses and Old Europe: What do ancient Ukrainian mother goddess cults reveal about "Old Europe" and its feminine spiritual traditions?
22:06 - Gender and Mergers: Was the interaction between ancient cultures more of a creative merger than a simple patriarchal conquest?
24:45 - Concepts of Time: How did Trypillia's circular understanding of time differ from Yamna's linear marking of time through kurgans?
29:40 - The Puzzle of Continuity: How can we write a coherent history for Ukraine despite apparent gaps and discontinuities in its cultural and linguistic past?
32:31 - A Cradle of Languages: Why Ukraine can be seen as a cradle of languages that repeatedly saw returns of Indo-European cultures
38:06 - Borderland or Center?: Can Ukraine be re-envisioned not merely as a borderland, but as a central "attraction zone" for diverse cultures and ideas?

Ukrainian traditional music has preserved one of the richest traditions of polyphonic singing in the world. It has survived centuries of oppression, oblivion, marginalisation, and even physical extermination.
Despite all this, there have always been people in Ukraine who travelled to villages, talked to local singers, listened to their songs, and recorded them. Thanks to their work, this tradition remains alive — not only in the villages themselves, but also in archival recordings, on stage, and increasingly in modern interpretations.
Today, we are going to talk about this extraordinary tradition. You are listening to the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, the editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine.
Guests: Mariana Sadovska, one of Ukraine’s best-known singers, musicians, and cultural activists, Andre Erlen, a German theatre director. They are currently travelling through the villages of southern Ukraine, collecting and recording more songs.
We met in Odesa at the PORT cultural festival, where Mariana and Andre created an extraordinary performance featuring musicians from villages across Ukrainian Bessarabia — people of Bulgarian, Romanian, Moldovan, Gagauz, and other backgrounds.

This episode is recorded and produced with the support from the Mnozhyna foundation.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
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.