The Price of Freedom for the People of Ukraine

The Valuev decree of 1863 maintained that a distinct Ukrainian language had never existed, did not exist and would never exist. In waging war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to expand on this Tsarist decree that banned publishing in Ukrainian, with the aim of destroying Ukraine itself and the national community that emerged since the renewal of Ukrainian independence in 1991. Yet as Putin and his Russian collaborators pursue their ideology of a “Russian World” that excludes Ukrainian subjectivity and statehood, Ukrainian citizens of diverse origins have fought the Russian invaders for four long years of the full-scale invasion and twelve years of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

The price of freedom for the people of Ukraine has been immense. Scores of thousands killed, even more wounded, millions under occupation, and millions more refugees. From the abduction of children to the recent campaign to destroy the Ukrainian energy grid in the dead of winter, the Russian regime has sought to break Ukrainians’ will to resist, ultimately aiming to undermine their very existence.

Over the last four years, Ukraine has shown its determination to have a European future as a sovereign state in the international community. When the start of the war brought international focus to Ukraine, many for the first time encountered Ukraine and its rich culture and history. Yet Russia, bargaining on the world becoming weary of the conflict, has mounted disinformation campaigns to cloud the issues at stake.

CIUS remains committed to lending support to Ukrainian scholars, in Ukraine and wherever they have managed to continue their work. Although some have obtained ongoing positions in Europe or North America, too many find their temporary support coming to an end. At the same time, as CIUS enters its 50th year, Putin and his hardline ideologues regularly declare nonsense about Ukrainian history and culture, and there are all too many who repeat these narratives from conviction, convenience, or duress. To a world and academic community searching for information on Ukraine, CIUS publications—including some 200 monographs and thousands of journal and encyclopedia articles—are finding new audiences. Examples include the Hrushevsky Translation Project’s ten-volume History of Ukraine-Rus', featured by the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska in her “Ukrainian Bookshelf” project, which disseminates the most important works of Ukrainian scholarship and literature. As well, CIUS's Holodomor Research and Education Consortium is launching an online course about the Holodomor at a time when Russian occupiers are destroying Holodomor monuments and burning books on the topic. And through its Forum for Ukrainian Studies, CIUS disseminates first-rate analysis on events in Ukraine and counteracts Russian disinformation.

The increased understanding globally of Ukrainian issues is thanks to the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people as well as the expertise of analysts and scholars in and from Ukraine. CIUS works to ensure that these voices reach international fora. Drawing on its 50 years of experience, CIUS cooperates with scholarly and civic initiatives dealing with Ukraine, developing new programs and projects across the globe. We at the institute are profoundly grateful to the governments of Alberta and Canada, the University of Alberta, and the many donors and foundations that have supported our work—both in recent years and in earlier times when Ukraine did not command international attention. As Ukrainians carry on their heroic defence in the brutal cold of winter and look to a future building a free and democratic Ukraine, we at CIUS are committed to intensifying efforts to carry on research and publishing and to cooperate with Ukrainian institutions in developing Ukrainian studies. May Ukraine find a just peace before we must mark a fifth anniversary.

- Frank Sysyn, Acting Director, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies