Ukraine looks back on a long history of protests, revolts and revolutions. The fight against Soviet and Russian imperialism has been part of Ukrainian civil society long before the infamous 24th of February 2022. There were dissident movements during Soviet times. There were the peaceful protests of the so-called “Orange Revolution”. And there was the Euromaidan. Last November marked the 10th anniversary of these protests which took place on the central square of Kyiv. We have chosen to take this occasion as a base to look back on the complex history of the Ukrainian civil movement of the last 40 years.
The historian and activist Vladyslav Starodubtsev will give us his thoughts on the Soviet dissident movement in Ukraine live from Kyiv. His input will be followed by the talk of the scholar in exile Daria Vystavkina on the Euromaidan and Sofiya Bohoslavets on the current civil society in Ukraine. This will lead into a general discussion about the last 40 years of the Ukrainian civil movements with the three aforementioned. At the end the discussion will be opened for questions from the audience.
The event is a co-operation between Archiv der sozialen Demokratie and Universität Bonn.
Ph.D. in Sociology, the Cologne-Bonn Academy in Exile participant, the lecturer of the course "Formation of Ukrainian Society and the Analysis of Crucial Transformations: The History of Ukraine from 1991 to the Present'' (Bonn University). The sphere of scientific interests and civil activity is related to the sociology of culture, mass communications, and social theater as an instrument of social dialogue.
Born in Ukraine, Sofiya Bohoslavets moved to Germany to pursue her Master’s degree. Now she works in the public sector and is part of the Ukrainian diaspora in Germany. Since the beginning of the war, Sofiya has been advocating for support to Ukraine and is now doing so as a member of the German-Ukrainian association 'Blue-Yellow Cross' in Bonn.
Ukrainian social activist and historian of Central-Eastern Europe, author of many articles on the topics of the Ukrainian left-wing, social movements and resistance in the XIX-XXI century, including on the Ukrainian revolution, social-democratic and socialist dissidents and origins of Ukrainian left-wing movement. Previously, responsible for International communication in NGO "Sotsialnyi Rukh" and co-organizer of a campaign for the cancellation of Ukraine's foreign debt.
Mirko Schwagmann
Archiv der sozialen Demokratie
Hera Shokohi
Universität Bonn
For queries please contact
To participate in the event, please register by 15 January at: public.history(at)fes.de
To receive a link to the video conference, please let us know that you would like to participate online.
Universität Bonn
Festsaal
Regina-Pacis-Weg 3
53113 Bonn