Beschreibung
The second part of this multi-volume project assembles a series of recollections and debates on the Ukrainian revolutions of 1990, 2004, and 2013–2014. After an introduction to the methodology of oral history, it presents twenty interviews with participants and eyewitnesses of the events in Ukraine, and documents a series of workshop discussions conducted at a symposium held in 2017. In these workshops, activists and observers of each of the three revolutions exchanged and compared their memories, analyses, and evaluations. This volume thus not only provides a comprehensive collection of firsthand accounts of the three historic Ukrainian upheavals, but also reveals the interrelations between them. The volume documents assessments from Barbara Krauz-Mozer, Markiyan Ivashchyshyn, Natalia Klymovska, Vakhtang Kipiani, Mykola Kniazhycki, Natalyia Zubar, Yulia Tymoshenko, Aleksander Kwaœniewski, Viktor Taran, Markiyan Matsekh, Yulia Tychkivska, Leonid Findberg, Yulia Mostova, Oksana Zabuzhko, Eduard Drach, Michailo Cherenkoff, Andriy Dudchenko, Oleg Mahdych, Rebecca Harms, Herman van Rumpoy, and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski.
Autorenportrait
Dr. Pawel Kowal is Research Fellow at the Chair of European History and Civilization at the College of Europe in Natolin, where he co-leads, together with Professor Georges Mink, the “Three Ukrainian Revolutions” project. He is also Assistant Professor in the Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences. In the past, he served as a Member of the European Parliament and Chairman of the EU Delegation to Ukraine. Dr. Iwona Reichardt is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the journal New Eastern Europe. She studied political science at the Jagiellonian University of Kraków. Her previous experience included work with the Foreign Policy magazine in Washington, DC, and policy analyses for the World Bank. Dr. Georges Mink is Professor of European Studies at the College of Europe in Natolin and Director Emeritus of Research at the Institut des Sciences Sociales et du Politique, Université de Paris X, Nanterre. Mink is author of, among other studies, Vie et mort du bloc soviétique (Casterman 1996) and Polska w sercu Europy – Od roku 1914 do czasow najnowszych: Historia polityczna i konflikty pamieci (Wydawnictwo Literackie 2017). Adam Reichardt, MPA, is Editor-in-Chief of the journal New Eastern Europe and a member of the editorial board of the Central European Journal of International and Strategic Studies. Reichardt studied Public and Nonprofit Management at George Mason University and Political Science and International Relations at the University of Wisconsin.
Rezension
“This extraordinary project provides a comprehensive picture of the Granite, Orange, and Euromaidan Revolutions of Dignity in Ukraine, a series of fearless and sometimes tragic upheavals by a society striving for democratically guaranteed existence unimpeded by oligarchic corruption, economic well-being, and freedom from a threat of reconquest by an unforgiving former imperial overlord. Former participants and eyewitnesses, the world’s most renowned experts, and a host of talented younger scholars offer a treasure trove of original, gripping first-hand accounts; detailed historical reconstructions; empirically rich and illuminating interpretations; and theoretically savvy analyses. No dimension of these history-defining events remains unexamined. It is indispensable reading for everybody interested in revolutions and what has come to be known as the fourth wave of democratization in the post-communist world and beyond.”—Jan Kubik, Professor at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA
“In the last few decades, as the world marked the bicentenary of the French Revolution of 1789 and the centenary of the Russian Revolution of 1917, it also went through at least three waves of modern revolutions: the 'velvet' revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, the 'colour' revolutions of the early 2000s in the former Soviet bloc countries, and the 'Arab Spring' revolutions of the early 2010s. What makes contemporary revolution a revolution and what impact does it have on the society that experiences it? These are the key questions asked in the book that focuses on the part of the world that produced more revolutions (and counterrevolutions) in the last few decades than any of its close or distant neighbours—Ukraine. Some of the best experts on contemporary Ukraine from the region and beyond piece together the story of the three revolutions and examine the events that produced key turning points in the recent Ukrainian and East European history: the student Revolution on the Granite of 1990, the Maidan Protests of 2004, and the Revolution of Dignity of 2013–2014. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the current crisis in East-West relations, and last, but not least, the phenomenon of the modern revolution.”—Serhii Plokhy, Harvard University
“It is impossible to understand the development of independent Ukraine without also understanding three events that had powerful and direct impacts on all aspects of political and economic life in the country: the Granite Revolution, the Orange Revolution, and the Revolution of Dignity. While occurring years apart, the three represent a united chain of events that continue to push Ukraine in the direction of unifying into a single European space and adopting European values, which the majority of Ukrainians see as the key to a stable, prosperous, peaceful, and secure future. The academic significance of the '3R' project cannot be overstated. It brought together a vast array of Ukrainian and international researchers to forge a book that is without analogy and which is of considerable value to international Ukraine watchers, domestic legislators, foreign policy makers, and other readers who are interested in learning more about the important geopolitical crossroad in Europe.”—Andriy Meleshevych, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
"Any student of Ukrainian politics and society will find this collection extremely interesting as it provides a unique opportunity to ‘hear the voices’ of some of the most prominent actors who may be otherwise difficult to interview. This collection is also an excellent illustration of the methodological challenges facing those conducting oral history research, such as the fluidity of the boundaries between historical facts, subjective memories and scholarly interpretation."—Kateryna Pishchikova, Europe-Asia Studies, 73:2
