The academic website Ukraina Moderna has been publishing a new section titled “In the Thunderstorm of War” since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine. The section contains the interviews with professional historians, anthropologists, and ethnologists who found themselves at the centre of current historical events. In the new reality, these people put on military uniforms or joined the ranks of volunteers, finding themselves under occupation, and gaining experience of survival under enemy fire.

In 2024, a new stage of the project began. The “Ukraina Moderna” website, in cooperation with the NGO “The Centre for Applied Anthropology”, created an online collection which contains translations of the interviews into English, French, and German. One of the aims of the project is to present the collection at Western Universities. This project is a part of the Lysiak-Rudnytsky Ukrainian Studies Programme held by the Ukrainian Institute and Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, with the financial support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

The relevance of the project lies in the fact that the recent events of the Russian-Ukrainian war are recorded and reflected in the memoirs of scholars who rely on their own experiences as direct participants in the events and on their professional backgrounds. This symbiosis contributes to the creation of new meanings and a deeper understanding of the genesis and course of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the role of individuals in it. From the perspective of experts and participants in the events, the characters in the section attempt to comprehend the staggering tears in the social fabric caused by the war, and they lay the first bricks in the future thorough study of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

This project seeks to give Ukrainian academics a voice in a situation where their professional opportunities are limited by the war. It aims to make their unique experiences and reflections visible beyond the borders of Ukraine. The project seeks to weave and embed the individual experiences of Ukrainian scholars into the overall Ukrainian narrative of war tragedy, resistance, and resilience.

The project documents the stunning twists of fate that turned humanities scholars into real heroes.

The project will tell the story of

– A scientist whose house was destroyed by the Russians. He joined the army despite the fact that he was not eligible for conscription. He is currently fighting in the hottest areas. At home, his three children and his wife, who has become an active volunteer, are waiting for him.

– A professor who spent 46 days in the basement of a Mariupol building under constant bombardment.

– A young folklorist who was forced to flee from Irpin and from the bombings, and currently collects money for off-road vehicles for military personnel and drives them from abroad to the front line herself, despite the fact that she only learned how to drive just before the full-scale invasion.

– A professor who was a member of the anti-terrorist operation since 2014, who became a volunteer for the second time, and who was part of the unit that liberated Kherson.

The stories of many other scientists who were forced to try on unusual roles in extreme conditions are recorded here too.

All of these people are heroes because they survived in extremely difficult conditions and continue to work for the Victory of Ukraine. These people have spent their entire lives collecting and researching the stories of people of the past. Now their own experiences can become one of the sources for writing the history of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Their vision of current events is also invaluable, as it can help the general public, especially abroad, to better understand the nature and course of the war in which Ukrainians are fighting for the right to live.

I express great gratitude to and sincere admiration for our interlocutors for the courage to talk about their difficult experiences and to publicly share their knowledge, thoughts, and views.

I would also like to gratefully mention the names of those who systematically or episodically participated in the creation of the project at various stages:

– Interviewers: Svitlana Makhovska, Olena Kondratyuk, Oksana Ovsiiuk.

– Translators: Julia Buyskykh, Alexis Audonnet, Yuri Popovych, Tetiana Savchynska, Sofiia Andrushchak.

– Editors: Keith Egan, Tina Polek, Olena Polyanska, Oksana Ovsiiuk.

– Illustrator: Alyona Shum.

– Designers: Roman Polishchuk and Yana Oksai.

– Co-curator of project presentations: Olena Sobolieva.

– Site assistant: Yulia Pivtorak.

– Technical support: Pavlo Rykmas.

I would also like to sincerely thank Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak, the founding editor of the “Ukraina Moderna” project, for supporting this initiative.