Olena Sobolieva

What does it mean to be a scholar when the world you once studied is collapsing around you? What happens to teaching, writing, or reflection when war becomes not just a topic of inquiry, but the very condition of survival? These are the questions animating “In the Thunderstorm of War,” a project that brings together interviews, personal narratives, and public reflections on the role of intellectuals in wartime Ukraine. Rather than offering a definitive answer, the project invites its audiences — in Ukraine and abroad — to sit with the difficulty, to listen, and to reflect. Over the past year,…

As part of the series “Science in Wartime”, held to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the project “In the Thunderstorm of War” was presented in a unique and moving format on 2 March 2025 at the Theater Basel. The event took place as the closing session (Finissage) of the exhibition “Unissued Diplomas”, organized by the University of Basel’s East European Studies program, URIS (Ukrainian Research in Switzerland), and the Ukrainian Association in Basel. What made this event particularly powerful was the involvement of students from the University of Basel, who selected and read aloud excerpts…

In May 2025, a two-day workshop “Ukrainian Scientists and Artists During the War” was held in Berlin. Co-organized by the academic website “Ukraine Moderna,” the event created a platform for Ukrainian scientists and artists to reflect on how the war transformed their professional, ethical, and existential horizons.…