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Category: Prisma Ukraïna

Liminality and Museums in Ukraine: the Khanenkos’ Case

In this essay, I apply “liminality”—linked to the idea of a specific contact zone characterized by ambiguity, high potential to hybridization of identities and subversion of authority—to examine the case of Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. The Khanenkos were prominent collectors of Ukrainian cultural heritage and the founders of the first public museums in Kyiv in the late 19th and early 20th century. Mentally shaped by the empire(s), the Khanenkos started acting on both sides of the colonial divide since the 1890s: At the Russian court, they played impeccably loyal subjects. Simultaneously, in Kyiv, they converted the empire’s trust into a new freedom of action enabling grand, future-oriented cultural changes.

‘Fight your Emotions’: Affective Injustice in Wartime

By Olena Komar. Although research on affective injustice is gaining ground, no attention has yet been paid to wartime experiences. War has many destructive and devastating consequences, but against the backdrop of the physical damage it causes, other detrimental effects are muted, shadowed, and hardly noticeable. What is perceived as aggression and anger, a manifestation of temperament or trauma, is a legitimate assertion by Ukrainians of their right to identity, which is a condition for survival in a genocidal war, as well as to cultural identity instead of the imperial dissolution of colonized peoples. It is the right to have their voices understood, not just “heard.”

Finding Home in Exile: How Ukrainian Refugees Remember Their Time in Polish Households

By Kamil Łuczaj. What is it like to flee your home overnight and rebuild life in a stranger’s house? For many Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Poland after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the answer is woven with fear, resilience, and unexpected acts of kindness. But how do they remember those first chaotic weeks – and what stories do they choose to tell? This post dives into the narratives of 30 Ukrainian war refugees who found temporary refuge in Polish households. Through interviews conducted in 2023, it explores how they recount their journeys – from the moment the invasion began to their experiences settling into a new, unfamiliar space. While every story is unique, common threads emerge: the shock of displacement, the challenges of adapting to a new culture, and the fragile hope of rebuilding life from scratch.

War Memorials in Russian-Occupied Ukraine

By Denys Shatalov. The monuments we encounter in a territory tell us not so much about its past as about present ideology. The new study by Mischa Gabowitsch and Mykola Homanyuk, “Monuments and Territory. War Memorials in Russian-Occupied Ukraine” explores the fate of war memorials in the Russian-occupied territories during the first year of the ongoing full-scale war. The authors focus on war memorials honouring different eras and conflicts, from the medieval battle of Kalka to the Soviet War in Afghanistan and the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Eastern Ukraine (2014–2022), erected in Soviet times or during Ukrainian independence.

Dissimilar Integration Policies in Scandinavia: The Experience of Ukrainian Refugees

By Marthe Handå Myhre and Oleksandra Deineko. Since February 2022, thousands of Ukrainians have fled to Europe. Despite the fact that all three Skandinavian countries grant Ukrainian refugees residence permit, the distinct national integration policies continue to shape the everyday life of Ukrainian refugees and their possibilities for integration into the labor market. What signals have the three countries been sending to the Ukrainian refugees through their integration measures, and how does it affect the integration of Ukrainians? Between February and July 2024, the authors conducted interviews with Ukrainian refugees in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, gaining insight into the challenges they are grappling within the three countries resulting from the respective national policies.

War, Migration, Memory: Perspectives on Russia’s War Against Ukraine – An Introduction

How does war reshape collective memory, migration, and identity? Read a preview of Viktoriya Sereda and Andrii Portnov’s introduction to the recently published anthology “War, Migration, Memory: Perspectives on Russia’s War Against Ukraine” exploring the ongoing impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. It delves into questions of belonging, historical memory, and societal transformation through essays written by Ukrainian scholars amid war and displacement.

Ukrainian Migrants’ Digital Connections to Family and Homeland during the War

By Taisiia Ratushna. Social media and digital platforms have considerably facilitated access to information for Ukrainian migrants. They actively use messengers and thematic groups to keep in touch with relatives, receive news, and discuss issues related to migration and integration in a new environment. Constantly monitoring news on social media allows Ukrainian migrants not only to stay informed about events in the country but also to maintain an emotional connection with home. However, constant engagement with Ukrainian news and communities may slow integration into host societies, as it reinforces emotional ties to their homeland.

Why Ukrainians Return: Motivations of Return Migration and its Implications

By Alexander Sicheneder. The decision to return for many Ukrainians is driven by a combination of emotional-political, social, and economic factors. To fully harness the potential of its diaspora for post-war recovery, Ukraine must adopt a holistic approach that addresses the economic and social needs of its returnees while cultivating a shared sense of purpose in the country’s reconstruction efforts. By doing so, Ukraine can turn the tragedy of displacement into an opportunity for renewal and growth.

Living in War: Why Ukrainian Women are Willing to Live in a Country With a Risk to their Lives

By Natalia Zaitseva-Chipak. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European countries have become home to millions of Ukrainians who have been forced to migrate because of the war. Some countries, in particular Germany, have launched unprecedented support and social protection programmes for internally displaced persons, offering housing, social benefits, language courses. Yet, a significant number of Ukrainian women choose to live in Ukraine. Some of them become internally displaced, while others live (and even return from abroad) in the frontline regions, which are constantly hit by missiles and drones.

Fragmented Lives: 10 Pieces of the Ukrainian Displacement Puzzle

By Lidia Kuzemska. We are quickly approaching the third anniversary of forced displacement from Ukraine due to the Russian full-scale invasion – a tragic benchmark no one wanted to believe in, let alone reach. I think it is time to reflect on how the situation related to the displacement of Ukrainians abroad has evolved during this period, and what trends can be expected in the near future. With this introductory post, I invite you to a conversation about the complex and entangled puzzle of Ukrainian displacement. At the heart of it are fragmented lives of 6.7mln Ukrainians currently displaced abroad and 3.7mln inside the country. Their lives are punctuated not only by the fact of displacement per se, but also by the changing policies and attitudes of their host and home countries and societies, by strained cross-border family dynamics and blurred future aspirations.