Resource person: Audra Bullard - office@clehighlands.com

Description:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created a global shockwave which threatened the stability of Europe and created food and energy security risks globally. This lecture will focus on the twentieth-century history of RussianUkrainian relations with an eye to the deeper historical factors behind the recent conflict. Beginning with an assessment of Russia’s two main justifications for war— ideas about Ukraine in Russian nationalist ideology and the role of NATO in Eastern Europe—the lecture will review Ukraine’s Soviet history from the revolution to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This more recent history—why the Soviets drew borders the way they did, why Ukraine suffered under Stalin, how Ukraine became an independent country in 1991, and where the West fits in—provides the critical context for the war.

Joseph Kellner received his Ph.D. in European history from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018, and is now assistant professor of Russian and Soviet history at the University of Georgia. His forthcoming book, The Spirit of Socialism: Culture and Belief at the Soviet Collapse, is the first cultural history of the end of the Soviet Union and is scheduled for publication by Cornell University Press in June of 2025.

Notes: Cancellation Policy Please let us know immediately if you are unable to attend a class. There is no refund for cancellations within two (2) weeks prior to a scheduled class. Programs that include food, beverage or art materials must be canceled within three (3) weeks prior to receive a refund. CLE reserves the right to cancel a program if the minimum enrollment has not been met or for circumstances beyond our control, and participants will be notified, a complete refund will be issued. All classes are held in the CLE Lecture Hall at the Peggy Crosby Center unless otherwise noted. In the event information has changed from the published brochure, it will be posted on our website and in our e-blasts. Addresses for “private home” venues will be provided to registrants within 2 days of the program date.

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