Russia

Centre for Comparative Literature

Slavic languages and literatures

Humanities

Soviet

While the world continues to witness the exchange of bombs and gunfire in Ukraine, the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Ann Komaromi is involved in the exchange of underground journalism and literature about the former Soviet Union.

For more than 20 years, Komaromi, an associate professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of Slavic languages and literatures and the director of the Centre for Comparative Literature, has been involved with Memorial, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization that was founded in Russia during the fall of the Soviet Union to collect facts about repressions and civil society activity during Joseph Stalin's reign (1924-1953) and its aftermath.

The organization consisted of two entities: Memorial International, which documented Soviet-era history, including crimes against humanity; and the Memorial Human Rights Centre, which was focused on the protection of human rights – especially in conflict zones in and around modern Russia.

The Russian government ordered Memorial shut down in December 2021 and forced its closure earlier this year.

“The historians at Memorial, some of whom were activists in the dissident period, were not well paid. It was not glamorous and they were not particularly rewarded within their society for what they were doing,” says Komaromi. “That’s why it's important to support what they do and make sure it's well known.”

Komaromi first became connected to Memorial in the late 1990s while working on her PhD dissertation when she was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I went to Moscow to do some research and went to the offices and met people there,” she says. “I became fascinated with the materials and information they had. You couldn't find it anywhere else.

“Researching topics that were not part of official history – that became the history of repression in the Stalinist era. Memorial’s efforts to commemorate and gather information about the victims of Stalin era represented the flagship work they were doing for many years. It's enormously significant.”

A woman wearing a face mask with the logo of Russia's rights group Memorial is seen outside the Moscow City Court where a hearing to dissolve the group's Human Rights Centre was taking place (photo by Vasily Maximov/AFP via Getty Images)

Komaromi assisted with Memorial’s efforts to capture the history of dissidence after Stalin which included recording and preserving the unofficial texts Russian citizens produced and circulated. By the mid-2000s, she was deeply involved in a collaboration to further study this publishing network, called "samizdat."

"We collaborated to work on a catalogue of underground publications," she says. Those publications included art and literary journals, rare copies of which are kept in an archive in Bremen, Germany, at the Institute for the Study of Eastern Europe.

Now, electronic editions of those underground journals are available with timelines of dissident movements and published interviews with activists on Komaromi’s digital humanities project site through ��߲ݴ�ý Libraries.

Among the journals and publications shared and exchanged, the Chronicle of Current Events was regarded as the most widely read underground bulletin.

“They were recording facts about who had been arrested, who underwent interrogation,” says Komaromi. “It also shared what uncensored works were being passed around and what was being seized during searches. The emphasis was on facts. They wanted to keep emotion and politics out of it.

“But at the same time, there was this thriving poetry scene, there was theatre, fiction writing – all of this unofficial culture.”

Some of the fiction writing and poetry circulated included the works of some very well-known writers, such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky, who was exiled in the early 1970s for his poetry.

But most of the journalists and authors were relatively unknown.

To boost the exposure of their work, Komaromi published her book, Soviet Samzidat, last year, capturing the underground publishing scene between the 1950s and 1980s.

“It's about the publishing itself and the culture – and the rich content of that underground publishing network,” says Komaromi.

She continues to work with Memorial, despite it being shuttered by the Russian government.

“The Russian government needs to control the history of the Soviet Union for its political purposes today,” says Komaromi. “This was a very public signal that the government controlled the narrative about history and wouldn’t allow any independent work to be done.”

That won’t stop Komaromi.

“My research today has to do with dissident memoirs and looking at the ways that people who were involved with various kinds of rights activism described their lives and activities,” she says.

“There's still a form of Memorial functioning in Russia, but a lot of people needed to go abroad. In France, for example, the history of dissidence project is still going on through people working there. That's how I'm able to continue collaborating with them.”

For Komaromi, her work with Memorial has been the defining experience of her distinguished academic career and a reflection of her belief in democratic values.

“I find the commitment of the historians of Memorial inspiring, the way people have devoted so many years to the values they uphold,” she says. “I see what they do as deeply patriotic.

“They want to curate an honest record of the history of their own country for the good of their own people. I feel it's something that's crucially important for Russia and it’s also relevant globally – for all of us who care about fact-based discourse, individual rights and freedom of expression.

“We should all be concerned about the distortion of facts and violent suppression of rights to free speech because historical propaganda is being used to justify Russia's war in Ukraine.”

Work together to fight Russian aggression, Estonian President Alar Karis tells students during U of T visit

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 14:29:41 +0000

Work together to fight Russian aggression, Estonian President Alar Karis tells students during U of T visit

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/25/2022 - 09:29

Cutline

Estonia's President Alar Karis speaks at an event hosted by U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy on Nov. 22, 2022 (photo by Jamie Napier)

Gillian Mathurin

Topic

Global

Undergraduate Students

Estonian President Alar Karis warned against Russian aggression and called on the world to mobilize in support of Ukraine at a sold-out event at the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy this week.

“The Euro-Atlantic security architecture and our shared values face the most serious threat since the end of the Second World War,” said Karis at the Nov. 22 event. “In Europe, that threat comes from Russia, and how we respond to it will have implications for the world we live in for decades to come.

“We may have briefly believed that the world had changed and borders, at least in Europe, would not be changed by military force, that people could choose their own form of government and generally live in peace. However, as became clear on 24th February 2022, the empire next door had awakened, and begun reclaiming its sphere of influence once more.”

In his address, Karis described how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts go far beyond Ukraine, aiming to destroy the Euro-Atlantic security architecture and restore dominance over the Baltic States and Poland.

Estonia’s President Alar Karis took part in a Q&A moderated by Andres Kasekamp (photo by Jamie Napier)

Karis spoke with an in-person audience of Munk School students and community members at the school’s Campbell Conference Facility. He was welcomed by Munk School Director Peter Loewen and took part in a lively Q&A moderated by Andres Kasekamp, Elmar Tampõld Chair of Estonian Studies at the Munk School and a professor in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

It was a great honour to host President Karis here at the Munk School,” said Loewen. “His deep commitment to upholding our shared democratic values in the face of aggression is inspiring. I share his conclusion: ‘The only thing we can do now is to do everything to help Ukraine.’”

Prior to speaking at the Munk School, Karis attended the Halifax International Security Forum and met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of Canada’s role in our shared international security. “The value of the trans-Atlantic bond goes beyond the numbers of troops and weapons systems. It is a political community, a community of values, and we have demonstrated already that we are much stronger together.”

“Putin’s strategy for the moment is to coerce us into giving up on Ukraine by imposing costs on our societies. His primary tool is to weaponize its energy resources by restricting their accessibility, thereby threatening shortages, and by damaging our economies through inflation. In his immediate neighbourhood, Russia can also use hybrid warfare to scare and destabilize. This includes sabotaging energy infrastructure, using the migration weapon and carrying out cyber-attacks.

“We must be prepared to overcome these challenges, and not allow those tactics to cow us.”

Estonian President Alar Karis spoke with Munk School students and community members (photo by Jamie Napier)

Karis described Estonia’s own efforts to increase its national military capabilities, find alternative sources of energy, enhance energy infrastructure and secure its own borders with Russia in the face of this pressure. He also spoke of Estonia’s efforts to support Ukraine, taking in 60,000 refugees – equivalent to four per cent of the country’s total population – and giving the equivalent of a quarter of its total military budget in equipment and weapons in support of the war effort.

Karis is not the first Estonian leader to have visited the Munk School, which is home to the only endowed chair of Estonian studies in North America. In 2018, then-Prime Minister Jüri Ratas gave a public lecture, followed by former President Toomas Ilves in 2019. Karis, a molecular geneticist and biologist by training, was sworn in last year. He had earlier served as rector of the University of Tartu (a U of T partner institution) and visited U of T in that capacity in 2009.

Hearing directly from Estonia’s president was particularly important for Aleksa Gold, president of the Estonian Students Association U of T, and a four-time Estonian national swim champion. “It was a real privilege to have President Alar Karis join us at U of T and provide important insights into and educate us on the current turmoil in Europe. Being a student, especially one whose cultural roots come from a small nation, it was special to have the country’s leader come and take time out of his schedule to be with us and teach us valuable lessons.”

Chloe Qin, a third-year history major, was struck by Karis’s steadfast commitment to Ukraine. “It is incumbent upon Estonia and Canada, two of the leading democracies in the world, to defend liberalism by supporting the efforts of courageous Ukrainians in the defence of their homeland against Russian aggression.”

For Karis, the need to support Ukraine is personal. “It is important to realize, that when we talk about abstract concepts – security architecture, democracy, freedom – we are actually talking about very real consequences for real people. Violence, death, and destruction happen to people.”

“In Estonia, we have experienced the same things you see on your screens happening in Ukraine,” said Karis. “In fact, many Estonians had to flee to Canada and other free countries in the 1940s to avoid the same fate that befell the inhabitants of Bucha, Mariupol, Kherson. We will always remain grateful to Canada of accepting Estonian refugees, some of whom, in their desperation, crossed the Atlantic on self-made ‘Viking boats’. And we are grateful to Canada for doing its important part in NATO, the organization that safeguards our collective security and through that, our shared values.”

Karis implored the audience to continue fighting aggression and for the democratic values that bind our countries.

“We must all think that this is our business. I still remember what it meant to live in the Soviet Union – and many Estonians do. This is why we will not stop fighting for freedom and we will not stop helping others who do the same. I hope that we are in this together.”

'A human tragedy at the greatest scale': Lynne Viola on how distorted history shapes today’s war in Ukraine

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 20:51:28 +0000

'A human tragedy at the greatest scale': Lynne Viola on how distorted history shapes today’s war in Ukraine

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 03/16/2022 - 16:51

Cutline

Lynne Viola, an expert on 20th-century Russian history, says Russian President Vladimir Putin, like most far-right nationalists, distorts the past to provide rationales for his present-day policies and ambitions (photo by Perry King)

Josslyn Johnstone

Topic

As Ukraine faces an uncertain future amid the ongoing invasion by Russia, historians around the world are looking to the past to better understand the motivations of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the future.

Few are as well-placed to analyze how Putin’s interpretation of history is playing into the current war as the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Lynne Viola, a University Professor in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science, who is cross-appointed to the Centre for European, Russian & Eurasian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. A 20th-century Russian history expert, Viola’s research covers political culture and violence in the era of Stalin.

In an interview with writer Josslyn Johnstone, Viola describes how Putin is using a distorted version of history to justify the current invasion, which she laments as a large-scale human tragedy and a manifestation of “the Russia none of us want to see unfolding.”

Viola also discusses anti-war stances amongst both Ukrainians and Russians, and explores how the invasion could affect access to key historical archives in both countries.

How does Russian President Vladimir Putin’s version of Russian history explain what we see happening today?

Putin has been talking about this mythical Russian world – Russkiy Mir, a Kremlin concept to unite all Slavic people across central and eastern Europe under one Russian culture – for a long time. There’s this idea that he is trying to recreate the historical record and leave a legacy as the great unifier of Russia.

In 2005, Putin said the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. So, I think a large part of what we're seeing now is revanchism – the fight to recoup lost territories. While I hesitate to make analogies with Stalin or Hitler, I’d say the closest one is the revanchism of the Hitler regime. For them, the First World War was not yet settled, and they were responding to the Treaty of Versailles and Germany’s supposed losses.

Putin is also what historian Anne Applebaum calls an imperial nostalgist – what you can hear in his words are echoes of 19th-century, far-right Russian nationalists of Imperial Russia. And like most far-right nationalists, Putin distorts the past to provide rationale for the present.

In his rhetoric, Putin denies the distinct identity of Ukraine. How has he reinforced this narrative to justify the invasion?

He’s challenged the idea that Ukraine is a state. He’s said that Ukraine and Russia are one people, a single whole. But then the question for him is: Why didn't they greet you with bread and salt, a traditional welcome? Blaming Lenin for the creation of Ukraine, calling for the “denazification” of Ukraine – those are just a couple of the many historical absurdities to have come out of Putin’s mouth and pen. It almost seems as if Putin is channeling his own inner Stalin, recreating elements of the Second World War in Ukraine, especially with the tank formations and repressing the few brave voices within Russia that oppose him.

Your work has shone a light on social support for Stalinism among the working class. What hold does the figure of Stalin have on the Russian people today?

That is hard to say. A couple years ago the Levada Center did a poll that showed Stalin was the most popular person in Russia, but it’s hard to measure opinions like that. What both former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Putin tried to do was partly resurrect Stalin in the minds of the population – you know, “He did these terrible things, sure. But he also built Russia, and the Soviet Union, he won the war for us,” and so on. It's a kind of mixed bag in terms of what's coming on down from on high about Stalin.

At the beginning of his political career, we weren’t sure what to make of Putin. There was so much chaos and poverty in the 1990s. It was good to see people’s lives begin to improve. But at the same time there were apartment explosions in the late ’90s, which some say were set up to start the second Chechen war. We know what he did in Chechnya – Grozny, the capital, became famous for just how much you can destroy a city with bombing. We know he took over Crimea, and the eastern districts of Ukraine. And, on top of that, you've got these frozen conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in Transnistria and Moldova, where you have little enclaves of Russian-supporting populations. If he wants to go back and open those conflicts again, he's got a way in.

How have stances against this war taken shape amongst those who call Ukraine and Russia home?

We can see how Ukrainians are proving themselves to be a very strong people, and there is this tremendous unity that came out of the Euromaidan revolution in 2014. It’s also worth noting that Ukraine is a multiethnic state – and people are identifying not ethnically, but politically with their state, which is an amazing achievement. So, one of the ironies of Putin’s aggression is that Ukraine is strengthened now more than ever before.

Some Russians, particularly urban and of the younger generation, are certainly against this war. We see some of them bravely confronting the police on the streets. For my part, I just resigned my position at the Centre for Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow because I have no interest in any relationship with the Russian government, which funds the centre. I’ve been in Russian history for a long time. Russia is my second love. What’s happening today is a human tragedy at the greatest scale – it’s the Russia none of us want to see unfolding. Ukraine has also been the site of my research for almost the last 10 years. Almost every city I see in the news, I can attach to the face of one of my students. I worry about how they are doing – I just learned one of my PhD students has made her way from Warsaw to help refugees in her hometown of Lviv.

Your research has taken you deep into previously classified files of the former KGB archives in Ukraine and Russia. What threat is this type of documentary evidence under now?

Putin has been busy destroying Russian civil society for a while now – his latest act was the shutdown of Memorial, an NGO dedicated to preserving the memory of the victims of Stalin, and home to a human rights wing and the largest archive on the Gulag in the world. And the “foreign agent” law he introduced in 2012 means many civil society organizations haven’t been able to continue because they received financial support from outside of Russia.

My work in Kyiv was in the archive of the former KGB – in Ukraine that's called SBU, the Security Service of Ukraine. I know that the SBU buildings are targets for the Russian military, which house the archive in Kyiv. I’m glad we managed to publish our documents and place them in the public domain. And fortunately, many Ukrainian archives have started to digitalize collections to protect them. The future of these archives depends on the fate of Ukraine. They will not be easily accessible if they even remain standing.

'A watershed moment': U of T's Lucan Ahmad Way on how the war in Ukraine could reinvigorate democracy

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 15:57:55 +0000

'A watershed moment': U of T's Lucan Ahmad Way on how the war in Ukraine could reinvigorate democracy

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 03/09/2022 - 10:57

Cutline

Ukrainians wave flags during a live performance of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at Independence Square on March 9, 2022 (photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Cynthia Macdonald

Topic

As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine is poised to enter its third week, it’s become increasingly clear that he badly misjudged the resourcefulness of Ukraine’s military and the unwillingness of average Ukrainians to accept an occupation.

At the same time, Western sanctions are squeezing Russia’s economy as multinational corporations from Apple to McDonald’s suspend operations in the country.

“I think his ideal scenario was the invasion of Crimea in 2014, when there was literally no military resistance to the takeover,” says Lucan Ahmad Way, a professor in the department of political science at the ��߲ݴ�ý Scarborough who is cross-appointed to the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and is an associate at the Centre for European, Russian & Eurasian Studies.

“There were international sanctions, but they were limited, and normal life could go on. As a result, his popularity soared. It’s hard to know what he was thinking when he invaded Ukraine, because this is not Crimea.”

Way, who is co-director of the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine and co-chair of the editorial board of the Journal of Democracy, recently spoke with Faculty of Arts & Science writer Cynthia Macdonald about how the war is being viewed from both Ukraine and Russia – and what it could mean for Putin and the future of democracy in Europe.

Prior to this invasion, what was the attitude of Ukrainians toward Russia?

I think first about western Ukraine, which was the birthplace of Ukrainian nationalism. It’s a place where there’s a very strong tradition of anti-Russianism, and the centre of an insurgency against the Soviet occupation that lasted for about a decade after the Second World War. It’s also the same region that helped to overthrow autocratic governments in Ukraine in 2004 and 2014. So even in the absolute worst-case scenario in which Putin is successful militarily, it’s unimaginable that he could take over that region in any more than a nominal sense.

And you also have a whole generation of young people fighting right now who have known nothing but an independent Ukraine. If you look at public opinion polls even before the war, 90 per cent of people in the country supported independence from Russia. Even in southeast Ukraine, which is where you traditionally had more pro-Russian attitudes – about 85 per cent supported Russia there – the situation has changed. So it’s hard to see how this ends well for Putin.

In Russia itself, how has the people’s support for Putin changed as a result of recent events?

Putin’s view of Ukraine as being historically part of Russia is widespread among many Russians. Many of them have a very poor understanding of Ukraine. Living in Moscow, I was always shocked about that. Many Russians have relatives who live in Ukraine and most of them have been there. In spite of that, they’ve commonly believed some of Putin’s rhetoric about Ukrainian neo-Nazism and their having a puppet government controlled from abroad.

But now they’re being asked to sacrifice their children and the sanctions are causing enormous hardship – you can’t take money out of an ATM. Clearly all this is very much of a problem for Putin. I think his ideal scenario was the invasion of Crimea in 2014, when there was literally no military resistance to the takeover. There were international sanctions, but they were limited, and normal life could go on. As a result, his popularity soared. It’s hard to know what he was thinking when he invaded Ukraine, because this is not Crimea.

We’re seeing more and more protests in the streets of Russia. In the long run, will this be meaningful?

I think it’s quite meaningful. You see opposition from various surprising sources – religious leaders and many celebrities. At the same time you’ve also seen, sadly, radio and television stations in Moscow that had been operating independently, but are now shut down. So, you’ve seen the closure of the remaining islands of liberalism that had survived through 20 years of Putinism.

Traditionally, Putin has been concerned about public opinion and he has been responsive. But the impact on Russia has been much more severe and swift than we ever would have expected. You have thousands dying in a war that people really do not understand. And again, people’s close relatives and friends live in Ukraine. Almost everyone has personal connections there and that is really important. In that respect, this is very different than other conflicts that Russia has been involved with, such as Chechnya or Syria.

So given all this, a week ago I would have said the chances of revolution in Russia are minuscule. There was no organized opposition and Putin was quite popular. But he’s now single-handedly radically changed that whole situation: revolution is now something we can envision happening.

Your 2010 book Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War describes a phenomenon where free elections are held within a country, and yet at the same time the deck is stacked in favour of the authoritarian candidate. Has this been the case for Ukraine?

Yes, for certain periods of time. Under [pro-Russian] President Viktor Yanukovych you had the opposition in jail, so it really wasn’t a democracy. At the same time, opposition parties were allowed to campaign and compete in elections. Right now, I think Ukraine is very much a democracy as evidenced by the fact you have Volodymyr Zelensky as president. A total outsider and someone who was not at all connected to the inner circle or the power structure, he was still able to win 73 per cent of the vote. Ukraine, with the possible exception of Moldova, is perhaps the most democratic of the former Soviet republics. And Ukrainians have fought really hard for their democracy.

Is it surprising to Putin that Zelensky has shown such strength in this conflict?

I think so. A lot of Zelensky’s support came from eastern and southeastern Ukraine, which are Russian-speaking. And I think in a sense what happened with the Russian-Ukrainian relations was that Putin had high hopes for him initially, because of his cultural orientation. Zelensky’s first language was Russian, he was born in central Ukraine, and his power base was in the more Russophile parts of the country. Putin felt that Zelensky would accommodate Russia more. But that didn’t happen, and I think that was a tipping point.

Yet I agree with what everybody says: Zelensky is really the man of the moment and has shown enormous bravery. His social media broadcasts have become a lifeline for maintaining Ukrainian unity in the face of this threat.

Ukraine is fighting for democracy. And at the same time, in other parts of the world, there seems to be a creeping appetite for authoritarianism. How do you think this war might change attitudes elsewhere?

I think the decline of democracy has been exaggerated. If you look at the numbers, it is healthier than at any other time in history. But this may be a watershed moment: it’s kind of reinvigorating what’s happened since 1991. We’ve had to fight for democracy, and I think that sense of common purpose has been really important. We can’t take any of this for granted, especially in Europe. I think there will be a silver lining in all of this, in that it will re-enforce our commitment.

'Anger, heartbreak and sadness': U of T President Meric Gertler condemns violence in Ukraine

mattimar — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 17:54:19 +0000

'Anger, heartbreak and sadness': U of T President Meric Gertler condemns violence in Ukraine

mattimar Tue, 03/01/2022 - 12:54

Cutline

(Photo by David Lee)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Global

Meric Gertler

Centre for International Experience

��߲ݴ�ý President Meric Gertler is condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and “the violence and aggression it has caused.”

On behalf of the U of T community, President Gertler spoke out against the invasion, which he said has been met with “horror, outrage, anguish, and utter disbelief.”

He said he supported diplomatic resolutions that would quickly restore peace.

“I strongly support all diplomatic efforts to achieve a swift end to the war, and the return to peace, security and democracy,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

“In the face of this shocking human suffering, our thoughts turn to the many ��߲ݴ�ý students, faculty, librarians, staff, alumni and friends who have personal connections to Ukraine and the wider region, and to all members of our community who have been impacted by these recent events – including members of our Russian community who oppose the war and seek a peaceful resolution.

“I know I join so many across our University in expressing anger, heartbreak, and sadness at this needless suffering.”

Russia’s military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, drawing near-instantaneous condemnation and harsh sanctions from governments around the world, including Canada’s.

President Gertler said U of T has a special connection to Ukraine, including hosting many Ukrainian students. In addition, he highlighted the importance of U of T’s Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine, home to leading scholars and educators, as well as the department of Slavic languages and literatures and the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies – all in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

He said he was honoured to have the opportunity to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when U of T hosted the Ukraine Reform Conference in July 2019.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U of T President Meric Gertler and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky pose for a photograph inside U of T’s Simcoe Hall at the 2019 Ukraine Reform Conference (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

“I was struck then by President Zelensky’s personal warmth and great commitment to Ukraine and its people,” he said.

The conference was attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, then-Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and other officials representing over 30 countries. Focused on the future of Ukraine, the conference included panel discussions and a speech by Zelensky as well as other delegates.

During these difficult times, President Gertler said universities have a unique responsibility “to foster deeper understanding of complex issues, to bring people together to learn from each other through dialogue, and to advance the human condition globally through education, discovery and outreach.”

For example, two Ukrainian professors joined an online roundtable talk hosted by U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy just days after the invasion. Another panel organized by U of T Mississauga’s department of political science was scheduled for Tuesday.

“I take great pride in the work of our scholars, and particularly so in times like these, when we are all struggling to make sense of the unfolding tragedy,” President Gertler said.

U of T is reminding students, faculty and staff that there are services available at each of the three campuses for those who need support as the tragic events unfold in Ukraine.

The following services are available to students:

Health and Wellness Centre (St. George)

Health and Wellness Centre (U of T Scarborough)

Health and Counselling Centre (U of T Mississauga)

My SSP (support available 24-7/365)

For staff and faculty:

Employee and Family Assistance Program (support available 24-7/365)

Experts in Ukraine join Munk School event to discuss Russia’s invasion of the country – and what happens next

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 21:57:57 +0000

Experts in Ukraine join Munk School event to discuss Russia’s invasion of the country – and what happens next

geoff.vendeville Fri, 02/25/2022 - 16:57

Cutline

(Photo by Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

With Ukraine under attack, experts in Kyiv joined an online roundtable talk organized by the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy on Friday to share insights from the field with a global audience.

Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said he woke up to the sounds of bombing around five in the morning.

Olexiy Haran, a professor of comparative politics at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and research director at the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, said his daughters were staying in bomb shelters.

The two Ukrainian professors shared their insights with Janice Stein, the Munk School’s founding director and the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science; Lucan Way, a professor of political science at U of T Scarborough and co-director of the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine at the Munk School; and Timothy Frye, a professor of post-Soviet foreign policy at Columbia University.

The wide-ranging discussion was moderated by journalist Peter Mansbridge, a distinguished fellow at the Munk School who was the face of CBC’s flagship newscast for three decades.

Here are a few key takeaways from the discussion:

The invasion marks the beginning of a new – and dangerous – era in international relations:

Clockwise from top left: Peter Mansbridge, Lucan Way, Timothy Frye, Olexiy Haran, Tymofiy Mylovanov and Janice Stein.

“I think there’s no question that we have seen the last gasp of the liberal international order,” said Stein. “We have a complex relationship now between Russia, China and the United States. It is not clear how three great powers manoeuvre and manage to avoid accident, miscalculation and conflict.”

Ukraine will put up a fierce resistance:

Ukrainian civilians line up to receive military training (photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

If Russian President Vladimir Putin expected a quick and easy victory over Ukraine, several experts said he may have erred in his calculations.

Thousands of Kyiv residents are lining up to arm themselves or enlist in the army as Russian troops advance, Haran said.

“It’s also clear that what Putin planned – to have a quick victory – has not succeeded,” he said. “As of now, no regional centre of Ukraine is under control of Russia.”

Way, for his part, said occupation of Ukrainian territory wouldn’t be easy for Russia.

“Even if Putin achieves a military victory in the short term, you’re likely to see a long, drawn-out guerrilla struggle,” he said, adding that Ukrainians from the western part of the country fought Soviet occupiers for a decade after the Second World War, then ousted two autocratic governments in the 1990s and 2000s.

“They are not going to sit back and let the Russian occupiers have their way.”

While Putin faces no organized opposition, there may be new questions surrounding his leadership:

Protestors take part in a demonstration in Moscow (photo by Daniil Danchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In cities across Russia, thousands protested the invasion of Ukraine – and more than 1,800 were reportedly arrested as a result.

Nevertheless, some panelists suggested Putin is unlikely to face serious challenges to his leadership in the short term.

“Putin is very insulated – both from public opinion as well as from many in his own entourage,” Way said. “So, it’s hard to imagine at this point that he’s especially vulnerable in the short term.”

Because of the personal risks of protesting in Russia, it’s unlikely that there will be mass protests, according to Frye. He noted, however, that the invasion has shocked many Russians into re-evaluating their relationship with the state and Putin.

“How that will be expressed and whether or not that will have meaning politically, I do think it’s important,” he said. “It’s much easier to govern as a popular autocrat than an unpopular one.”

Russia may have inadvertently strengthened NATO:

In justifying the invasion of Ukraine, Putin said NATO’s westward expansion threatened Russia’s “historic future as a nation.” However, Haran said Putin is using the defensive alliance as a pretext since joining NATO wasn’t popular in Ukraine until the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“Ukrainians wanted good relations with both Russia and the EU; after 2014 it changed completely,” he said.

Way, meanwhile, said NATO is a “bit of a red herring” because the Russian annexation of Crimea made Ukraine’s membership a non-starter. “Putin says he wants to resist NATO, but he’s actually strengthened NATO by this action. Now Finland and Sweden are considering joining.”

Frye agreed.

“NATO, for all of its differences and disagreements, has unified and banded together in a way that I don’t think President Putin suspected,” he said.

Though important, sanctions won’t deter Russia:

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Western leaders imposed severe sanctions on Russia in an effort to cripple its ability to continue funding the invasion.

Yet, Mylovanov, an economist who served in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s cabinet, noted that Russia has prepared for sanctions by stashing hundreds of billions in cash and gold.

“He has been preparing for this and the effectiveness of sanctions has become much less relevant now,” Mylovanov said.

It’s important to be realistic about what sanctions can achieve, Frye added.

“It’s pretty clear in the research that’s been done that when countries have national security interests at stake, economic sanctions are just not sufficient to really deter them from doing things that they think they really need to do.”

'Absolutely tragic': The Munk School's Janice Stein on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

geoff.vendeville — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 16:37:43 +0000

'Absolutely tragic': The Munk School's Janice Stein on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

geoff.vendeville Thu, 02/24/2022 - 11:37

Cutline

Anti-war protestors in Italy hold placards following Russia's invasion of Ukraine (photo by Piero Cruciatti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Lani Krantz

Topic

Global

International Relations

Political Science

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out attack on Ukraine by air, land and sea only days after he sent the Russian military into two separatist regions of the country.

In the wake of the invasion, Western powers, including Canada, announced sanctions and other penalties for what is being viewed as a clear infringement of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The military operation began even while members of the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting at Ukraine's request.

Janice Stein, the founding director of the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, says the window for a diplomatic solution is “vanishing to none,” and that the invasion marks a shift in the world order.

“Great power rivalry, which some had hoped had been relegated to the ashbin of history, is back with a vengeance,” she said.

The Munk School is hosting a panel discussion on the topic of Ukraine on Feb. 25 that will be hosted by Peter Mansbridge.

Stein spoke about the unfolding crisis in an interview Thursday morning with the Munk School’s Lani Krantz.

With the attacks overnight, Putin has acted on his threats of war. How far can we expect Russia to take this?

Formally, Russia invaded on Monday when it sent its troops over the border into the republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, which President Putin has recognized as independent. The war began eight years ago and escalated when Russia bombarded all of Ukraine’s cities and its tanks and artillery rolled across the border. Does Putin plan further escalation? Only he knows, but early military action suggests a wide and deep offensive in Ukraine – far beyond the “peacekeeping” operation in Luhansk and Donetsk that Putin ordered officially.

In that aggressive and angry speech he delivered a few days ago, Putin made sweeping claims about restoring greater Russia and argued that Ukraine became independent only through the foolish mistakes of past Russian leaders. Ukraine has declared a state of emergency, mobilized its reserves and its national guard, and ordered its citizens to take shelter, but its armed forces are badly outnumbered by Russian forces.

Can you explain how the recent escalations marked a departure from what was happening before?

In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and sent militia forces over the border into parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. Today, regular Russian military forces began a bombardment of all of Ukraine and sent ground forces across multiple points in Ukraine, far beyond Donetsk and Luhansk. The fabricated stories of fighting in these two provinces were clearly the pretext for a full-on invasion.

What is NATO’s role?

NATO, a collective defence organization, is obligated to come to the defence of its members. While Ukraine is not a member of NATO, several former Soviet republics that now border Russia are – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Poland and Romania. NATO is currently reinforcing its deployment in Latvia, and Canada is sending additional forces. NATO will try to support the Ukrainian resistance with weapons and supplies, but will find it challenging to do because Russia already controls the air space over Ukraine. It will not send troops to Ukraine. Ukraine, in other words, stands alone in the face of the Russian attack. Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan are all responding with increasingly serious economic sanctions, but these sanctions will not deter Russian forces.

Is there a path back to more peaceful relations?

The window for diplomatic activity is vanishing to none. Putin seems to be seeking the political decapitation of the Ukrainian government as well as the occupation of parts of Ukrainian territory that matter to Russia. Ukraine’s independence will be fatally compromised. This is absolutely tragic for Ukraine, which finds itself the victim of aggression by its powerful neighbour, but terrible as well for Russia.

What is at stake in terms of global security?

European confidence in the foundational norm that the borders of a sovereign state cannot be changed unilaterally by force has been shattered. A Russian attack marks the end of one era and the beginning of another of complex, trilateral great power rivalry with European confidence in its own security shaken to the core. Great power rivalry, which some had hoped had been relegated to the ashbin of history, is back with a vengeance.

U of T’s Lynne Viola helps document Soviet-era history amid crackdown on archives: Toronto Star

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 19:33:12 +0000

U of T’s Lynne Viola helps document Soviet-era history amid crackdown on archives: Toronto Star

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 01/20/2022 - 14:33

Cutline

(Photo by Diana Tyszko)

Topic

Humanities

The ��߲ݴ�ý’s Lynne Viola is already acknowledged as one of the world's most influential scholars of Soviet and Russian history, but her archival research and publications are taking on even greater importance amid President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on archives and historians documenting Stalinist-era atrocities.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Viola, a University Professor in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science, says the field of Russian history has been dealt several blows in recent years – the worst being the shuttering of Memorial International, an archive dedicated to documenting human rights violations in Gulags.

“Memorial has a massive archive,” Viola, who is cross-appointed to the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, told the Star. “People would literally come with suitcases full of documents about their stay or their parents’ or their grandparents’ stay in the Gulag. It’s the greatest archive in the world on the Gulag.”

Viola recently won the prestigious SSHRC Gold Medal, completing a clean sweep of Canada’s three most prestigious humanities and social sciences awards. Reflecting on her early-career collaborations with senior Russian historians in the 1990s, Viola said she now understands why they were so anxious to preserve documents for posterity: “Now I look back and think about my elderly colleagues and their warnings and I realized how prescient they were.”

However, she also noted with relief that Ukrainian archives – which were fundamental to her most recent published work, Stalinist Perpetrators on Trial: Scenes from the Great Terror in Soviet Ukraine – remain open for the time being.

Read the story in the Toronto Star

A historian’s hat trick: U of T’s Lynne Viola receives SSHRC Gold Medal for her work on Stalinist Russia

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 17:39:06 +0000

A historian’s hat trick: U of T’s Lynne Viola receives SSHRC Gold Medal for her work on Stalinist Russia

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 11/30/2021 - 12:39

Cutline

Lynne Viola, pictured arriving in Arkhangelsk, Russia in the late 1990s, is celebrated for archival research into the Stalinist era that provided revelations about perpetrators of violence and gave a voice to the oppressed (photo courtesy of Lynne Viola)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Awards

Humanities

Research and Innovation