Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine and the CERES welcome Serhii Plokhii
On September 23, 2022, the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine and the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (CERES) welcomed Serhii Plokhii, the Mykhailo S. Hrushevs’kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard. Professor Plokhii is one of the world’s most eminent scholars of Ukrainian Studies and the history of the Cold War. CERES MA students were invited to an exclusive question period with Prof. Plokhii before attendees gathered in the Campbell Conference Facility for his lecture titled “Russia’s War on Ukraine: The Return of the Empire and the Nuclear Threats”. This truly unique experience gave CERES students the opportunity to pose questions to an expert in the field, informing their research and enriching their personal curiosity on the subjects of the Russian war in Ukraine and the nuclear threats which are undoubtedly top of mind for many right now.
As students gathered in a room at the Munk School, Professor Plokhii admitted that he was in a strange position; him usually being the one to ask questions of students and not the other way around. With the ice humorously broken, our CERES MA students were given the floor to pose questions to the leading scholar in a friendly informal atmosphere. The in-demand speaker, Prof. Plokhii gave thoughtful and considered comments to each question, thanking the student for asking it.
It was incredible for students to gain insight from one of the leading scholars on the subject concerning a situation that is evolving daily. Prof. Plokhii was open not only to questions about his many books on nuclear issues or Ukrainian history, but also questions about current events (at the time, Russia had recently announced its partial mobilization and launched ‘illegal’ referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia). To that end, Prof. Plokhii emphasized the remarkable Ukrainian resilience in his response to a question regarding whether there was a willingness by the Ukrainian government and people to push back against the Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory. Plokhii believes, “Ukrainians not only have the willingness to test (Russian threats of retaliation should ‘its territory’ be attacked), they already tested it.” Citing the recent counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces in Crimea despite threats from Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Prof. Plokhii’s vast historical knowledge on Ukraine, the Soviet Union, and Kyivan Rus was evident as he provided detailed answers to students’ questions offering the invaluable context needed to understand the current situation in Ukraine. In his words, “There is more history in this war than many other conflicts around the world in the last 30 years.” In addition, he shared some personal observations on the ongoing war in response to a student’s question about whether he was surprised by the invasion. For Prof. Plokhii, the surprise came not from the invasion itself, but the fact that he did not believe these actions were in the best interests of Russia, and therefore, he did not expect that they would indeed proceed with a full-scale invasion.
Serhii Plokhii’s meeting with CERES students was a rare and memorable opportunity to chat with an important voice in the conversation on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies looks forward to continuing engagement in this conversation and to providing its students with such pertinent and meaningful experiences.
