Andrii Portnov (Gerda Henkel Fellowship, Oct ‘25 – Feb ‘26)

Ukrainian Studies in the Cold War Era: Dialogue Above the Iron Curtain, the KGB Special Operations, and Soviet Ukrainian Patriotism

20 November 2025 (Thursday), at 16:30.

Moderated by: Jelena Erdeljan

Abstract: In my talk, I would like to present one aspect of my larger project at the CAS: Aesopian language from the experience of contextual reading of Soviet historical texts. This topic is crucial for understanding Soviet historical writing in terms of formal and “inner” censorship, how some scholars publicly expressed their dissenting views despite state propaganda, and how they communicated with Soviet colleagues and other scholars in the socialist bloc and the West. I will discuss concrete examples of hidden interpretive hints, “mistaken” quotes, and non-obvious interpretations of canonical texts within the context of the multi-level, unequal dialogue between Soviet Ukrainian and Ukrainian diaspora historiographies during the Cold War era.