U. political science professor speaks on recent keynote address in Ukraine, state of Ukraine war
On Tuesday, Jan Kubik, a distinguished professor in the Department of Political Science, presented a talk about his insights and experiences during his recent trip to Ukraine in late November. He was invited to deliver a keynote address at the newly formed Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Study, he said.
He started the lecture by describing his involvement in teaching at the Invisible University for Ukraine and recommending the institution for the Laurence and Lynne Brown Democracy Medal.
"One of the shocking things is that a country at war, at the same time, is a very normal country," Kubik said of the experience of being in Ukraine during the war.
He shared photos from his phone with the audience, showing notifications from an app that alerts citizens when to seek shelter. He also displayed additional images of the shelters, which are primarily located in underground garages.
Kubik explained an interaction he had with another man that portrayed how regular attacks have become for local Ukrainians.
"I asked him, 'So, how does it work? Like, everybody goes to the basement?' He looked at me with disgust and said, 'Only foreigners,'" he said.
While much of the damage did not reach his hotel in downtown Kyiv, the effects of wartime such as drone attacks were inescapable, Kubik said.
He then described the places he visited, including an Orthodox church near his hotel and a memorable meal at a renowned restaurant.
Kubik discussed the holiest place of all Orthodoxy in Ukraine, which was previously controlled by the Moscow Patriarch and is now an independent autocephalous. The Ukrainian Minister of Culture has fought Russian control by proving "that many priests were spies or collaborators … arguing on the part of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."
Kubik said that Ukraine has experienced a lot of political turmoil since 1991, but there has been an ongoing attempt to build upon democracy in the country.
"To some degree, because of the landscape of war, the pro-rule of law, pro-democratic side, is winning," he said.
Kubik also spoke about the intertwining of religion and politics in the region, providing examples of Putin's references to religion as justification for territorial expansion. According to Kubik, a pivotal moment in 1658 arose when the signed Treaty of Hadiach between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and indigenous Cossacks of Ukraine tried to resist Russian influence.
But the failure of the treaty due to religious strife shaped years of subsequent geopolitical conflict, he said. Kubik also described the Maidan, the prominent square of the capital which witnessed three revolutions and honored numerous memorials for the martyrs.
He showed various statistics that indicate declining support from Ukranians to continue the war, although his interaction with students suggested the opposite.
"This is not the story of the relationship with Russia or the story of subjugation to Russia," he said. "It is a story of the country truly in between."
