Free online course
Since the late 19th century, Ukraine has been called the breadbasket of Europe. Yet, in the 1930s, Ukraine lost millions to starvation. How did this happen?
This course from the University of Alberta, Famine as Genocide: the Holodomor in Ukraine, examines the history, the larger context, and the relationship to the war right now.
Just create a username and password on Coursera to sign up for the course and learn this important history at your own pace.
History of Ukraine
It's impossible to understand the current situation in Ukraine without understanding its history. What you learn might surprise you! Dive into the resources linked here to find out more and take your time to absorb the highly informed perspectives here.
Yale course: The Making of Modern Ukraine
This course with Ukraine expert, Professor Timothy Snyder, was made freely available on YouTube and is highly recommended.
Lecture 1: Ukrainian questions posed by Russian invasion.
Lecture 2: The genesis of nations.
Lecture 3: Geography and ancient history.
Lecture 4: Before Europe.
Lecture 5: Vikings, slavers, lawgivers: the Kyiv state.
Lecture 6: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Lecture 7: Rise of Muscovite power.
Lecture 8: Early Jews of modern Ukraine.
Lecture 9: Polish power and Cossack revolution.
Lecture 10: Global empires.
Lecture 11: Ottoman retreat, Russian power, Ukrainian populism.
Lecture 12: Hapsburg curiosity.
Lecture 13: Republics and revolutions.
Lecture 14: Interwar Poland's Ukrainians.
Lecture 15: Ukrainization, famine, terror: 1920s–1930s.
Lecture 16: Colonization, extermination, ethnic cleansing.
Lecture 17: Reforms, recentralization, dissidence:1950s–1970s.
Lecture 18: Before and after the end of history.
Lecture 19: Oligarchies in Russian and Ukraine.
Lecture 20: Maidan and self-understanding.
Lecture 21: Comparative Russian imperialism.
Lecture 22: Ukrainian ideas in the 21st century.
Lecture 23: The colonial, the post-colonial, the global.
Ten books to help understand Ukraine
The Kyiv Independent has curated a collection of books for those who want to understand Ukraine better. You can find the reading list here.
