An interview with Anton Korynevych, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Head of the Office of the Crimea Platform. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

TOMASZ LACHOWSKI: Some time has already passed since the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform, which took place on August 23rd 2021 in Kyiv. This initiative can be interpreted as a new mechanism of international co-operation designed to return the issue of the Russian occupation of Crimea to the international agenda and, hopefully to create in the future a framework for the de-occupation and reintegration of the Crimean peninsula into Ukraine. What is your interpretation of this event?

ANTON KORYNEVYCH: I am really pleased with the course of the summit of the Crimea Platform and its direct results. However, at the same time, I fully understand that this was only the first step, which, needless to say, took a lot of time and many efforts on the part of the Ukrainian authorities. It should be emphasised that the summit gathered an unprecedented number of representatives of various states and institutions. Precisely, to remind our readers, 46 international partners took part in this event.

An interview with Ihor Poshyvailo, director of the National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum (Maidan Museum) in Kyiv. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

TOMASZ LACHOWSKI: You are the director of the Maidan Museum, the fundamental role of which is to commemorate events of the Revolution of Dignity that occurred during the winter of 2013 and 2014 in Kyiv. We often understand museums as institutions that present historical events long after they happened. In the case of the Maidan, we are talking about events that happened only several years ago. When exactly did the idea to create a museum appear and how did you manage to develop the project?

IHOR POSHYVAILO: The Maidan Museum as an idea was initiated during the Revolution of Dignity itself. My museum colleagues and I decided to document as carefully as possible what was happening in Kyiv. We realised quite early that what was taking place in the winter of 2013 and 2014 certainly would not be a simple repetition of the Orange Revolution of 2004, and we became well aware that we had to be among and with the people at this exceptional time. The turning point was certainly January 16th 2014, when the so-called “dictatorial laws” were enacted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and violent clashes broke out, even though we had been documenting the protests at the very beginning of the movement.

A conversation with Tetiana Mykhailova, an expert on the poetry of Vasyl Stus at the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

Review of the book titled: Ukraine after Maidan. Revisiting Domestic and Regional Security. Written by Tomasz Stępniewski and George Soroka.

An interview with Ivan Lishchyna, the Ukrainian deputy minister of justice, and government commissioner of the European Court of Human Rights. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

TOMASZ LACHOWSKI: Since 2014 part of the Ukrainian territory has been constantly occupied by the Russian Federation and Kremlin-backed troops, widely referred to as pro-Russian separatists. Among the many different diplomatic, political and military instruments undertaken by the Ukrainian authorities, Kyiv also uses strict legal tools to succeed in its effort to dispose of the occupants on Ukrainian soil. How can human rights help in achieving this goal?

IVAN LISHCHYNA: First of all we need to come to some general terms with what we are discussing. We have to distinguish two territories that are currently occupied by the Russian Federation: Crimea and a part of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (referred to as ORDLO in Ukrainian law). From the point of view of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and from the Ukrainian standpoint, there is no difference in the legal regimes between them: they are both occupied by Russian forces and unlawfully held by the Kremlin.

An interview with Yevhen Mahda, a Ukrainian political analyst and the Executive Director of the Institute of World Policy, a think-tank based in Kyiv. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

There is no question that transitional justice plays a significant role for a society in overcoming a past trauma. This was the case for Ukrainians seeking justice for the Holodomor events. It may also be the case as Ukraine seeks to end the conflict in Donbas.

On January 13th 2010 the court of appeals in Kyiv adopted a ruling stating that the Great Famine, known as Holodomor, which took place in 1932-33 was an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. It further ruled that the crime of genocide was organised and committed by the Bolsheviks, specifically naming Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Pavel Postyshev, Stanisław Kosior, Vlas Chubar and Mendel Khataievich. However, the accused and principle architects of one of the most heinous crimes of the 20th century, in which several million people died, were unable to hear the final statement of the court – all had passed away decades before the proceedings were even launched.

Review of "The Hybrid Aggression of Russia: Lessons for Europe" (Гібридна агресія Росії: уроки для Європи). By: Yevhen Mahda. Publisher: Kalamar Publishing House, Kyiv, 2017.

An interview with Jan Šerek, social psychologist and political scientist at the Masaryk University in Brno. Interviewer: Tomasz Lachowski

TOMASZ LACHOWSKI: Lately we have witnessed an increasing popularity of populist politicians winning elections on a conservative agenda and with a relatively high support of young voters. We have seen this in our region of Central Europe – such was the case of Jarosław Kaczyński and the current-ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland as well as Marian Kotleba and the People’s Party of Our Slovakia in Slovakia. Do you see a similar tendency towards populism among young voters in the Czech Republic?

JAN ŠEREK: Without a doubt this new tendency of young people being more conservative is also visible in the Czech Republic. However, we cannot put a whole generation into one box – we need to recognise that their political behaviour and choices depend on many factors, including education. Regarding the popularity of populist movements, especially among adolescents, I have to emphasise the huge role being played by the media.

The Gates of Europe. A History of Ukraine. By: Serhii Plokhy. Publisher: Basic Books, New York, NY USA, 2015.