Ambassador Oksana Markarova opened the second day of “Decolonizing Ukraine in Theory and Practice” conference, organized by Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University. In her remarks, the Ambassador thanked HURI director, Dr. Serhii Plokhii, and the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program led by Dr. Emily Channel-Justice for organizing the event and creating the unique space for important discussions about Ukraine and its national interests.  

Established in 1973, for more than five decades HURI has been playing a key role in promoting greater knowledge about Ukraine in the United States and globally.  The Ambassador underscored that disinformation, weaponization of history, appropriation of Ukraine’s culture and denial of our national identity remain the key avenues of Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine and thus the question of decolonizing Ukraine and Ukrainian studies is at the forefront of our efforts to restore historical justice and deny russia any claims over Ukraine and its statehood.

The Ambassador congratulated HURI on its 50s anniversary and expressed gratitude for its leadership and many years of service in advancing better understanding of Ukraine through teaching, research, and publication.

About the conference: https://huri.harvard.edu/tcup-conference