“The fact is Ukraine is an amazing place,” said President Trump in 2015. “I’ve known so many people over so many years in the Ukraine.” Why? Why and how did Ukraine move into the middle of U.S. politics? Why have so many political figures, from Hillary Clinton to Paul Manafort to Rudy Giuliani, involved themselves with Ukraine, Europe’s second largest country? The largest is Russia, which is itself a major player in this story. Professor Serhii Plokhii, a professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard, Director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and author of many books, including The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine, will address these timely questions. As he recently told the New York Times, Ukraine became a “battlefield” between Russia and the West after it became independent almost thirty years ago. “The front lines are always places that attract both heroes and villains who go there from world capitals to make a name, advance a career, make a fortune, etc.—and then carry back home legacies, memories and skeletons for their closets,” observed Professor Plokhii. He will share more observations with the Wellesley College community in his lecture.

Co-sponsored by the Russian Area Studies Program and the History Department.