Rethinking Ukraine’s culture and history during the war

Abstract

ABSTRACT Russia’s escalation of its eight-year war in Ukraine into a full-scale invasion in February 2022 was followed by war crimes and atrocities that failed to achieve their stated purpose. In Ukraine there was shock, horror, and trauma – but not demoralization. Writers and philosophers, psychologists, and artists responded quickly, giving expression to a range of emotions and suffering that swept through society, in an effort to restore meaning even as the war reduced much of Ukraine to a wasteland. This study traces the reflections of Ukrainian and Russian thinkers on Russia’s war in Ukraine, its psychological impact, and their search for remedies to trauma and the colonial legacy. The conclusion considers the social contributions that artists and historians are making toward understanding and processing the devastation caused by the war, dismantling its colonial and totalitarian underpinnings, promoting social healing and democratization in Ukraine.