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ABSTRACT
Russia’s war on Ukraine has cast a pall on Russian studies. At North American universities and colleges, faculty have conducted forums to help students understand how this senseless war came about. Enrolment in Russian language courses is down, while interest in Polish and Ukrainian is on the rise. Russian literature and cultural history are imbued with an imperial and colonial tradition that the author seeks to decolonize in his teaching. Aleksandr Pushkin was in favour of conquering the Caucasus, while Nikolai Gogol′, a colonial outsider, negotiated his place in the empire. Russian and Western histories pay little attention to Ukraine, and that needs correction. Kyivan Rus needs to be treated as a state in its own right. Reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine will have to be based on Russia’s recognition of Ukraine as a separate and independent state. Russian studies need to be decolonized, and, following Canada’s lead, US institutions should develop Ukrainian studies.
RÉSUMÉ
La guerre de la Russie contre l’Ukraine a jeté une ombre sur les études russes. Dans les universités nord-américaines, les enseignants ont organisé des forums pour aider les étudiants à comprendre les causes de cette guerre absurde. Les inscriptions aux cours de langue russe ont chuté, tandis que l’intérêt pour le polonais et l’ukrainien est en hausse. La littérature et l’histoire culturelle russes sont imprégnées d’une tradition impériale et coloniale que l’auteur cherche à décoloniser dans son enseignement. Aleksandr Puškin était en faveur de la conquête du Caucase tandis que Nikolaj Gogol’, issu des périphéries coloniales, négociait sa place dans l’empire. L’histoire telle qu’elle s’écrit en Russie et en Occident accorde peu d’attention à l’Ukraine, et cela doit être corrigé. La Rus’ de Kiev doit être considérée comme un État à part entière. La réconciliation entre la Russie et l’Ukraine est conditionnelle à la reconnaissance par la Russie de la souveraineté de l’Ukraine en tant qu’État distinct. Les études russes doivent être décolonisées et, suivant l’exemple du Canada, les institutions américaines devraient développer le champ des études ukrainiennes.
Acknowledgments
I appreciate the suggestions of my reviewers and the journal’s editor and take full responsibility for how I have incorporated their comments into this essay. I also want to thank the many talented students I have had who keep me on my toes and help me rethink long-established views, both mine and those of others.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. Lem, “Fewer Students Study Russian.”
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Kuzio, “Russian-Speaking Patriotism,” parts I and II.
6. Uffelmann, “Anti-Hegemonic Code Switching.” See also Alex Averbuch’s article in this issue.
7. Bojanowska, “Equivocal Praise.”
8. Parfitt, “Russia and Ukraine.”
9. Ilchuk, “Nikolai Gogol′’s Self-Fashioning,” 206.
10. Ibid., 208.
11. Ibid., 221.
12. Ilnytzkyj, “Nationalism of Nikolai Gogol′.”
13. Pushkin, Journey to Arzrum, 23.
14. Ibid., 30.
15. Nikol′skii, “‘Podpol′nost′ kak messianskii natsionalizm,” 112–14.
16. Ibid., 116.
17. Ibid., 121.
18. Kuzio, “Western Histories of ‘Russia’.”
19. Kordan, “Russia’s War against Ukraine,” 170.
20. Sundstrom, “Improbable Path to Peace,” 224.
21. See note 18 above.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Victor Peppard
Victor Peppard teaches Russian literature and culture at the University of South Florida. He has published on Isaak Babel′ (in this journal), Nikolai Gogol′, Norman Mailer and Russian literature, Iurii Olesha (about whom he has written The Poetics of Yury Olesha), and Evgenii Zamiatin. He has published articles on Russian and Soviet sport and co-written Soviet Sport Diplomacy with James Riordan. Peppard has also published several short stories and a few translations of Russian poems.