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War in Ukraine

This guide provides links to historical background and information about the current war in Ukraine.

Scholarly Initiatives Relating to the War

A Ukrainian flag blowing in the wind

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Introduction

Scholarly communities have mobilized to identify and preserve Ukraine's digital history as well as provide assistance to Ukraine's cultural organizations and scholars.

Saving Archival Collections

Saving Ukrainian Cultural Collections Online (Sucho)

"We are a group of cultural heritage professionals – librarians, archivists, researchers, programmers – working together to identify and archive at-risk sites, digital content, and data in Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions while the country is under attack. We are using a combination of technologies to crawl and archive sites and content, including the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, the Browsertrix crawler and the ArchiveWeb.page browser extension and app of the Webrecorder project."

U-ART Ukrainian Archives Rescue Team (University of Alberta)

"U–ART offers free digital storage to Ukrainian scholars and institutions under threat, and provides freesecure, and private data backup for archival institutions, research institutions, and individual scholars in all disciplines."

Protecting Culture Heritage

Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund

Established to “ensure the continuity and development of the Ukrainian cultural process during the war.”

Backup Ukraine

Project allows volunteers to digitally preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage using the app Polycam to generate 3D models of landmarks, cultural sites and monuments, and store them in a secure online archive. A partnership between Virtue Worldwide (an arm of Vice’s creative agency), Blue Shield Denmark and the Danish UNESCO National Commission.

ALIPH Action Plan for the Protection of Heritage in Ukraine

ALIPH, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas, has been mobilized to help protect the country's cultural heritage and heritage professionals. 

Canadian Coalition for Cultural Heritage in Ukraine

“The Coalition brings together the leading Canadian cultural heritage organizations to consolidate knowledge and expertise while raising funds to support the protection of cultural heritage in Ukraine.”

Heritage Rescue Emergency Initiative (HERI)

“The Heritage Rescue Emergency Initiative (HERI) has collected information on the most pressing needs of museums and museum professionals in Ukraine.” It “collects resources, including money, to cover the museums’ needs and communicates with those museums directly.”

Skrynia Cultural Heritage Program (Shadows Project)

“Skrynia is an initiative launched by the Shadows Project, with the aim of providing direct support to museums and cultural institutions across Ukraine by supplying them with materials and supplies needed to protect our rich, centuries-old cultural heritage.”

SUM – Save the Ukrainian Monuments (The 4CH Project – Competence Centre for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, European Union)

“Out of solidarity with Ukraine, immediately after the invasion 4CH launched an initiative titled SUM – Save the Ukraine Monuments to save the digital documentation of Ukrainian cultural heritage, to preserve its memory and support the future restoration of assets from the damages caused by the war. The initiative has been approved by the EU Commission and is carried out with the collaboration, the endorsement and the support of other EU cultural institutions and organizations.

Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative

“Mission is to protect cultural heritage threatened or impacted by disasters and to help U.S. and international communities preserve their identities and history.”

Resources for Displaced Scholars and Students

Resources to Help Displaced Scholars from Ukraine

"The Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) is working with the newly created International Task Force for Displaced Scholars (ITFDS)."

#Science for Ukraine

“#ScienceForUkraine is a community group of volunteer students and research scientists from academic institutions in Europe and around the world. Our mission is to collect and disseminate information about support opportunities at the university, national, and international level for graduate students and researchers directly affiliated to an academic institution in Ukraine.”

Resources for Artists

Kulturou za Ukrajinu/Culture for Ukraine (Institut umění – Divadelní ústav/Arts and Theatre Institute)

“Information about various foundations and other organizations which are providing support to artists from Ukraine who stayed in their homeland, as well as those who fled to various European countries. Here you can find options for individual financial support, mobility and residency programs, cultural programs, work search instruments and scholarships and educational offers.

Resources for Ukrainian Artists (Artists at Risk Connection (ARC))

“As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to wreak havoc and displace millions of civilians, PEN America's Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) is deeply aware of how this crisis is impacting artists and cultural professionals from the region. We have compiled a list of global resources for artists from the region who require urgent assistance, including emergency funds and residency opportunities.” 

Promoting Ukrainian Literature

TAULT (Tompkins Agency for Ukrainian Literature in Translation)

"TAULT is a nonprofit literary agency and translation house devoted to the visibility and availability of contemporary Ukrainian Literature in the English-speaking world. Founded in 2018 by literary translator Zenia Tompkins, TAULT promotes the work of award-winning Ukrainian authors, with a specific interest in Ukraine’s younger generation of writers. Through our New Voices program, we also seek to build visibility for emerging authors of exceptional promise." On February 24, 2022 TAULT issued on open call for translators (UA and RU), editors, copy-editors and fundraisers.

Ukrainian Research Institutes in Canada and the United States

Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies (CUCS), University of Manitoba

The mission of CUCS is to create, preserve and communicate knowledge relating to Ukrainian Canadian culture and scholarship. Established in 1981, CUCS provides interdisciplinary courses leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Ukrainian Canadian Studies. It also offers Letter of Participation programming (monthly lecture series and bimonthly reading club sessions) that are available to those interested in Ukrainian Canadiana.  

Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (University of Alberta)

"Established in 1976, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) is a global leader in the field of Ukrainian Studies. In support of the University of Alberta and Faculty of Arts mission and values, the Institute is dedicated to the production, preservation, and dissemination of expert knowledge about Ukraine and Ukrainians in Canada and worldwide."

Did You Know? CIUS Answers: A Response to Your Questions about Russia's War Against Ukraine

"To address the strong public interest in understanding the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies has launched a new rapid response series designed to address your questions directly and concisely."

Peter Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine (University of Toronto)

"The Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine promotes scholarly understanding of the government, economy and society in contemporary Ukraine, as well as the country’s history and culture." The Petro Jacyk Central & East European Resource Centre at the University of Toronto Libraries offers scholars bibliographic, reference, and research support on East Central Europe, and, particularly, Ukraine.

Ukrainian Research Institute Harvard University

"HURI was established to advance knowledge of Ukraine in the United States and abroad through research, teaching, and publication, particularly in history, language, and literature. With Ukraine's independence in 1991, the Institute's mission has broadened to include contemporary political, social, and economic issues. HURI also supports the study of diverse religious and ethnic groups that make their home in Ukraine, acts as a bridge between Ukrainian studies and the study of Russia, Poland, Turkey, Belarus, and Moldova, and works to develop connections with Ukraine's emerging cultural and academic institutions."