skip to content
 

Past as Prelude: Polish-Ukrainian Relations for the Twenty-First Century

30 June – 1 July 2015

Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge

An international conference on the future of Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Since 1989, Poland and Ukraine have developed a constructive political relationship that may stand as one of the most remarkable political and social achievements of recent European history. Yet hopes for the future have also been intertwined with more difficult discussions of an often tumultuous shared past.

At this conference, we considered how the delicate negotiation between past and future might continue to develop in circumstances of increasing regional instability after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In this broad context of external threat, we proposed to re-examine the foundation of strong Polish-Ukrainian relations, which have become crucially important for Europe’s future.

By bringing together scholars and stakeholders from diverse intellectual and political spheres, we cultivated an open exchange of ideas yielding coherent new pathways for the future development of Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Yaroslav Hrytsak (Ivan Franko State University, L'viv)

Norman Davies (St. Anthony's College, Oxford)

Frank Sysyn (University of Alberta)

Robert Frost, University of Aberdeen

Serhii Plokhii (Harvard University)

Mykola Riabchuk, Paweł Kowal, Sławomir Sierakowski, Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, Karolina Wigura, Uilleam Blacker, Frank Sysyn, Robert Frost.

Stanley Bill, Andrzej Szeptycki, Igor Lyubashenko, Lyudmyla Kozlovska, Ola Hnatiuk, Łukasz Adamski, Serhii Plokhii, Yaroslav Hrytsak

 

Conference speakers included:

Łukasz Adamski (Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue, Warsaw)

Uilleam Blacker (University College London)

Norman Davies (St. Antony's College, Oxford)

Robert Frost (University of Aberdeen)

Ola Hnatiuk (University of Warsaw)

Yaroslav Hrytsak (Ivan Franko State University, L'viv)

Tadeusz Iwański (Centre for Eastern Studies, Warsaw)

Paweł Kowal (former delegate to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee)

Igor Lyubashenko (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, and New Eastern Europe magazine)

Serhii Plokhii (Harvard University)

Yohanan Petrovsky-Stern (Northwestern University)

Mykola Riabchuk (Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kyiv)

Sławomir Sierakowski (founder and editor-in-chief of Krytyka Polityczna magazine)

Frank Sysyn (University of Alberta)

Andrzej Szeptycki (Institute of International Relations, University of Warsaw)

Evhen Vorobiov (Polish Institute of International Affairs, Warsaw)

Karolina Wigura (co-founder and head of political section of Kultura Liberalna magazine)

 

Monday, June 29

Winstanley Lecture Theatre, Trinity College

Films about Reconciliation

17:30   Three Stories of Galicia

19:00   My Friend the Enemy

– followed by Q&A with director Wanda Koscia

 

Tuesday, June 30

William Mong Hall, Sidney Sussex College

10:00   Welcome: Stanley Bill and Rory Finnin

10:15   Opening Presentation: Frank Sysyn

11:00   Session 1: Current Crisis

            Yaroslav Hrytsak

            Bartosz Kramek

            Andrzej Szeptycki

            Karolina Wigura

13:00   Lunch

14:00   Session 2: Historical Perspectives

            Łukasz Adamski

            Robert Frost

            Ola Hnatiuk

            Serhii Plokhii

16:00   Coffee break

16:30   Round Table 1: Reconciling the Past

 

Wednesday, July 1

William Mong Hall, Sidney Sussex College

10:00   Welcome: Stanley Bill and Rory Finnin

10:15   Opening Presentation: Norman Davies

11:00   Session 3: Kultura Today

            Igor Lyubashenko

            Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern

            Mykola Riabchuk

            Paweł Kowal

13:00   Lunch

14:00   Session 4: Changing Paradigms

            Uilleam Blacker            

            Tadeusz Iwański           

            Sławomir Sierakowski

            Evhen Vorobyov

16:00   Coffee break

16:30   Round Table 2: Forming the Future

 

We would like to thank the following partners who helped make this conference possible:

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London The Foundation for Polish Science The M. B. Grabowski Fund The Oxford Noble Foundation The Polish Cultural Institute in London The Zdanowich Fund of Trinity College

Latest News and Events

Emma Claussen selected as Member of the Institute for Advanced Study

3 October 2025

The Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics is delighted to share the news that Dr Emma Claussen, Fellow of Trinity College and Trinity Assistant Professor in French, has been selected as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton for the 2025–26 academic year and will join for the...

Slavonic Studies presents the "Freedom" Speaker Series 2025-26

3 October 2025

We warmly invite you to attend the Slavonic Studies/CamCCEEES joint 2025-26 Speaker Series, which is dedicated to the subject of Freedom The talks will take place in Michaelmas and Lent Terms on Thursdays from 5:30pm in the Knox Shaw Room in Sidney Sussex College 30 October 2025 “Surrogates of Freedom: Authoritarian...

La Noire de… at 60. Reflecting on the life and legacy of an African classic

29 September 2025

Date: 12 - 14 Nov 2025, All day Location: Various locations A landmark of African cinemas turns 60. In 1966, Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène’s La Noire de… / Black Girl made history as the first feature-length film by a Black African director. Nearly sixty years later, this three-day film series and international...

Leading Women in Spanish Film and Television

29 September 2025

Date: 29 Oct 2025, 5:30pm Location: Lubbock Theatre, Peterhouse College This lecture will focus on Spanish cinema and television to ask: what happens when we re-focus screen histories through the lens of gender and feminism? Taking the period of Spain’s Transition from dictatorship to democracy over the 1960s and 1970s as...

Anna May Wong: The Art of Reinvention

29 September 2025

From silent cinema to multiple-language talkies, vaudeville to television, and Hollywood to Europe and beyond, Anna May Wong constantly reinvented herself. She learned new languages, trained for different media and curated an ‘authentic’ Chinese wardrobe – even when being routinely typecast in roles and narratives confined...

PhD Grant in Catalan and Iberian Studies

29 September 2025

Fitzwilliam College has announced a new PhD grant to support research in Catalan or Iberian Studies . The Fitzwilliam College Walker Scholarship 2025 will fund a dissertation in this field, offering an exciting opportunity for postgraduate students to pursue advanced research. For full details and eligibility criteria...

Keep in Touch