FORMAT
offline, Kyiv
10 Dobrovolchykh batalyoniv str.
LECTURER
Oleksiy Sokyrko
Research lecture by Oleksiy Sokyrko
Cossack Atlantis. Why and how did the Hetmanate disappear from the political map of Europe? Why did the Cossacks fail and will we succeed?
The Hetmanate, or Ukrainian Cossack state, was and remains, without a doubt, one of the most colourful pages of our history. Paradoxically, having been created by a military caste as a result of the great Cossack uprising and structured for the needs of war, the Cossack state eventually disappeared from the political map of Europe. This fact is usually explained by the malicious intentions of neighbours and an unfortunate coincidence of geopolitical circumstances. However, is this true? To what extent was the fate of the Hetmanate influenced by its internal problems and what were they? Why did other European neighbours, with fewer or the same resources, remain ‘afloat’? Did the loss of subjectivity of the Cossack state mean the ‘end of history’?
In 2023, the Tempora Publishing House published Oleksiy Sokyrko’s fundamental study “Cossack Mars: The State and Army of the Cossack Hetmanate in the Era of the Military Revolution, 1648-1764”, dedicated to rethinking the processes of formation and development of the state and military institutions of the Hetmanate against the background of the Military Revolution in early modern Europe. The book “Cossack Mars” was awarded the Ivan Franko International Prize (2024), the Les Taniuk Prize for the Preservation of Historical Memory (Ukraine, 2024), and the Przeglądu Wschodniego Award (Poland, 2023). The author will guide us through the main theses of his research, emphasise unique facts and draw parallels for modern state-builders and political strategists.
COURSE TOPICS
- What was the Hetmanate as a state?
- What were its characteristic features compared to other European countries?
- Who formed the political elite of the Hetmanate? What were the worldview and values of these people?
- How did they see their country and neighbours?
- What challenges did Cossack Ukraine face and what were the answers?
MENTOR
Oleksii Sokyrko
Oleksii Sokyrko is a historian, publicist, lecturer, PhD in History, Associate Professor at the Faculty of History of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, member of the Ukrainian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (USECS) and the Balkan Historical Association (BHA). His research focuses on the military and political history of Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the history of everyday life. He is the author of the books: ‘Knights of the Second Class: The Hired Army of the Left Bank Hetmanate, 1669-1726 (2006), Triumph in the Time of Ruin. The Battle of Konotop in 1659’ (2008), ’Ukrainian Rubicon. The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709’ (2009), ’On Guard of the Mace. The Court Troops of the Ukrainian Hetmans of the Middle of the XVII – Second Half of the XVIII Century’ (2018), ’Culinary Journey to the Hetmanate: Secrets and Mysteries of Old Ukrainian Cuisine of the Middle of the XVII – XVIII Centuries’ (2021), and numerous media appearances.
THIS COURSE IS FOR
- Statesmen and women
- Politicians and experts in international relations
- Experts in social engineering
- Researchers and enthusiasts of Ukrainian history
- Public intellectuals
- Culturologists and anthropologists
- A wide range of listeners interested in studying the history of Ukraine and Ukrainian evolutionary progress
The participants will gain an understanding of the following:
- What was the impact of the military factor on the history of the state and is war capable of bringing progress in general?
- What are the hidden capabilities of social and political communities?
- How do elites seek answers to the challenges of the times? What are the reasons for their victories and defeats?
THE COST OF TRAINING
Kyiv, 10 Dobrovolchykh batalyoniv St.