People understand the world through the stories they are told and tell, a historian writes. In the case of the war in Ukraine, narratives can create problems.
Smoke and fireballs rise during clashes between protesters and police in central Kyiv, Ukraine on Jan. 25, 2014. The “Heavenly Hundred” is what Ukrainians in Kyiv call those who died during months of anti-government protests in 2013-14.
(AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A need for enhanced presidential power, inherited from the early days of post-Communist transition, ruined any chances of compromise between Ukraine and Russia years ago.
A woman reacts next to her house following a Russian rocket attack Feb. 25 in the Ukranian capital of the city of Kyiv.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
The reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are complicated and based on centuries of history between the two countries. A Ukrainian scholar provides some background.
Ukranians hold a ‘Day of Dignity’ in Kyiv to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the ‘Euromaidan revolution’ that toppled the former Russian-backed regime.
EPA-EFE/Stepan Franko
A complex mix of domestic and foreign issues is putting pressure on the new government of Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Seven years after Tahrir Square became the focal point of the Egyptian Revolution, towering metal gates now control access.
Ahmed Abd El-Fatah/Wikimedia
Today’s urban public spaces tend to represent governments and cities rather than people and citizens. Architects and urban designers should contribute to shaping spaces for freedom and interaction.
In Kyiv in February 2014, riot police line up opposite crosses marking the deaths of protesters. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Euromaidan protests began in late 2013.
Christiaan Triebert/Flickr
For Ukrainians, the legacy of the Euromaidan revolution is decidedly mixed, and for the protesters who waved European Union flags EU membership now looks like a distant dream.
Vladimir Putin position in the Kremlin looks more secure than ever, and he has shut down almost all the avenues for a genuine challenge.
Some fear that Chinese investment will lead to a painful trade-off between Ukraine’s desperate economic needs and its long-standing democratic dream.
Sasha Maksymenko/flickr
Ukraine desperately needs Chinese investment but, like many other countries in this position, this is giving rise to concerns about the consequences for its fragile democracy.
When Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Victor Yanukovych, was ousted in late February, thousands of outraged and fearful people in southern and eastern cities took to the streets to demonstrate against…
Senior Lecturer and Director of the SITADHub (Social Impact Technologies and Democracy Research Hub) in the School of Communication, University of Technology Sydney