This lecture explores the formation of identities and mental maps in the Ukrainian-Russian borderland, with a particular focus on the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine and its principal city, Kharkiv. Emerging in the seventeenth century as part of the Eastern European Steppe frontier, the region was settled by Ukrainian Cossacks and Russian servicemen, creating a fluid zone of interaction, exchange, and competing loyalties. Over time, Kharkiv evolved into a major cultural and economic hub on the south-western edge of the Russian Empire and later served as the first capital of Soviet Ukraine. In the post-Soviet era, it has remained Ukraine’s second-largest city, situated just 40 kilometres from the Russian border. Against this backdrop, the lecture examines how shifting frontiers, imperial legacies, and contemporary geopolitical tensions have shaped identities, memories, and visions of freedom in this contested space.

Der Vortrag findet in englischer Sprache statt. Ohne Anmeldung. Der Eintritt ist frei.