History of Modern Russian and Ukrainian Art, 1907-1930 Microfiche Collection

Teatral’noi stroi (A.H. Petryts'kyi) . Kharkiv, 1929

The History of Modern Russian and Ukrainian Art, 1907-1930, is a collection of 106 rare books and serials spanning the years 1907-1930, -- reproduced on microfiche by IDC Publishers in the Netherlands. The collection consists of monographs, critical literature, and art periodicals. Included in the collection are early twentieth century art journals such as Tvorchestvo(Creation), Radians’ke mystestvo (Soviet Art), and Rabis (Art Workers). The collection contains written articles of such notable artists as, Wassily Kadinsky, Pavel Filonov, Kazimir Malevich and Anatolii Petrytsky, -- as well as books by well-known art critics such as Iakov Tugendkhol’d, Erikh Gollerback and Nikolai Punin.

Ukraine, Russia and the other republics of the former USSR underwent a national re-awakening of their languages, literatures, and cultures during the 1920s. The theatre, the fine arts, and the various literary movements looked westward to developing their crafts, -- as a result new publications expounding this new experimental era began being published. Many of the publications produced were often of short print runs, making them scarce from the moment they become available to its readers. With the introduction of Socialist Realism as the only acceptable form of art beginning in the early 1930s, those publications focusing on modernism and the avant-garde were banned, and removed from museums and libraries.

This collection is available to faculty, students and researchers on the main floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library’s Microforms area (Call number: N 6988 H57 2000 MFiche Box 1-4). For further assistance, please contact the staff of the Slavic Collection.

Polish Amateur Theatre Pamphlet Collection

Chata za wsią, published in Chicago, 1909

The Elizabeth Dafoe Library's Slavic Collection's Polish Amateur Theatre Pamphlet Collection, consists of small format publications of plays written by Polish playwrights and published in Poland and in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. The plays were geared towards amateur theatre groups for the Polish community, and consisted of comedies, dramas, and plays about historical figures in Polish history. 

This collection is available in the Slavic Collection's closed stacks. Please ask the Slavic staff for assistance.

Entsyklopediia Suchasnoi Ukrainy = Encyclopedia of Contemporary Ukraine

 This valuable resource containing entrees related to modern Ukraine, is an ongoing project under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which publishes approximatley one volume a year. It is the first  large scale and exhaustive national encyclopedia produced in independent Ukraine. Among the entrees, are both personalities in Ukraine, and abroad, -- along with major figures in the Ukrainian diaspora. Included on the editorial board,  is the well-known writer, and former Ukrainian dissident, Ivan Dziuba. The first volume of Entsyklopediia Suchasnoi Ukrainy, was printed in 2001.

Entsyklopediia Suchasnoi Ukrainy is available in the Slavic Collection's Reference area, under the call number: Slav Ref AE 60 U4 E54

20th Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture, with Dr. Timothy Snyder.

Dr. Timothy Snyder speaking at the University of Manitoba

The 20th Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture took place on Thursday, March 29, 2012, in the Moot Court, Robson Hall (Faculty of Law). The guest lecturer for the event was, Dr. Timothy Snyder, a Professor of History at Yale University, and New York Times bestselling author, with his book, Bloodlands: Europe Bewteen Hitler and Stalin. His lecture also titled, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, reflected upon his research on the history of mass murders in central and eastern Europe between 1933 – 1945. His lecture took the mass murders out of isolation and examined them beyond the traditional historical understanding of their causes.

The lecture was very well attended, and included both members of the university and external communities. The lecture was sponsored not only by the U of M Archives & Special Collections, the Slavic Collection (Elizabeth Dafoe Library), and the Department of German and Slavic Studies, but by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland (Toronto), and the Canadian Polish Congress (Manitoba Branch). Without the generous support of the latter 2 sponsors, the event would not have been possible.

Jezyk Polski

The University of Manitoba Libraries recently subscribed to the Polish language journal, Jezyk Polski (Polish Language). This monthly journal discusses Polish language pedagogy, including instuctional teaching at various levels of fluency.

The most recent issues are displayed on the Slavic Collection’s Current Periodical Shelf, while the older issues are available in the Slavic Collection's main stacks, under the call # Slav Per 491.85 J559 Pol

19th Annual Rudnyckyj Speaker

Dr. Serhy Yekelchyj addresses the audience at the

19th Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Lecture

The 19th Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture took place on Friday, February 10, 2012, in the U of M Archives & Special Collections. The guest lecturer for the event was, Dr. Serhy Yekelchyk, a Professor of History at Victoria University (British Columbia).

Dr. Yekechyk is a scholar of Stalinist culture and political life, in particular in the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He has also written about Soviet nationalities policy and about Ukrainian national identity from the late nineteenth century to the present. Amongst his works are: Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation (2007); Europe's last frontier? : Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine between Russia and the European Union (Co-edited, 2008); and Stalin’s Empire of Memory: Russian-Ukrainian Relations in the Soviet Historical Imagination (2004). His lecture was titled, Ukrainian Culture Under Stalin. The talk was well attended, and included both members of the university and external communities.