A Concordance to the Poetic Work of Taras Shevcehnko

Published in 2001 by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, -- just 14 years prior to the bicentenary of the birth of Ukraine's national bard, Taras Shevechenko, this 4 volume set represents the many years of work by Professors Oleh Ilnyzkyj and George Hawrysch of the University of Alberta. The two academics compiled a thorough alphabetical index of the words found in Shevchenko's poetry in the original Ukrainian. Ilnyzkyj and Hawrysch's concordance shows where each of Shevchenko's words are located in the text of a specific work, as well as its context within that work. 

A Concordance to the Poetic Works of Taras Shevchenko is located in the  Reference section of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library's Slavic Collection at the University of Manitoba.  Call Number Slav PG 3948 S51 A2 2001 t.1-4

Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia = Istoricheskaia Entsiklopediia Sibiri

Cover of Volume 1 of the Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia (Istoricheskaia Entsiklopediia Sibiri)

The Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia (Novosibirsk: Izdatel'skii dom "Istoricheskoe nasledie Sibiri, 2010) is the first such encyclopedia covering the histiography of Siberia from ancient to modern times. This important resource covers the region in its entirety, and looks at its  economics, demographics and its historical development over the centuries.

The idea of creating an encyclopedia devoted to Siberia goes back to the early 1930s, but such a project did not materialize until after the fall of the Soviet Union, -- with the completed work published in 2010. The encyclopedia consist of 3-volumes with individual entries arranged in alphabetical order. There are over 4000 articles, reflecting well-known indiviuals, geography, events, etc., -- with about half of them being biographical  sketches of individuals born and/ or associated with Siberia. Accompanying the text are various illustrations, inlcuding: photographs, maps and diagrams. In total, over 400 academics were consulted from over 50 universities or academic institutions, stretching from St. Petersburg in the west, to Vladivostok in the far-east.

 The Historical Encyclopedia of Siberia is available in the Elizabeth Dafoe Library's  Slavic Collection (Call# " Slav DK 761 I885 2010.

U of M Polish Language Program Fundraiser Luncheon

 

Poster for the Fundraiser for the U of M 

Polish Studies Language Program

Keynote speaker, General Walter Natynczyk (centre, standing right of the PSA banner), is flanked by members of the U of M Polish Students' Association. Photo courtesy of the U of M Polish Students' Association

The Canadian Polish Congress, Manitoba Branch, sponsored a luncheon in support of the Polish Studies Program in the Department of German & Slavic Studies, in order to raise money for the Polish Studies Fund. The event took place on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at the Garden City Canad Inn.

The keynote speaker at the event was General Walter Natynczyk, Deputy Minister of Veterans Affais and former president of the Canadian Space Agency. General Natynczyk was raised in Winnipeg's North End, and graduating from Sisler High School.  He joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1975, and over the years his career would take him to Germany, Cypress, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia. General Natynczyk served as Canada's Chief of Defence from 2008-2012.  After returning to civilian life, he became president of the Canadian Space Agency, from 2013-2014. and is currently serving as Canadian Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs.

The well-attended event, included several dignitaires, including:  His Excellency, Grzegorz Morawski, the Council General of the Republic of Poland (Toronto); the Honourable, Flor Marcelino, Manitoba's Minister of Multiculturalism and Literacy,  and  the Honourable, Melanie Wight, Manitoba's Minister of Children and Youth Opportunities. Present at the event,  and representing the University of Manitoba, were: Dr. Greg Smith, Associate Dean of Arts: and Dr. Stephan Jaeger, Head, Department of German & Slavic Studies. The event also honoured the Department's Instructor for Polish Studies, Professor Magda Blackmore, who over the past decade, has built-up and greatly promoted the Polish Studies Program at the university.

The 22nd Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Lecture - Dr. Serhii Plokhy

 

Dr. Serhii Plokhy in the foyer of the
U of M Archives & Special Collections March 20, 2015

 Advertisement for the 2015 J.B. Rudnyckyj Lecture

The 22nd Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture took place on Friday, March 20, 2015, in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. The guest lecturer for the event was, Dr. Serhii Plokhy, the Mykhailo Hrushevs’kyi Professor of Ukrainian History (Department of History, Harvard University), and the Director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.  His lecture titled, The Empire Strikes Back: The Fall of the USSR and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, discussed the current situation in Ukraine, in the context of the USSR’s breakup in 1991 (based on Serhii Plokhy’s recent book, The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union).

The well-received lecture had over 150 members of the university and external communities in attendance. The talk was sponsored by the U of M Archives & Special Collections, the Slavic Collection (Elizabeth Dafoe Library), and the Department of German and Slavic Studies. Following the lecture, Dr. Plokhy continued to answer questions at the reception that followed his talk, and signed copies of his book,  The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union, that were made available courtesy of the University of Manitoba Fort Garry  Bookstore.


Dr. Plokhy has written extensively on the histories of the Russian Empire, the former Soviet Union,  and Ukraine.  Some of his other books include: The Cossack Myth: History and Nationhood in the Age of Empires (2012); Yalta: The Price of Peace (2010); The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Pre-modern identities in Russia, Ukraine & Belarus (2006); Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History (2005); and The Cossack and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine (2001).

Russian Pamphlet Collection

Raszkazy, anekdoty i stseny = Short stories, anecdotes and scenes from plays (Moscow, 1916) 

The Slavic Collection of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library holds a unique collection of small-sized Russian language publications, that were printed mainly in Russia at the turn of the twentieth-century.  These small imprints consist of Russian folk tales, song books, historical epics, etc..  Many of the publications from this collection contain colourful title covers that are reminiscent of the genre of this period.  The collection was donated to the Slavic Collection in 2010 by Professor Basil Rotoff.

This Russian Pamphlet Collection is available in the Slavic Collection's closed stack (inside room 234 Dafoe - The Slavic Collection Office).  Please ask the Slavic staff for assistance.

Ukrainian Pamphlets from Central and Western Europe

Zhyvotko's Ostrohozhyna, published in Prague, 1942

 Located in the Slavic Collection’s closed stacks, these mostly Ukrainian language publications were published in Central and Western Europe. They span from the early 1900s to the early 1980s, and consist of small-sized booklets from various private printing houses. The content of these publications include: republished works by such notable writers as Ivan Franko, Mykola Hohol’, Taras Shevchenko,  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and Volodymyr Vynnychenko; political and economic treaties; and original novellas. The collection encompasses nearly 150 such publications. 

The collection is held in the closed stacks of the Slavic Collection's Office in Room 234 Elizabeth Dafoe Library.  For further assistance, please contact  James Kominowski, the Slavic Librarian  at 204-474-9681, or e-mail:  James.Kominowski@Umanitoba.ca .