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

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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 .

Manitoba Eastern European Heritage Society (MEEHS) fonds

       

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Accession, Angusville, MB

                       

                        

 Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church, Oakburn, MB

The Manitoba Eastern European Heritage Society is a group of researchers inspired by a desire for knowledge of the architectural history as well as mutual concern for the spiritual future of Eastern European churches in Manitoba. The principal members of the Society are Stella Hryniuk, Basil Rotoff, and Roman Yereniuk. These three researchers, on behalf of the Manitoba Eastern European Heritage Society, received funding from the Historic Resources Branch of Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation to travel around Manitoba documenting the architecture, art, and history of the province’s Ukrainian Byzantine-rite churches.

 The group identified 140 Ukrainain Catholic and Orthodox churches across the province, plus an additional twenty Eastern European Churches. They documented eighty churches, taking into consideration the condition of the churches, prominent architectural features, and the scattered distribution of churches across the province. The project began in 1986 and with the help of student researchers was completed in 1990 with the publication of the book “Monuments to Faith: Ukrainian Churches in Manitoba.”

The collection was donated to University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections by Professors Stella Hryniuk, Basil Rotoff, and Roman Yereniuk in 2008.  The fonds consists of material relating to the history of Eastern European communities in Manitoba. This includes over 400 photographs, almost 7000 slides, close to 200 contact sheets, close to 3000 negatives, correspondence, maps, research notes, church directories, church inventories, and architectural evaluations of Manitoba Eastern European churches. The collection also includes taped interviews with or about various church artists or architects. The majority of slides and photographs from the Manitoba Eastern European Heritage Society (MEEHS) fonds have been digitized and are made available to view on the  U of Manitoba Libraries Digital Collections webpage for the Manitoba Eastern European Heritage Society fonds.