Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History [Hardcover]

Serhii Plokhy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2005

From the eighteenth century until its collapse in 1917, Imperial Russia – as distinct from Muscovite Russia before it and Soviet Russia after it – officially held that the Russian nation consisted of three branches: Great Russian, Little Russian (Ukrainian), and White Russian (Belarusian). After the 1917 revolution, this view was discredited by many leading scholars, politicians, and cultural figures, but none were more intimately involved in the dismantling of the old imperial identity and its historical narrative than the eminent Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky (1866–1934).

Hrushevsky took an active part in the work of Ukrainian scholarly, cultural, and political organizations and became the first head of the independent Ukrainian state in 1918. Serhii Plokhy's Unmaking Imperial Russia examines Hrushevsky's construction of a new historical paradigm that brought about the nationalization of the Ukrainian past and established Ukrainian history as a separate field of study. By showing how the ‘all-Russian’ historical paradigm was challenged by the Ukrainian national project, Plokhy provides the indispensable background for understanding the current state of relations between Ukraine and Russia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The particular strength of Plokhy's ... superbly structured, beautifully written, impeccably annotated and intellectually exciting book ... lies in the analysis of [Hrushevsky's historical writings. [Only an author to whom nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ukrainian historians such as Mykola Kostomarov, Volodymyr Antonovych, Dmytro Bahalii and Matvii Iavorsky are everyday companions is in a position to convey the nature and extent of Hrushevsky's achievement; and few such authors are to be found.'

(David Saunders The English Historical Review )

Serhii Plokhy is to be congratulated on producing a magisterial survey of Ukraine's "national historian" ... this is a book which matches up to the shape of Hrushevsky's work--a big and bold achievemnt.'

(Andrew Wilson Slavonic and East European Review )

'Plokhy leaves no stone unturned in this most detailed intellectual biography of Hrushevsky. A major contribution to the field of Ukrainian history, this book will become a standard work on this subject.'

(Serhy Yekelchyk The American Historical Review )

'Plokhy's account of Hrushevsky's role in nationalizing the past of a part of Eastern Europe into "Ukrainian history," thereby "unmaking imperial Russia," is truly, as advertised, a fine piece of scholarship. A nuanced, complex analysis that cannot be summarized in a short review?'

(Stephen Velychenko Russian Review )

About the Author

Serhii Plokhy is the associate director of the Peter Jacyk Centre at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta. He has published extensively on Ukrainian and east European history.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 700 pages
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; 1 edition (January 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802039375
• ISBN-13: 978-0802039378
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,623,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

S. M. Plokhy (Plokhii) is the Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University. A leading authority on Eastern Europe, he has lived and taught in Ukraine, Canada and the United States. He has published extensively in English, Ukrainian and Russian. For three successive years (2002-2005) his books won first prize of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies. In the fall of 2009, he was honored with the Early Slavic Studies Association Distinguished Scholarship Award. He lives with his family in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome contribution to world history shelves, September 7, 2005

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History (Hardcover)

Author and historian Serhii Pokhy presents Unmaking Imperial Russia, an examination of the framework in which Russian history in general and Ukrainian history in particular is viewed. In particular, the work of Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky (1866-1934) is closely scrutinized, as Hrushevsky, who became the first head of the independent Ukrainian state in 1918, dared to challenge the "all-Russian" historical paradigm and create a history that nationalized the Ukraine's past. Drawing upon both present-day and Hrushevsky's amassed knowledge of linguistics, anthropology, ethnology, and archaeology, Unmaking Imperial Russia strives to give a more accurate and in-depth understanding of Ukraine history, and specifically expose misconceptions brought about by over-reliance on the "Imperial Russia" history model. Unmaking Imperial Russia is therefore one step removed from a standard history text, as it strives to reexamine popularly held lessons of history and draw new conclusions about and from the past. A welcome contribution to world history shelves.