As a group of scholars working on Ukraine and other post-Soviet states and in light of an ongoing controversy, we would like to express our support of Professor Mikhail Minakov who was recently appointed Principal Investigator on Ukraine at the Kennan Institute, a leading research institution on the post-Soviet region under the jurisdiction of the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
The appointment was made as the Institute decided to end the contract of the Director of its Kyiv Office, Dr. Kateryna Smagliy. (On March 1, the Wilson Center announced the closing of the Office). On February 27, an Open Letter signed by 31 members of the Ukrainian Association of Kennan Institute Alumni stated that the decision may have been “politically motivated,” linked with the Institute’s “growing pro-Kremlin policies.” The charges related to the Institute’s public outreach initiatives and, in particular, its association with certain Russian and American businesspersons seen as close to the Kremlin and to a cultural event that featured artists who had been publicly supportive of the annexation of Crimea.
The Letter ended by objecting to Professor Minakov’s appointment, with the allegation that he is “known for his biased analysis of Ukraine’s post-Maidan developments” and is not “independent and academically balanced” enough to serve in this position and edit an online Kennan academic blog on Ukraine. No specifics were provided, but social media threads cited an op-ed that he published in the French newspaper Le Monde in September 2017, which claimed that “the ‘Revolution of Dignity’ had led to shameless corruption, militant nationalism and a decline in freedoms.”
While we understand that the Russia-fueled war in Donbas puts a constant strain on Ukrainian society, and that scholars and citizens at large have the right to criticize policies of institutions and organizations they do not agree with, we are nonetheless appalled that the sharp critical outlook of a scholar be considered grounds for denying him a research appointment. Academic freedom entails the freedom to share contentious interpretations. Any critical statement should remain an object of academic debate, however fierce the disagreements might be.
At issue is the assumption, implied in the Letter and all-too prevalent in the current climate, that public discourse is a zero-sum game, in which a contrarian view necessarily places someone in the opposing camp, namely, with the Russian state. We wish to stress that respecting intellectual freedom to critique policies and urge reforms without being called an agent of the Kremlin is not only a right in the open and liberal society that Ukrainians wish to live in but also a condition of its existence.
We have no doubt that Professor Minakov is deeply devoted to a vision of Ukraine as a free, democratic, inclusive and open society and that his life-long commitment to the study of Ukraine and to advancing the Ukrainian cause internationally is unquestionable.
Dominique Arel, U Ottawa
Anna Colin Lebedev, U Paris Nanterre
Mayhill Fowler, Stetson U
George G. Grabowicz, Harvard U
Oleh Kotsyuba, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard U
Sophie Lambroschini, Marc Bloch Center Berlin
François-Xavier Nérard, U Paris 1
Oxana Shevel, Tufts U
Ioulia Shukan, U Paris Nanterre
Signed by, in alphabetical order:
Alessandro Achilli, Monash U Melbourne
Alexander Adamiants, European College for Liberal Arts Minsk
Eric Aunoble, U de Genève
Margarita Balmaceda, Seton Hall U
Jan C. Behrends, ZZF Potsdam
Mark Beissinger, Princeton U
Simone A. Bellezza, U of Naples Federico II
Tetiana Bezruk, U Kyiv Mohyla Academy
Jochen Böhler, Friedrich-Schiller U
Alexey Bratochkin, European College for Liberal Arts Minsk
Giovanna Brogi, U of Milan
Jennifer Carroll, Brown U
Vasyl Cherepanyn, U Kyiv Mohyla Academy
Thomas Chopard, IHR, London U
Keith Darden, American U
Monica Eppinger, Saint Louis U
Alexander Etkind, European U Institute
Michael Flier, Harvard, U
Grzegorz Franczak, U of Milan
Christopher Gilley, Durham U Library
Elise Giuliano, Columbia U
Alexandra Goujon, U de Bourgogne
Catherine Gousseff, Marc Bloch Center Berlin
Yevhen Holovakha, Institute of Sociology Kyïv
Volodymyr Ishchenko, Kyïv Polytechnic Institute
Oksana Kis, Institute of Ethnology Kyïv
Hiroaki Kuromiya, U of Indiana
Pavlo Kutuev, Kyïv Polytechnic Institute
Anne Le Huérou, U Paris Nanterre
Tetyana Malyarenko, Odesa Law Academy
David Marples, U of Alberta
Mariya Mayerchyk, Feminist Critique
Jared McBride, UCLA
Oleksandr Melnyk, U of Alberta
Oksana Mikheieva, Ukrainian Catholic U
Anna Muller, U of Michigan Dearborn
Olena Petrenko, Ruhr-U Bochum
Jessica Pisano, New School U
Olha Plakhotnik, Feminist Critique
Gwendolyn Sasse, U of Oxford/ZOiS Berlin
Ulrich Schmid, U of St. Gallen
Dmytro Shevchuk, U of Ostroh Academy
Olga Shparaga, European College for Liberal Arts Minsk
Volodymyr Sklokin, Ukrainian Catholic U
Maria Sonevytsky, Bard College
Alfred Sproede, U Muenster
Roman Szporluk, Harvard U
Igor Torbakov, Uppsala U
Lucan Way, U of Toronto
Serhy Yekelchyk, U of Victoria
Oleksandr Zabirko, Ruhr-U Bochum
Jessica Zychowicz, U Michigan/Fulbright
