The aim of the series is to discuss if and to what extent the war in Ukraine is changing our perception of the past and which new questions for historians it raises.

The ninth seminar is titled “Ukraine in Russia's Historical Politics. Legitimation of Aggression” and is held mostly in Ukrainian with simultaneous translation into English. It was organised together with the History Faculty of the Ukrainian Catholic University. The speakers will be:

- Yaroslav Hrytsak, Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv, Ukraine)
- Martin Schulze Wessel, Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich, Germany)
- Tomasz Stryjek, Polish Academy of Science (Warsaw, Poland)
- Serhii Pahomenko, University of Latvia (Riga, Latvia) / George Washington University (Washington, USA)
- Denys Shatalov, Prisma Ukraїna Fellow / Forum Transregionale Studien (Berlin, Germany)

Oleksandr Zaitsev, Ukrainian Catholic University, will chair the panel. After introductory remarks by the panelists the audience will have the possibility to ask questions and to participate in the discussion.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was preceded and accompanied by historical exercises of Vladimir Putin and his propagandists. They were intended to deny the right of Ukraine to exist as an independent state and legitimize Russian aggression in the eyes of the domestic and international community. Today we witness how the artificially constructed "historical reality" becomes the foundation for the tragic reality of war.

The round table discussion will be focused on the historical politics in Russia, especially on the political abuse of Ukrainian history. By exploring the interactions between historians, propagandist media, and the political leadership we will try to understand how professional historians serve the aggressive ambitions of the state, how their ideas are shared by means of mass media, and how they affect the Russian and Ukrainian public opinion and the discourse of the Western leaders.

To participate, please register here: https://lmu-munich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CZQfkULXQS60bXi3P2KeYQ

A recording of the seminar will be published on the Youtube channel of the German-Ukrainian Historians’ Commission: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk2Bag_lfzHdH8jm_3n3skw