The Fall of the Pan-Russian Utopia: Serhii Plokhy delivered an opening lecture for the freshman class of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy!
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy welcomed more than 1000 new students. This year, new educational programs were established, and even more students entered the Academy than in the previous one.
Every academic year at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy begins with a ceremonious opening lecture. This year's speaker was a renowned historian, the Director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute in the United States, and Honorary Professor of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Serhii Plokhy. The topic of the lecture was "The Fall of the Pan-Russian Utopia”. It covered the fall of russian utopic idea of russification and the destruction of the Ukrainian people, which the struggle of the Ukrainian people against russia in this war caused.
“By claiming that russians and Ukrainians were one and the same people, putin left his soldiers unprepared for a war in which the entire population would oppose the invading army and support its own armed forces. In Ukraine, the russian invasion destroyed the last vestiges of the belief that Ukrainians and russians were fraternal peoples, to say nothing about their being one and the same people”, Serhii stated.
At the end of the lecture, Professor Plokhy left a message for the new students:
"You can set the most ambitious goals for yourselves. Remember Professor Bryukhovetsky, who revived this Academy. Remember about those, who set tasks for themselves, which seem to be impossible. Remember about your friends and parents who are currently struggling on the frontlines against the army that everyone had knelt before for decades. They are the ones achieving the impossible. I wish you success, and I wish you success, and I wish for you to turn the impossible into possible."
You can watch the recording of this lecture on Kyiv-Mohyla Academy's YouTube channel or read the full text of the lecture in English
Serhii Kvit, President of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, awarded Serhii Plokhy an Honorary Professor diploma and presented him with a unique publication from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, "Kyiv Atheneum: Artistic Kyiv, 17th–18th Centuries."
Congratulations to the new students of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy! Support them by making a donation or sharing this information!