Roundtable Discussion: Freedom as an Identity Marker in Central and Eastern Europe: Lessons from Ukraine and Beyond

Please join the discussion in English in the Gräfin-Dönhoff-Building, Room 102, at Viadrina. It is also possible to participate online via Zoom. Register at kiu-communications@europa-uni.de

What role does freedom play in Ukraine’s identity? How has Russia’s war of aggression changed Ukrainian society’s sense of self? And what lessons can Europe learn from Ukraine’s experiences? These questions will be discussed by the German writer and journalist Marko Martin, the Ukrainian writer Andrij Ljubka, and the Ukrainian sociologist and historian Dr Oksana Mikheieva. Together, they will explore how Ukrainian identity has changed under the conditions of Russia’s war of aggression: both within Ukraine and in terms of how it is perceived internationally. At the same time, the event will focus on the importance of freedom and democratic engagement in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Ukrainian author Andrij Ljubka is known as a poet, essayist and translator for his precise observations of everyday life in Ukraine. In his book The Other Side of War: Literary Observations, published in 2025, he describes encounters with people on and behind the front line, as well as personal experiences from his journeys between the combat zones and his home region of Transcarpathia. In the discussion, he will – drawing on his book and his experiences as a volunteer – talk about how more than four years of war and civic engagement have transformed Ukrainian society. The author will join the discussion online.

Marko Martin lives and works as a writer in Berlin. In his collection of essays Freiheitsaufgaben (Tasks of Freedom), he explores the often-lacking awareness of freedom and the need to actively champion it – in both East and West Germany. His speech on freedom, delivered on the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 2024, attracted widespread attention; in it, he critically examined widespread myths about the fall of the Wall and the freedom that was supposedly taken for granted. With regard to Ukraine, Martin discusses his engagement with the thinking of Eastern European dissidents, as well as how critical and socially engaged thinking has changed in Germany.

The sociologist and historian Dr Oksana Mikheieva has been researching the experiences of internally displaced persons and people in the occupied territories since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. During her visiting fellowship at Viadrina, she taught on everyday life, border policy and life under occupation. In the discussion, she will highlight the significance of freedom and identity for people whose lived reality is shaped by war and displacement.

The event marks the conclusion of this year’s Ukraine Lecture Series, which was held under the title ‘Nationalities, Minorities and Identity: (Re)Configuring Ukraine?’. It is organised by the Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin (KIU). Funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the network strengthens Ukrainian studies in Germany and promotes national and international networking.

Translated by DeepL and edited