The Ukrainian Question in the International Arena (1918-39)

The Ukrainian Question in the International Arena (1918–1939)

After the defeat of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the lands inhabited by Ukrainians were once again divided—this time between the Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. What did this fragmentation mean for Ukraine’s future? And how did the “Ukrainian question” shape interwar international politics?

In this lecture, we examine Ukraine’s complex geopolitical status between the two world wars. While the Soviet Union claimed to represent Ukrainian interests, it built a centralized totalitarian regime. Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia each pursued their own policies toward Ukrainian populations—with varying degrees of repression and autonomy.

We explore:
– The partition of Ukrainian lands after WWI
– Soviet and Polish visions of Ukraine and their rivalry
– The rise of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN)
– The role of Petliura’s government-in-exile and Polish Prometheanism
– The shifting policies of Nazi Germany and its manipulation of the “Ukrainian question”
– The short-lived autonomy of Transcarpathian Ukraine in 1938–1939
– The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the beginning of World War II

📚 This lecture is part of the course Ukraine: The (Un)finished Second World War — exploring Ukraine in WWII, global conflict, historical narratives, and modern “memory wars” over the “Ukrainian question.” The full course with additional teaching materials and tests is available here:
https://www.udemy.com/course/ukraine-the-unfinished-second-world-war/?srsltid=AfmBOoqrwFcB17zFLVFpLttL_IT942c4rpfa5Anar_RlF9a6XQG2vzjx

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