A Book Discussion | Mykhailo Hrushevsky, "History of Ukraine-Rus'", Volume 2

This book discussion will be devoted to the publication of volume 2 of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s magnum opus, History of Ukraine-Rus'. This volume’s publication brings to successful completion the entire monumental Hrushevsky Translation Project (HTP) at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, which has produced the ten-volume (in twelve books) English edition of Hrushevsky’s History.

Volumes 1 through 3 of Hrushevsky’s History form a foundational unit for the history of the Ukrainian lands and people wherein the eminent historian explores the history of the Ukrainian lands from antiquity up until the dissolution of the Rus' state on western Ukrainian territories in the fourteenth century. Volume 2 acts as a chronological bridge within that unit. This volume will be discussed within the context of the first three volumes of the History as a reflection of Hrushevsky’s vision of the history of Ukraine-Rus' during the Middle Ages. 

The first half of volume 2 provides what is still the best political history of medieval southern East Slavic territory in any language. It draws on an extraordinarily wide range of evidence to document events from the time of the death of Volodymyr the Great in 1015 through the period of Mongol devastations in 1237–41. In the second half of the volume, Hrushevsky describes in detail Rus' society on Ukrainian territory, including in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Pereiaslav lands, in Volhynia and Galicia, and in the steppe (what is now southern and eastern Ukraine).

Volume 2 (as well as volumes 1 and 3) of the History will be discussed by three experts in the field of medieval studies: Prof. Christian Raffensperger (Wittenberg University; consulting editor of volume 2); Dr. Paul Hollingsworth (specialist on Kyivan Rus'; author of the introduction to volume 2); and Dr. Talia Zajac (medieval studies specialist, the University of Manchester). Also participating in the event will be three members of the HTP editorial team: Prof. Frank E. Sysyn (editor in chief), Tania Plawuszczak-Stech (managing editor of volume 2), and Dr. Marko R. Stech (HTP project manager).

This event is the continuation of a series of book discussions and launches of recent publications in Ukrainian studies organized by the Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research and CIUS Press. This series concentrates on books in English and Ukrainian sponsored by the Centre, including its Program for the Study of Modern Ukrainian History and Society in Lviv, and/or published by the CIUS Press. The organizers of this series are Prof. Frank E. Sysyn, director of the Centre, Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak, director of the Program, and Dr. Marko R. Stech, executive director of CIUS Press.

For a limited time, volume 2 of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s History of Ukraine-Rus' is on sale at a 25% discount on the CIUS Press website. 

Also for a limited time, volume 1 and volume 3 of the History are on sale at a 25% discount, while the subscription to the full set of the English-language edition of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s History of Ukraine-Rus' is on sale at a 20% discount—all on the CIUS Press website.