URIS Ukrainian Research in Switzerland

07/09/2026

Computers, cameras and visions of the future: technology in Soviet Ukraine

What can tape recorders, road rallies or family photographs tell us about everyday life in Soviet Ukraine? And how did promises of technological progress relate to people’s experiences?

On 24–25 September 2026, our colleagues in Kyiv and Basel are bringing these questions together in the online conference Living the Soviet Utopia: Cultural History of Technologies in Ukraine, 1922–1991.

The programme explores everything from cybernetics and atomic cities to music, mobility, health, film and photography.
Organised by Gennadii Kazakevych, Benjamin Schenk and Olha Martynyuk, the conference is part of a joint Ukrainian–Swiss research project supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

📅 24 September: 13:00–17:00 Basel time
📅 25 September: 09:00–14:00 Basel time
💻 Online via Zoom · No registration required

👉 Explore the programme and find the Zoom access details:

Online conference on 24–25 September 2026 exploring technology, culture and everyday life in Soviet Ukraine, organised by the Universities of Kyiv and Basel.

04/09/2026

Call for Papers: How do changing borders shape people’s lives?

Our colleagues at the University of Bern invite proposals for the conference Multiple Border Changes and Biographical Trajectories: The East Central European Borderlands in the Age of Territorial Revisionism, 1918–1941.

The conference explores how repeated border changes shaped everyday life, identities and belonging – and how people themselves contributed to shaping borders. Its geographical focus is on the post-Habsburg borderlands along the Carpathian arc, including Ukraine, while comparative perspectives from other parts of Eastern Europe are also welcome.

The conference is part of the SNSF project Epicentre of Territorial Revisionism: The Carpatho-Ukraine under Multiple Border and State Control Changes, 1914–1946.

📅 30 June–2 July 2027
📍 University of Bern
⏰ Submission deadline: 8 November 2026

👉 Find the full Call for Papers here:https://www.hist.unibe.ch/unibe/portal/fak_historisch/dga/hist/content/e11168/e51695/e1836397/e1836433/CallforPapers_TerritorialRevisionism2026_ger.pdf

01/09/2026

Interested in Ukrainian history – and what it can teach us about the present?

From 8 September to 27 October, the Ukrainian Institute London is offering ISTORIA: Lessons for the Present, an eight-week online course exploring key questions in Ukrainian history and politics.

We are particularly happy to see Olena Palko from the Universität Basel among the lecturers! She joins Volodymyr Yermolenko, Eugene Finkel, Yaroslav Hrytsak, Serhy Yekelchyk, Olena Stiazhkina, Oxana Shevel and Mariia Shynkarenko for a series of seminars ranging from imperialism, occupation and genocide to citizenship, resistance and Ukrainian statehood.

🗓 8 September–27 October 2026
💻 Tuesdays, 18:30–20:00 UK time, live on Zoom
🎓 Full course or individual seminars available

The course is organised by the Ukrainian Institute London and includes moderated Q&As, recordings and an English-language reading handbook.

👉 More information and registration:

Istoria: lessons for the present This eight-week course explores pivotal themes in Ukrainian history: from imperial domination and genocidal occupations to the acquisition of statehood and civic resilience. Drawing on the work of leading scholars, learners will examine how historical experiences ill...

31/08/2026

🎥 Missed our panel discussion in Basel?

The full recording of “Russia’s War against Ukraine – and Its Consequences for Switzerland” is now available on the URIS YouTube channel.

Anna Jikhareva, Marco Jorio, Olha Shvets and Nazarij Zatorsky discussed what Russia’s war against Ukraine means for Switzerland – from neutrality and protection status S to questions of integration, security and the wider consequences of the war.

▶️ Watch the full discussion (in German) here!

21/08/2026

What does Russia’s war against Ukraine mean for Switzerland?
More than 200 people joined us in Basel for a lively, pointed and wide-ranging discussion with Anna Jikhareva, Marco Jorio, Olha Shvets and Nazarij Zatorsky.

The panel was part of the "Ukrainian Days" in Basel, marking the 35th anniversary of Ukrainian independence on 24 August.

The discussion brought together perspectives that are often considered separately: What does Swiss neutrality mean today – historically, politically and in view of the upcoming "neutrality initiative" in Switzerland? How does the Ukrainian community in Switzerland perceive these debates? What does the extension of protection status S until 2028 mean for Ukrainians living here? And how are Ukrainian children experiencing life in Switzerland, and what new questions and challenges can this create for families when thinking about their future?

The conversation also went beyond the immediate consequences of displacement and migration. One recurring point was that Russia’s war is not confined to the battlefield in Ukraine. Its political, societal and security implications have long reached Switzerland as well.

What made the evening particularly rewarding was the interplay between very different perspectives on the panel – and the many questions and contributions from the audience that carried the discussion further.

Many thanks to our panellists, our great moderators and cooperation partners, and to the more than 200 people who joined us for such an engaged discussion.

📷 Some impressions from the evening.

18/08/2026

When laughter becomes a weapon: Humor, resistance and Ukraine’s recovery

How can humor help people cope with war? Where are the boundaries of black humor – and what role can laughter play in Ukraine’s recovery?

In a new interview with Plattform Wiederaufbau Ukraine, our former URIS Fellow Dr. Kateryna Yeremieieva talks about Ukrainian wartime humor as a form of resistance, solidarity and collective coping.

Drawing on her research into humor during Russia’s war against Ukraine, she discusses everything from viral memes and stand-up comedy in air-raid shelters to the social and moral boundaries of wartime humor. She also looks ahead: What role might humor and other forms of cultural expression play in Ukraine’s recovery?

💬 “Humor does not remove the threat itself, but temporarily changes our position towards it.”

Read the full interview here:

Die Plattform hat das Ziel, die am Wiederaufbau beteiligten Akteurinnen und Akteure miteinander zu vernetzen.

17/08/2026

📣 Reminder: Diesen Donnerstag in Basel! 🇺🇦🇨🇭

Wie verändert Russlands Krieg gegen die Ukraine die Schweizer Politik und Gesellschaft? Was bedeutet er für die Neutralität und das Selbstverständnis der Schweiz? Welche Erfahrungen macht die ukrainische Gemeinschaft hier – und welche Rolle kann und soll die Schweiz in diesem Krieg spielen?

Diesen Donnerstag, 20. August, diskutieren wir diese Fragen gemeinsam mit Anna Jikhareva, Marco Jorio, Olha Shvets und Nazar Zatorskyy an der.

Moderiert wird die Diskussion von Olha Martynyuk (Universität Basel) und Oliver Sterchi (Basler Zeitung).

📅 Donnerstag, 20. August 2026
🕠 17.30–19.30 Uhr
📍 Aula, Kollegienhaus, Universität Basel
🎟️ Eintritt frei, keine Anmeldung erforderlich
🗣️ Die Veranstaltung findet auf Deutsch statt.

Die Podiumsdiskussion wird von Ukrainian Research in Switzerland (URIS), dem Profilbereich Osteuropa Universität Basel und dem Verein Ukrainer in Basel veranstaltet.

Wir freuen uns auf einen spannenden Austausch und auf viele Besucher!

14/08/2026

As we welcome our new URIS Fellow for the autumn semester, we also want to look back and say thank you to our Spring 2026 Fellow, Dr Kateryna Yeremieieva.

Kateryna enriched our semester in Basel in many ways. Her research on silence, communication and ethics in wartime Ukraine opened up new perspectives and inspired many conversations – and contributed to the idea for our interdisciplinary Study Day "Where Silence Speaks".

But we will remember just as much the many conversations beyond formal research and teaching: Kateryna joined us for our team retreat in the Glarus mountains, discussed her work with us, and became a engaged part of our team over the course of the semester.

It was a pleasure to welcome Kateryna and her son to Basel. Now that they have returned to Kyiv, we wish them both safety, strength and all the very best – and sincerely hope our paths will cross again soon.

Thank you, Kateryna, for everything you brought to URIS and to Basel.💛

12/08/2026

We’re back from our summer break – and there’s plenty ahead at URIS!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing news about new projects, upcoming events and activities for the Autumn Semester 2026. And what better way to start than by welcoming our new URIS Fellow to Basel?

Welcome to Basel, Maryna! 👋
We are very happy to welcome Dr Maryna Shevtsova as our URIS Fellow for the Autumn Semester 2026!

Maryna is a political scientist & Gender Studies scholar whose research spans democracy and protest studies, gender, migration, LGBTQ+ politics, and contemporary Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

During her six months at the Universität Basel, she will work on her project “Gendering Russia's War: Trajectories of Violence and Experiences of Ukrainian War-Affected Women That (Re)Shape Gender Norms” and teach the course “From Dissidents to Pride Marches: Protest, Social Movements, and Democracy in Ukraine.”

We’re looking forward to an exciting semester of research, teaching, and exchange – welcome to URIS and to Basel, Maryna!

👉 Find out more about Maryna, her research and teaching: https://uris.ch/fellowship/dr-maryna-shevtsova

04/07/2026

As the semester comes to an end, URIS is taking a short summer break.☀️

Thank you to everyone who has been part of our programme over the past months—whether through research, teaching, events, collaborations, or by following our work.

We wish our community in Basel, across Switzerland, in Ukraine, and beyond a peaceful and restful summer wherever possible.

We look forward to seeing you again after the break with new events, research, and conversations.