Ms. Shore is an associate professor of history at Yale University. THE UKRAINIAN NIGHT is a historically relatively accurate philosophical account of events in Ukraine in 2013-14 which certainly changed Ukraine and may have affected the world.Where the author lacks personal experience or knowledge she relies upon interviews and vivid recollections of colorful eye witnesses who were often actors in the events.
The portion of the book that presents the history of the “Revolution of Dignity” particularly in Kyiv from November 2013 to February 2014 is replete with factual information and personal experience. The remaining portion of the book about the early stages of the war in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine is scant, but nevertheless, worthwhile because the author attempts to present various views on a war that has cost many lives but seemingly has no purpose.Frankly, from the narrative it is impossible to ascertain whether the author was ever personally in the two main war torn regions.
Despite this lack of the author's personal experience, but rather seeing the events largely through the eyes of others, THE UKRAINIAN NIGHT is a most worthwhile read. The eyewitnesses are mainly little known individuals, some with little or no participation in the events. Retrospectively, this is probably beneficial since there is little motive for self glorification and the views are refreshingly candid. Often more prominent interviewees prove themselves more prone to promoting themselves.
Frankly, after completing THE UKRAINIAN NIGHT I was left in deep thought. I, myself, had briefly participated in some of the events, but many of the impressions presented in the book had escaped me. What I considered to be a deficiency in Ms. Shore not having expressed her own eyewitness account, but rather that of others, was in fact a priceless and deeper understanding of the event itself. I had seen the “Maidan” as a revolution of the Ukrainian people, particularly the young, expressing their desire and adamantly enforcing their will to achieve dignity as human beings and as a nation. In fact, I now see the events additionally as a coming together, a bonding of the Ukrainian nation, not in the ethnic sense, but in a political capacity, the people of Ukraine (Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, Jews and others) becoming Ukrainian because they wanted to be Ukrainian Europeans and not Russians. Surrogate reporting, seeing the events through the eyes of a multitude of diverse actors or observers is, in fact, the book's strength.
However, Ms. Shore cannot seem to escape her own prejudices. Far too often she alludes to Ukrainian past history particularly during the Second World War period and attributes to Ukrainian political and military formations or its leaders the oppression of others rather than being the oppressed. She misplaces bigotry and fascism and uses slurs without historical evidence or substantiation. In historical retrospection she seems to side with all nationalities except the Ukrainian, and this despite the fact that whatever transpired in her accounts during the Second World War history happened on Ukrainian soil with ethnic Ukrainians the primary victims.
Another point of my personal contention with Ms. Shore is the little regard she affords to the use of the Ukrainian language. People in Ukraine, some twenty five years after the proclamation of independence who have neglected to learn the native language may nevertheless be good Ukrainians. Still, because of this neglect, they have missed out on much of Ukrainian history, literature and culture written in Ukrainian. On the other hand, those who have refused to learn and insist on using the language of the enemy, are not Ukrainians at all.
Nevertheless, THE UKRAINIAN NIGHT is an important intellectual and emotional read not so much to learn what transpired in Ukraine in 2013-14, but to understand the philosophical and moral underpinnings in play. These concepts are simple and, yet, very confusing because of propaganda or, for the sake of modernity, public relations (PR). Russia spends much time and effort on perfecting this state of confusion through its PR. Perfecting confusion seems an oxymoron, but nevertheless, it is very real.Ms. Shore alludes to this Russian effort and refers to the Ukrainian Russian English journalist Peter Pomerantsev's work Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible. Not only Ukraine and Ukrainians, but the global community are the victims. THE UKRAINIAN NIGHT draws open the shutters and offers, at least, a glimpse at the truth.
