Anna Kutkina 
Between Lenin and Bandera 
Decommunization and Multivocality in Post-Euromaidan Ukraine

On 8 December 2013, Ukraine’s central Lenin monument in Kyiv was pulled down. In the following months, in what became known as the “Leninfall, ” Ukraine swept away hundreds of communist monuments, expressing an explicit desire to break away from the Soviet past and, implicitly, from Russia. This book examines the evolution of post-Euromaidan de-Sovietization beyond the issues of toppling of old statues and implementation of new anti-totalitarian laws. It explores decommunization as both a political and cultural phenomenon that exposes the multivocality of the Ukrainian population and involves various forms of dialogical interaction between ordinary citizens and the state. Posters, graffiti, or street names are physical and discursive canvases where old meanings are being contested and re-articulated, and where new political symbols that combine nationalist and democratic elements are being defined.

About the author

The author:

Dr. Anna Kutkina studied Political Science, International Relations, Nationalism, and Gender Studies in Vancouver, Paris, Budapest, Glasgow, and Helsinki. Kutkina lectured at the University of Helsinki and Aleksanteri Institute. She is an advisor to the Internally Displaced Universities of Ukraine research platform and member of the Gift of Life Foundation. Her papers have been published by, among other outlets, Politiikasta, the Canadian Urban Institute, and Discursus Platform: Centre of Social Design.



The author of the foreword:

Professor Juri Mykkänen is Vice-Dean for Faculty Disciplines at the University of Helsinki.