Foreword

Abstract

In the days before Instagram, Substack, and YouTube, intellectuals published longer, carefully crafted, and thought-provoking texts in journals of opinion. Today such journals, especially in the Ukrainian context, are in short supply. Ukrainian Forum takes its inspiration from the “thick journals” of the past, such as Drahomanov’s Hromada and Franko’s Literaturno-naukovyi vistnyk. We hope to help address the deficit of serious, in-depth discussion of Ukrainian affairs, symbolized by the empty chamber of the Verkhovna Rada pictured on our cover.
Ukraine, Ukrainians, and Ukrainian society and culture are gravely endangered. It is time to think, and think deeply, about the challenges facing the nation. Ukraine’s overwhelming problem is the Russian invasion. Some will argue that since the invasion, all of Ukraine is united. One wishes that were true, but the history of independent Ukraine suggests a far more complicated picture.