Three years ago, Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then over 10 million Ukrainians have had to leave their homes. Over 6 million of them moved on to other European countries and continue their lives there.
How to take stock of this huge change in people’s lives? How to gain an understanding of their perspectives, sense of identity, hopes and fears?
Over the past year, we have explored different ways of narrating the experiences of forced migrants from Ukraine. In a social science project conducted at ZOiS, researchers investigate and visualise the experiences of displacement and arrival, as well as questions of identity and belonging in relation to forced migrants from and in Ukraine. In a Berlin theatre, a playback theatre performance based on the theme of ‘Seeing the difference’, actors brought to life the stories of their audience members, many of them Ukrainians living in the city.
In this podcast episode, Stefanie Orphal speaks with playback performer Yuliia Terentieva and ZOiS researcher Sabine von Löwis about the intersection of research and theatre and explores unexpected ways of bringing them together.

(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

In Belarus will Machthaber Lukaschenka sich am 26. Januar 2025 als Präsident wiederwählen lassen. Von einer Wahl im demokratischen Sinn kann aber nicht die Rede sein. Die im Exil lebende Oppositionsführerin Swjatlana Zichanouskaja etwa spricht von einer „militärischen Sonderoperation“, so massiv ist die Atmosphäre der Angst, mit der die Staatsmacht jeglichen Protest im Land erstickt. Die Menschrechtslage in Belarus hat sich seit der letzten, von Wahlfälschungen geprägten Wiederwahl Lukaschenkas 2020 noch weiter verschlechtert, es gibt annähernd 1300 politische Gefangene. Welche Taktik verfolgt Lukaschenka mit den von Juli auf Januar vorgezogenen Wahlen? Welche Signale sendet er damit an den Westen und an Russland? Und wie kann die EU wiederum reagieren? Ingo Petz, Belarus-Redakteur beim Medienprojekt dekoder, und ZOiS-Slavistin Nina Frieß sprechen mit Nadja Douglas über die Hintergründe und diskutieren, welche Hoffnung es für freie Exilmedien, die Demokratiebewegung und die Zivilgesellschaft gibt.

(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

The vast majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox. As recently as 2020, 14% percent considered themselves part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has a distinct Ukrainian identity but historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. Given the notorious role of Patriarch Cyril in justifying the war, the UOC cut ties with Moscow and declared independence after the start of the full-scale invasion.
Two years on, criticism of the church has not died down, and the Ukrainian parliament is considering taking political measures against it. Why do many in Ukraine still see the UOC as a threat, and what do believers and active parishioners think of their church and its clergy? Regina Elsner and Andriy Fert give us an overview of the OUC and its place in Ukrainian society.
(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

In this special episode of our podcast, Tymofii Brik joins Julia Langbein at ZOiS to share his thoughts on the future of Ukrainian science. As well as proposing specific strategies, he points to some very practical aspects that need to be prioritised in the recovery plan. And looking ahead, he shares his vision for Ukraine as the location of a new global university for research on the region.
(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Am 2. April ist Internationaler Kinderbuchtag. Doch die Kinderliteratur hat nicht überall Grund zum Feiern. Auch sie hat mit Verboten, Zensur oder Anfeindungen zu kämpfen. Im Podcast nehmen wir mit Russland und Polen zwei sehr unterschiedliche Beispiele in den Blick.
(Musik: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Animal testing or the use of artificial intelligence – most people know about and have an opinion on the ethics of these two academic practices from medicine and computer science. But what happens when human societies and culture become the object of research? Human interview partners, experts or eyewitnesses, writers or activists are essential to data collection in the social sciences and humanities. In every phase of a research project, researchers need to think about how they can reconcile their need to generate and publish knowledge with their participants’ (and their own) need for safety. This is especially important when researchers are dealing with vulnerable groups, operating in authoritarian regimes or facing conflicts and war. In this episode, two researchers with years of experience in Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus share their views on research ethics in the social sciences.
(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Ukraine is faced with a substantial and complex challenge: advancing both reconstruction efforts and the EU accession process, all while defending the country against Russian forces. In this episode, we explore how the processes of rebuilding Ukraine and EU accession are connected. Many aspects of the two processes converge, but what if the two endeavours harbour conflicting objectives, particularly regarding short-term and long-term priorities? And what can we learn from other cases in Europe's recent history, for example in the Western Balkans? Political economist Julia Langbein delves into these questions with two experts well-versed in this subject matter: Clare Lockhart from the Institute for State Effectiveness and Inna Pidluska from the International Renaissance Foundation.
Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.

Zum Erscheinen der deutschen Übersetzung seines Buches „Europas Hunde“ sprach Nina Frieß mit dem belarusischen Autor Alhierd Bacharevič und der Slavistin Nina Weller über die Lage der belarusischen Literatur im Exil und in Belarus.

Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.

Die Orientierung der Ukraine zur EU spielt nicht erst seit der russischen Vollinvasion politisch eine wichtige Rolle und ein Beitritt wird Umfragen zufolge heute von einer überwältigenden Mehrheit der ukrainischen Bevölkerung befürwortet. Skeptische Stimmen im Westen äußern dagegen Zweifel, ob die notwendigen Reformen für ein Land mitten im Krieg zu stemmen sind. Der bevorstehende EU-Gipfel am 14. und 15. Dezember ist ein wichtiger Meilenstein. Dann nämlich sollen die europäischen Staats- und Regierungschefs über die offizielle Aufnahme von Beitrittsverhandlungen entscheiden, nachdem die Ukraine 2022 zeitgleich mit der Republik Moldau den Status einer Beitrittskandidatin erhalten hat. Blockaden, wie sie etwa vom ungarischen Regierungschef Orbán angedroht werden, sind möglich. Im Podcast sprechen die Politikwissenschaftlerinnen Julia Langbein und Gwendolyn Sasse über externe und interne Hürden vor dieser nächsten Etappe auf dem Weg der Ukraine in die EU, den Reformprozess und die Herausforderungen von Beitrittsverhandlungen und Wiederaufbau.

Ahead of the Polish parliamentary elections on 15 October 2023, political campaigns are running at full steam. From coupling the election with a referendum, to employing an increasingly sharp rhetoric against Poland’s neighbours Germany, and, as of recently, Ukraine, the ruling Law and Justice party is eager to mobilize voters and maintain power.
One group could play a decisive role in changing the future power dynamics: ZOiS researchers Félix Krawatzek and Hakob Matevosyan have surveyed Polish 18 to 34 year olds on current social issues.
From how political identifications and attitudes towards current issues like migration and the war in Ukraine translate into voting intentions, to how family relations and intergenerational dynamics influence perceptions of political representation: The discussions of the finding reveals Poland’s youth is highly motivated to vote and noticeably turning away from bigger parties and towards the right-wing Confederation party, especially among men.