Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education
This article considers the forces that impeded university reform in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion in 2014 and the onset of the full-scale war in 2022. Ukraine’s post-Soviet educational system, which was originally designed to reproduce the subservience, compliance, and rigidity of the Russi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Alberta, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
2025-05-01
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| Series: | East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://ewjus.com/index.php/ewjus/article/view/731 |
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| _version_ | 1850275636736688128 |
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| author | Anatoly Oleksiyenko |
| author_facet | Anatoly Oleksiyenko |
| author_sort | Anatoly Oleksiyenko |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This article considers the forces that impeded university reform in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion in 2014 and the onset of the full-scale war in 2022. Ukraine’s post-Soviet educational system, which was originally designed to reproduce the subservience, compliance, and rigidity of the Russian and Soviet empires, preserved administrative mechanisms and entitlements that curbed institutional transformation. Russia’s invasion, however, spurred universities in Ukraine to make a radical move away from the Russian/Soviet template of higher education. This paper contextualizes the contentious history of Russo-Ukrainian relations within a discussion of the constraints spawned by the Soviet legacy and colonial mindset in Ukrainian universities. An analysis of the challenges to transformation is followed by policy recommendations for reformers and intellectual leaders seeking to decolonize their academic communities through the internationalization of higher education.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b9c69a5d9c544ab5913d7fcfa759bb53 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2292-7956 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | University of Alberta, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-b9c69a5d9c544ab5913d7fcfa759bb532025-08-20T01:50:39ZengUniversity of Alberta, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian StudiesEast/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies2292-79562025-05-0110210.21226/ewjus731Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher EducationAnatoly Oleksiyenko0The Education University of Hong Kong This article considers the forces that impeded university reform in Ukraine prior to the Russian invasion in 2014 and the onset of the full-scale war in 2022. Ukraine’s post-Soviet educational system, which was originally designed to reproduce the subservience, compliance, and rigidity of the Russian and Soviet empires, preserved administrative mechanisms and entitlements that curbed institutional transformation. Russia’s invasion, however, spurred universities in Ukraine to make a radical move away from the Russian/Soviet template of higher education. This paper contextualizes the contentious history of Russo-Ukrainian relations within a discussion of the constraints spawned by the Soviet legacy and colonial mindset in Ukrainian universities. An analysis of the challenges to transformation is followed by policy recommendations for reformers and intellectual leaders seeking to decolonize their academic communities through the internationalization of higher education. https://ewjus.com/index.php/ewjus/article/view/731higher educationUkraineSoviet legacycolonial mentalitydecolonization |
| spellingShingle | Anatoly Oleksiyenko Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies higher education Ukraine Soviet legacy colonial mentality decolonization |
| title | Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education |
| title_full | Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education |
| title_fullStr | Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education |
| title_short | Soviet Legacy and Colonial Mentality: Continuity and Change in Ukraine’s Higher Education |
| title_sort | soviet legacy and colonial mentality continuity and change in ukraine s higher education |
| topic | higher education Ukraine Soviet legacy colonial mentality decolonization |
| url | https://ewjus.com/index.php/ewjus/article/view/731 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anatolyoleksiyenko sovietlegacyandcolonialmentalitycontinuityandchangeinukraineshighereducation |