Ukraine - from periphery to center stage in world politics?

Winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade Karl Schlögel will join Serhii Plokhy, Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, in a conversation about the future of Ukraine. Moderated by exiled Russian journalist and author Elena Kostyuchenko, the fate of Ukraine and its relations in Europe will take center stage.

Ukraine did not exists for generations on the mental maps of Europeans, including Germans. The take over of Crimea and the Russian invasion in 2022 radically changed the perception of this long ignored and neglected nation. Much depends now on the resistance and resilience of the Ukrainians - and on the firm support of Europe - and hopefully the United States.

The Panelists

Karl Schlögel, born in 1948, studied philosophy, sociology, Eastern European history, and Slavic studies at the Free University of Berlin. He initially worked as a freelance translator, journalist, and author before being appointed to the Chair of Eastern European History at the University of Konstanz in 1990. In 1995, he moved to the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, where he taught until 2013. Karl Schlögel is a member of the Pour le mérite order and has been honored with numerous awards, including: the Sigmund Freud Prize of the German Academy for Language and Literature (2004), the Prize of the Historical College (2016), the Leipzig Book Fair Prize (2018), the Gerda Henkel Prize (2024), and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (2025). His most recent publications with Hanser are: “Entscheidung in Kiew. Ukrainische Lektionen” (Decision in Kiev: Ukrainian Lessons) (2015, NA 2022), “Der Duft der Imperien. ‘Chanel No. 5’ und ‘Rotes Moskau’” (The Scent of Empires: ‘Chanel No. 5’ and ‘Red Moscow’) (2020), “American Matrix. Besichtigung einer Epoche” (American Matrix: A Tour of an Era) (2023) and "Auf der Sandbank der Zeit. The Historian as Chronicler of the Present" (2025). Karl Schlögel lives in Berlin.

Serhii Plokhii, Director, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University. His interests include the intellectual, cultural, and international history of Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on Ukraine. He is the author of, among others, The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History (W.W. Norton, 2023); Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters (W.W. Norton, 2022); The Frontline: Essays on Ukraine's Past and Present (HURI, 2021); Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis (W. W. Norton, 2021); Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front: American Airmen behind the Soviet Lines and the Collapse of the Grand Alliance (Oxford University Press, 2019); Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe (Basic Books, 2018); and The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine (Basic Books, 2015). His books have won numerous awards, including the Ballie Gifford Prize and the Shevchenko National Prize (2018).

Elena Kostyuchenko is an exiled Russian journalist and author who collaborates with the independent Latvia-based news organization Meduza. She previously worked as a special correspondent for the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Her reporting focuses on conflict, crime, and social issues, with particular attention to communities, people, and places often ignored by mainstream media.

Kostyuchenko is the author of I Love Russia: Reporting from a Lost Country and two other books. Her work has received multiple international journalism awards, including the European Press Prize. She currently teaches journalism and creative writing at Duke University.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Goethe-Institut Boston