Join the Union Public Library for Ukraine 101, a Speakers Bureau presentation by Danuta Hutchins.

“I earned a U.S. university PhD in Slavic Languages, Literature and Linguistics. In view of the barbaric, unprovoked, Russian army’s military invasion of Ukraine, I feel compelled to correct the misinformation Putin has spread about the relationship between Russia and Ukraine through which he justified his genocidal deeds. To that purpose I have reached for my notes, scholarly papers and publicly available historical sources to compile the essential facts and events that we should know as a background when addressing the current horrifying events of Putin’s war.

In Ukraine 101 I am presenting the history and current events in Ukraine, from the early Rurikids, the Kyivian Rus’, the Polish/Lithuanian empire, the tsarist Russia takeover, the Soviet suppression of Ukrainian language and culture through the 1991 regaining of freedom from the collapsed Soviet empire, and the current genocidal war waged by Putin. Arranged chronologically are the main dates and names of significant figures and events. This compilation represents the essence of necessary knowledge to be able to consider and report on Ukraine’s current valiant battle to repel the invaders who are trying to annex and annihilate the land, the culture and its people.”