The University of Oslo and UKRAINETT warmly invite you to a seminar with Professor Serhiy Kudelia (Baylor University, USA).
In this talk, Professor Kudelia will examine Russia’s covert intervention in 2014 alongside its full-scale invasion in 2022. He will explore the Kremlin’s evolving objectives and the differing responses from the Ukrainian state and society. The presentation draws on the research for his new book “Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia’s War on Ukraine” (Oxford University Press, 2025).
Photo: Mlada Kudelia
WHEN: 21 August, 2025 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
WHERE: Scene Humsam, Georg Sverdrups hus, Blindern, Oslo
In his book, professor Kudelia explores the pivotal events of spring 2014 and traces the role of Russian operatives and local actors in dismantling state institutions in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Drawing on over 100 interviews conducted during three years of the author’s field work inside and outside the region, the book offers a micro-level analysis of how armed secessionist units were organized in nearly two dozen of Eastern Ukrainian towns in 2014 – and why some local communities resisted their rise, while others enabled it.
Program
- Professor Serhiy Kudelia introduces his book
- A conversation between Serhiy Kudelia and Geir Flikke, Professor in Russian Studies at UiO
- Q & A session moderated by Geir Flikke
The event will be in English.
About the author
Dr. Serhiy Kudelia is Professor of Political Science at Baylor University (USA). His research examines the dynamics of insurgencies and civil wars, regime change, and political institutions with a regional focus on Ukraine and Russia. He has published extensively on the armed conflict in Donbas and Ukrainian politics, contributing both academic scholarship and media commentary on these subjects.