Non-Ukrainians’ relations to kin (states) outside of Ukraine
Some of the non-Ukrainian groupings had stronger co-national partners outside of Ukraine. Russians and Jews sought cooperation with better-organized kin in other regions of the former Russian imperial territory, and Jews also appealed to the international community. Poles, Germans, and Greeks had independent kin-states that were ready to militarily intervene in Ukraine. Hence, we equally explore non-Ukrainians’ requests made to putative kins, the kins’ debates over intervention, and the support actually received or refused. We emphasize that non-Ukrainians in Ukraine and their kin outside were separate actors with different interests, goals, and priorities while sometimes pursuing the same national project. We investigate how these transnational relationships determined the means for emancipation and chances of survival during chaotic times. Finally, we tackle the reactions of the various Ukrainian governments to the manifold forms of kin relationship.
The key research questions of this work package are: To which kin outside of Ukraine did non-Ukrainian protagonists turn, and vice versa? What did they expect from their kin? What support was eventually offered in what cases, and what was the Ukrainian government’s reaction to this support?