Plokhy, Serhii 1957–

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Plokhy, Serhii 1957–

PERSONAL:

Born 1957. Education: Kiev University, Kiev, Ukraine, Ph.D., 1990.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of Alberta, Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research, 450 Athabasca Hall, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E8, Canada.

CAREER:

Historian, educator, and author. Dnipropetrovsk University, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, former chair of the department of world history; Institute of Archeography and Source Studies of National Academy Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine, former researcher and head of the department of the history of culture; University of Alberta, Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, associate director, 2008—.

WRITINGS:

Pershyi Vseukraïns'kyi pravoslavnyi t's'erkovnyi sobor UAPT'S', 14-30 z'h'ovtni'a' 1921 roku: dokumenty i materialy, 1999.

The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2001.

Tsars and Cossacks: A Study in Iconography, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

(With Frank E. Sysyn) Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), 2003.

Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History, University of Toronto Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

(Editor, with Frank E. Sysyn) Synopsis: A Collection of Essays in Honour of Zenon E. Kohut, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), 2005.

The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Ukraine's Quest for Europe: Borders, Cultures, Identities, Heritage Press (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Born in 1957, Serhii Plokhy is a writer, editor, scholar, and historian specializing in Slavic and Eastern European studies. Plokhy earned his doctorate from Kiev University in Kiev, Ukraine. In the Ukraine he was the chair of the department of world history at Dnipropetrovsk University and researcher and head of the department of the history of culture at the Institute of Archeography and Source Studies of National Academy Sciences of Ukraine. The University of Alberta's Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research hired Plokhy in 2008 to serve as its associate director. Throughout his academic career, Plokhy has authored several books in the area of his expertise, and he has also edited Synopsis: A Collection of Essays in Honour of Zenon E. Kohut with Frank E. Sysyn.

Plokhy's first English-language volume, The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, was published in 2001. The book examines the Cossacks' role in the Orthodox Church during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The volume also discusses Orthodox-Jewish relations and the surrounding political, cultural, and social history of the Ukraine. The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine was widely reviewed and acclaimed. For instance, Edward Fram, critiquing the book in Jewish History, noted that the volume "will be both required and rewarding reading" for scholars interested in the subject. Fram added that "this is even more true for students of Jewish history, for this is one of the only glances into what the Cossack leadership was thinking in the years leading up to 1648." Remarking on Plokhy's historical discussions, Fram stated that "Plokhy makes valuable comparisons between developments in the Ukrainian lands and events elsewhere." According to Fram, "one of the most important claims of the book is that the religious crisis in late sixteenth and early seventeenth-century Ukraine was part of the upheaval caused by the Reformation." Following this line of reasoning, Fram concluded that "the editors of Oxford University Press must be credited with wisdom in investing in a work that fills such a gaping hole in western scholarly literature."

After the success of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, Plokhy published Tsars and Cossacks: A Study in Iconography in 2002. The book explores religious imagery in the Ukraine during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including what the popular religious imagery of the period reveals about the political, social, and cultural climate of the time. Plokhy particularly focuses on the popular image the Icon of the Pokrova, which depicts the Virgin Mary protecting a town or group of people with her shawl. Reviewers were impressed by the work. For instance, Shane O'Rourke, critiquing Tsars and Cossacks in the Historian, felt that "much that was obscure is illuminated by this masterful interpretation of an important historical source." O'Rourke added that "Plokhy is acutely aware of the myriad influences from the outside world flowing through Ukraine, which further enhances the value of this work." O'Rourke concluded: "This graceful, stimulating book deserves a wide readership."

Plokhy published his next work, Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, with Frank E. Sysyn in 2003. The book is a collection of essays that discuss Christianity in the Ukraine during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The book further explores how western culture influenced theology and religion at the time. Reviews of the book were often laudatory, with Catholic Historical Review contributor Andrii Krawchuk commenting that although the book is a collection of essays, its "stylistic unity makes it very readable." Overall, Krawchuk found Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine to be "a valuable resource on church-state relations in Soviet and independent Ukraine," adding that "these essays will be appreciated for their analytical content, their commitment to the larger international context, and their lucidity." Krawchuk predicted that the volume "will be an indispensable resource for anyone pursuing comparative work on church life in post-communist Eastern and Central Europe."

In 2006 Plokhy published The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This is a history of the movement of peoples throughout Eastern Europe from the tenth through the early eighteenth centuries. In order to track the ethnic and cultural identities of regional groups, Plokhy examines the historical factors that led to the establishment of different Eastern European states and nations. Charles J. Halperin, critiquing The Origins of the Slavic Nations in the Canadian Journal of History, called Plokhy's work an "ambitious, revisionist, and impressive monograph." Furthermore, Halperin commented: "This is simply the most integrated history of the relations among three East Slavic peoples I have ever seen." Following this glowing assessment, Halperin stated that "Plokhy's detailed, sustained interpretation sheds new light on such processes as the gradual alienation among the three East Slavic peoples as their historical fates differed." Halperin concluded that "Plokhy has set the bar very high for future historians, who will be stimulated by this superb book to address the question of East Slavic national identity."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, December 1, 2003, George B. Michaels, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 1557; February 1, 2006, Serhy Yekelchyk, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History, p. 277; February 1, 2008, Orest Subtelny, review of The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, p. 283.

Canadian Book Review Annual, January 1, 2003, Myroslav Shkandrij, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 98; January 1, 2005, Myroslav Shkandrij, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia, p. 279.

Canadian Journal of History, August 1, 2003, Stephen Velychenko, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 315; December 22, 2006, Johan Dietsch, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia, p. 560; March 22, 2007, Charles J. Halperin, review of The Origins of the Slavic Nations.

Catholic Historical Review, July 1, 2004, Andrii Krawchuk, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 563.

Choice, December 1, 2005, P.E. Heineman, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia, p. 720; May 1, 2007, R. Hellie, review of The Origins of the Slavic Nations, p. 1588.

Church History, March 1, 2005, Tandy McConnell, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 173.

English Historical Review, September 1, 2003, Janet Hartley, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 1001; February 1, 2006, David Saunders, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia, p. 253.

Europe-Asia Studies, January 1, 2005, Sarah Whitmore, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 163.

Historian, March 22, 2005, Shane O'Rourke, review of Tsars and Cossacks: A Study in Iconography, p. 161.

Jewish History, September, 2003, Edward Fram, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 333.

Journal of Church and State, September 22, 2002, Nikolas K. Gvosdev, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 828; June 22, 2004, Ellen Gvosdev, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 657.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, July 1, 2005, Philip Walters, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 630.

Journal of European Studies, September 1, 2005, Simon Dixon, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 373.

Journal of Modern History, March 1, 2004, Max J. Okenfuss, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 233; September 1, 2007, Mark von Hagen, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia, p. 716.

Reference & Research Book News, August 1, 2006, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia.

Russian Review, October 1, 2004, review of Tsars and Cossacks; October 1, 2005, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia.

Sixteenth Century Journal, September 22, 2003, Hugh D. Hudson, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 886.

Slavic and East European Journal, March 22, 2007, Alla Myzelev, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 188.

Slavic Review, December 22, 2003, Shane O'Rourke, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 844; June 22, 2004, Maureen Perrie, review of Tsars and Cossacks, p. 394; December 22, 2004, Michael Bourdeaux, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 873; December 22, 2007, Daniel H. Kaiser, review of The Origins of the Slavic Nations, p. 749.

Slavonic and East European Review, April 1, 2002, Andrew Wilson, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 353; April 1, 2003, Andrew Wilson, review of The Cossacks and Religion in Early Modern Ukraine, p. 353; April 1, 2004, L.V. Charipova, review of Tsars and Cossacks, p. 352; July 1, 2005, Serhy Yekelchyk, review of Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine, p. 558; April 1, 2006, Andrew Wilson, review of Unmaking Imperial Russia, p. 346.

Times Literary Supplement, January 10, 2003, "The State of Cossackdom," p. 8; December 16, 2005, "Keys to Kiev," p. 25.