Spotlight: Decolonizing Ukraine by Greta Lynn Uehling

In this ground-breaking book, distinguished anthropologist Greta Lynn Uehling illuminates the untold stories of Russia’s occupation of Crimea from 2014 to the present, revealing the traumas of colonization, foreign occupation, and population displacement. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork in Ukraine, including over 90 personal interviews, Uehling brings her readers into the lives of people who opposed Russia’s Crimean operation, many of whom fled for government-controlled Ukraine. Via the narratives of people who traversed perilous geographies and world-altering events, Uehling traces the development of a new sense of social cohesion that encompasses diverse ethnic and religious groups. The result is a compelling story—one of resilience, transformation, and ultimately, the unwavering pursuit of freedom and autonomy for Ukraine, regardless of ethnicity or race. Decolonizing Ukraine: The Indigenous People of Crimea and Pathways to Freedom demonstrates how understanding Crimea is essential to understanding Ukraine – and the war with Russia – today.

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About the Author

Greta Uehling is a cultural anthropologist and Teaching Professor at the University of Michigan, whose work explores how war reshapes social worlds. Her books include Everyday War: The Conflict over Donbas, Ukraine—winner of Harvard’s Davis Prize—Decolonizing Ukraine (2025), and the widely acclaimed Beyond Memory, which brought to light the testimonies of survivors of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars. A former Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine, she is also a Faculty Associate with the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.