International Round Table "Historical Policy Between the Baltic and the Black Sea"

On April 29, 2020, an international online round table was held on the topic: "Historical Policy Between the Baltic and the Black Sea."

The purpose of the round table was to create an expert platform involving leading researchers, public figures, and scholars from the Baltic-Black Sea region to analyze the current state of historical policy in the region and develop scientific and practical approaches to overcoming challenges and threats related to its functioning.

The conference was initially planned to take place in Kyiv; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held online via the Zoom platform. Scholars from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, and Romania participated in the event.

The conference was moderated by Yevhen Mahda and was structured around the following thematic panels:

I. Historical Policy as a Weapon

• Lukasz Adamski – "Informal Logical Fallacies as a Tool of Russian Historical Propaganda";
• Myroslav Skurka – "Different Political Needs as a Means of Forming Historical Policy: In Defense of Rationality in Public Life Priorities";
• Dorin Popescu – "Subversive Narrative Boilers on the European Continent";
• Zmitser Mitskevich – "The Use of Russian Historical Propaganda for Expansion into Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland";
• Marin Herman – "Historical Policy in the Ukraine-Romania-Moldova Triangle (Through the Lens of Media)";
• Roman Rusu – "The Concept of 'Moldovenism' as an Example of Historical Manipulation in Politics";
• Teona Kakhiani – "The 2008 War – Russian Propaganda Against Georgia (Speculation on Modern History)."

II. Challenges of World War II in the Context of Historical Policy

• Serhiy Hakman – "World War II as a Factor of Historical Sensitivity in Ukrainian-Romanian Relations";
• Ihar Melnikau – "Historical Memory Policy as a Tool of Russian Influence in Belarus";
• Yevhen Mahda – "The Hybridization of the Holocaust as a Component of Russia’s State Policy."

III. History of the Baltic-Black Sea Region: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

• Kazimierz Wójcicki – "Two Narratives of Medieval Rus’: The History of Ukraine and the European Idea";
• Stanislav Zhelikhovsky – "The Geopolitical Dimension of the Baltic-Black Sea Region: From the Past to the Present";
• Serhiy Fedunyak – "The Baltic-Black Sea Region in the Context of Post-Bipolar Geopolitics";
• Yevheniy Bilonozhko – "The Historical Dialogue Between Poland and Ukraine: The Principle of Ideological Balance."

Organizers:

• Institute for Democratization and Development (NGO);
• Center for Political Narratives of Democracy (NGO).

The event was supported by:

• Institute of World History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
• World Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organizations;
• Ukrainian Center for Islamic Studies (NGO);
• Podillia Regional Development Agency (NGO);
• East House Foundation;
• Black Sea House Association;
• Belarus Security Blog Analytical Center;
• Public Resources and Initiatives Charitable Foundation.

Media Partners:

• Western Information Front (journal);
• Polonews (journal);
• BucPress (journal);
• Obserwator Międzynarodowy (journal);
• Stozhary (Ukrainian diaspora website);
• UKRAINIANS.MD (journal).

Reference:

According to the organizers, the development of the Baltic-Black Sea region's countries is deeply intertwined within a shared historical narrative. Many historical events remain ambiguous, and their modern interpretations are highly sensitive to the region’s public opinion, influencing domestic political life. In the context of global transformations, historical policy becomes an especially acute subject of academic debate and is often utilized by certain international actors as an instrument of hybrid aggression. Therefore, it plays a significant role in shaping real political processes at both the national and global levels.

As a result of the conference, brief theses from the participants were prepared and translated into Ukrainian, English, Polish, and Romanian. These were subsequently published on the organizers' and media partners' websites.