Russia & Eastern Europe Knowledge Alliance

Lecture by David Lewis, Department of Politics, University of Exeter Russia now occupies almost one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Quite little is known though about its actual post-2022 day-to-day rule and its occupation policies in these areas besides Crimea. In this talk, held on the occasion of the publishing of his book on the subject, professor David Lewis of the University of Exeter will explain how Russia seeks to subjugate and ‘re-format’ the occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces through a mixture of violent repression, political engineering, collaborationism, economic coercion and propaganda. Lewis will elaborate on how Moscow attempts to create an ‘ersatz Novorossiya’ in areas where about half of the pre-war population fled to Western and Central Europe, Russia or non-occupied Ukraine, and where the remainders, though mostly hostile to the occupiers, face uncomfortable daily choices to survive under occupation. This event is organized by the Centre for Russian International Socio-Political and Economic Studies (CERISE) and the Conflict Research Group (CRG) of Ghent University. Admission is free but registration is required.

If you are interested in joining this academic mission or would like to get more details on the programme, please send an email to eureast@ugent.be