(Not) Abandoned: The Policies of Ukrainian National Governments Toward World War I Veterans with Disabilities (1917–1919)
Dr. Valentyna Shevchenko
Center for Urban History15.4.2026, 16:00
Library of the Center for Urban History
The Great War of 1914–1918 left a deep and traumatic mark on the history of Ukraine. Ukrainian ethnic lands, divided between the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, turned into a theater of war for four years, and the population found itself on opposite sides of the front line. Millions of men were mobilized into the army. At least 500,000 of them died, and hundreds of thousands of veterans became disabled.
During the Urban Seminar, the researcher will analyze the process of shaping state policy regarding World War I veterans with disabilities amid the complex conditions of the war’s final phase, the collapse of the Russian Empire, and attempts to build a Ukrainian nation-state. She will also present her research project on the social history of prosthetics in Ukraine during World War I and the postwar period, focusing, in particular, on expertise, the circulation of knowledge, and technology.
Candidate of History (2009), a senior research fellow at the Institute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The candidate’s thesis focused on the development of bankers’ activities on the territory of Southern Ukraine in the 19th and early 20th century. At the Center for Urban History, Valentyna participates in the project implementation “24.02.22, 5 am.: Testimonies from the War,” as a researcher and administrator of databases, and also contributes to educational initiatives. Areas of academic interest: historical urban planning, socio-economic history of Ukraine in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the Ukrainian context of the World War I.
Dr. Valentyna Shevchenko
Center for Urban History
Urban Seminar will be held in a workshop format. Researchers are invited to discuss scholarly projects, research at various stages of development, and completed research that is being prepared for publication.
Participation in the Urban Seminar requires preliminary reading and discussion of the researcher's text. If you would like to join the Seminar, please email Maryana Mazurak (m.mazurak@lvivcenter.org), and we will send you the materials in advance.