In Painting Imperialism and Nationalism Red, Stephen Velychenko traces the first expressions of national, anti-colonial Marxism to 1918 and the Russian Bolshevik occupation of Ukraine. Velychenko reviews the work of early twentieth-century Ukrainians who regarded Russian rule over their country as colonialism. He then discusses the rise of "national communism" in Russia and Ukraine and the Ukrainian Marxist critique of Russian imperialism and colonialism. The first extended analysis of Russian communist rule in Ukraine to focus on the Ukrainian communists, their attempted anti-Bolshevik uprising in 1919, and their exclusion from the Comintern, Painting Imperialism and Nationalism Red re-opens a long forgotten chapter of the early years of the Soviet Union and the relationship between nationalism and communism. An appendix provides a valuable selection of Ukrainian Marxist texts, all translated into English for the first time.

About the Author
Stephen Velychenko is a historian and research fellow at the Chair for Ukrainian Studies of the University of Toronto.

Reviews

"Velychenko provides a valuable appendix of twenty translated documents, including leaflets from the spring and summer of 1919 issued by the nezalezhnyky, borotbisty, and the Ukrainian Revolutionary Committee of Otaman Zelenyi."

-- Marko Bojcun, New York University * Harvard Ukrainian Studies Journal *

"Stephen Velychenko has written an important book... It adds to our understanding of the relations between Russia and Ukraine. It is also useful in understanding the complexity of the Ukrainian revolution."

-- Bohdan Klid * University of Toronto Quarterly *

"Stephen Velechenko's deeply researched book expertly demonstrates the powerful appeal of Marxism outside the center of the former Russian Empire and the alternative ways in which communism might have been applied."

-- Matthew D. Pauly * The Slavic Review *

"Velychenko's monograph is a unique and interesting contribution to the historiography of early Soviet Ukrainian history."

-- Christopher Gilley * Revolutionary Russia *

"This book addresses an important topic. Typically, one associates Ukrainian nationalism with the political Right. Velychenko shows how, during the era of the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian civil war, the political Left in Ukraine was forced to defend itself on national principles against the centralizing, Moscow-based Bolsheviks."

-- P. E. Heineman * CHOICE Connect *

"Overall, this book serves to provide the reverse of what Renan argued was necessary in the creation of a nation. Instead of forgetting and historical error, remembering and historical recovery here are employed in the recreation of a nation. For Velychenko, the ideas of Ukrainian Marxists 'remain relevant today, when Vladimir Putin's government sponsors attend empire-loyalist extremist minority groups in Ukraine."

-- Michael T. Westrate * Canadian Journal of History *

"It is hard to imagine a more appropriate book to appear on the eve of the centennial of the revolutions of 1917 in the Russian Empire than Stephen Velychenko's most recent contribution to the rich and contested historiography of the Ukrainian revolution and state."

-- Mark von Hagen * East/West Journal of Ukrainian Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9781487548056
Author Stephen Velychenko
Format Paperback
Page Count 306
Imprint University of Toronto Press
Publisher University of Toronto Press
Weight(grams) 430g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 18mm