The Royal Historical Society is very pleased to announce the award of fellowships to seven Ukrainian historians and Slavonic and East European Studies scholars unable to continue their work at home universities. The seven recipients will take up their positions at UK and European universities very shortly, with the hope of several more fellowships to follow in the near future.
The Ukraine ‘Scholars at Risk’ programme began in March 2022 with a partnership between the Royal Historical Society and the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES) who jointly pledged to fund four fellowships, with assistance from the Past & Present Society (P&P).
Additional funding from two more learned societies — the German Historical Society and the Ecclesiastical History Society — has made further fellowships possible. An extra position has been generated through public donations to a recent fundraising campaign by the Royal Historical Society and BASEES. At the time of writing, the Society of Antiquaries of London has also elected to support the scheme and will be providing an additional, eighth Fellowship.
In each case, the fellowships will be matched by a host university which will also provide the Ukrainian scholars with an academic mentor, office and library use, and opportunities to collaborate with departmental specialists, for a period of at least three months.
Four ‘general history’ fellowships — supported by the RHS and P&P — will be held by Ukrainian researchers at history departments at the University of Sheffield, Roehampton University, and the University of the West of England, and at the University of Bremen, Germany.
The German History Society fellowship will support a scholar of the German past at the University of Aberdeen, with an additional fellowship in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, funded by the Ecclesiastical History Society. The seventh fellowship — held by a scholar at the Centre for Russian, Soviet, Central and East European Studies, University of St Andrews — is funded by BASEES.
Each of the fellows will also receive membership of the Royal Historical Society and of BASEES, for 12 months in the first instance.
The Royal Historical Society is delighted to be part of the Ukraine fellowships programme, and to have worked so collaboratively and effectively with other learned societies of history and area studies.
It’s been heartening to see other groups join the original RHS / BASEES scheme, and to receive such creative and generous applications from history departments across the university sector.
We are very grateful to these organisations, and also to the many RHS members and supporters who generously contributed funds for an additional Fellowship. We hope these placements offer refuge for scholars driven from their home universities in recent months.
The Society and its partners will be keeping in touch with each of the new fellows, and we’re sure they’ll receive a warm welcome from the historical community.
Professor Emma Griffin, President of the Royal Historical Society
The growth of this scheme since it was launched by BASEES and the RHS is a credit to the academic community.
Learned associations, scholars, and universities in the UK and beyond have come together to show active solidarity with their Ukrainian colleagues. These fellowships will make a real difference to those scholars at risk and their dependents.
Dr Matthias Neumann, President of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies
