The interrelationship between Russian and Ukrainian nationalism and the discrepancy between them, especially from a comparative historical perspective, have generated a great body of academic literature and made it difficult to find an intriguing perspective on the nature of east European nationalism(s). The work of a Swiss historian, Fabian Baumann, has refuted possible fears of reading another work on state-centered, or top-down nationalism in Ukraine as part of late Russian imperial history. On the contrary, Baumann has managed to create a book where a “bottom-up” perspective on Russian and Ukrainian nationalism and the relationship between them has been enforced. In contrast to much research that views nationalism as promoted by political elites and focuses on the state as the main actor in facilitating a certain sense of solidarity, the book Dynasty Divided takes a completely different perspective and puts emphasis on the role of individual actors and nationalistically-inclined activists who participate in contrasting nationalist projects in late-imperial Russia and Ukraine. Agency was assigned to these individuals, in contrast to nationalism research that depicts individuals as rather passive participants in nationalist projects.

“Using the story of the Shulˊgin/Schulˊhyn family as a narrative frame, this book advances three main arguments” (4). Furthermore, Baumann writes that “the book stresses the importance of private homes and family life as sites of nationalist socialization” (4). The political divide within the family, which is also reflected in the way surnames are transliterated either in the Russian or Ukrainian language, has become a central argument of Baumann’s book. On the example of the Shulˊgin/Schulˊhyn family, the author aims to analyze how members of the same dynasty turned out to be assigned to different political projects of the nation, that is the Ukrainian or late imperial Russian. Baumann also stresses that members of the family chose the political projects consciously; such choices were not unmindful.

The book consists of five chapters, each describing nationalism in the making of the members of the Shulˊgin/Schulˊhyn family at different historical periods, starting from the Ems Ukaz (Emsskiy ukaz) of 1876. The strong advantage of Baumann’s work is that he describes members of the family as active participants in the political life of the country, not as passive consumers of the nationalist thinking advanced by the late Russian imperial government. Therefore, the choice between a Russian imperial nationalist project and Ukrainophile nationalism was driven by their family ties, generational dynamics, and social milieus. The complexity of the case of Russian and Ukrainian nationalism(s) in the late Russian empire was that the activists of the nationalist movements appealed to the same audience; the proximity of the Ukrainian and Russian languages and cultures made it complicated to distinguish a particular sense of Ukrainianness.

Baumann’s historical research has many important implications for our understanding of contemporary Ukraine and Russia. An outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022 (or the “special military operation” in Russian legal language) has fostered fierce discussions about the “decolonization of knowledge” and reflections on the future of Slavic and East European studies within the academic community. The current conflict in Ukraine has vividly demonstrated that such vague concepts as “cultural bonds” and “cultural and historical proximity of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples” can be easily transformed into powerful “weapons” and a means of political manipulation and propaganda. The conflict has also led to the unification of Ukraine and rallying around the idea of “one nation—one language,” regardless of Ukrainians’ linguistic and ethnic belonging. The complexity of Ukraine’s nation-building in the modern world is somewhat similar to the difficulties experienced by Ukrainian nationalism at the turn of the twentieth century, besides the fact that Ukraine has its own statehood.

Dynasty Divided by Fabian Baumann is a serious yet accessible introduction to the history of Russian and Ukrainian nationalism through the prism of family narratives and biographical research. This work deserves particular recognition within the academic community.

Special note: I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to review the book provided by the Slavic Review. As a researcher on Ukraine’s language policy and a citizen of the Russian Federation simultaneously, I confirm that it is increasingly problematic to voice your position related to the current political situation in Russia while being in the country. Therefore, such reviews are of utmost importance for my professional expertise and visibility in the field of Slavic studies.