SUMMARY:

The article explores the ways in which historians of Ukraine are trying to make sense of modern political developments: the Maidan revolution and the Russo-Ukrainian war. It argues that much of the historical commentary on the Ukrainian events is shaped by the essentialist understanding of both identity and history. Scrutinizing the use of evidence, references to history, and moral judgment in recent texts of historians discussing Ukraine, the author argues that attempts to find explanations for a contemporary crisis in the cultures and structures of the past are not only historically inaccurate but also much less insightful than experiments with applying only the methods of historical inquiry, removed from any teleological explanatory frameworks. Pointing to the gaps in our knowledge of Ukraine, the author also urges historians to be more circumspect and considerate when dealing with still unfolding events that affect millions of our contemporaries.