A notable aspect of Ukraine’s democratization efforts after 1991 was the effort to come to grips with its experience as part of the Soviet Union. Mr. Zabily argues that the present Ukrainian regime has seemingly divested itself of any critical thinking regarding the Soviet past at the same time that it has been backsliding on the development of an open society. Mr. Zabily will speak on access to archival materials of the Soviet era, the prospects for historical research on the USSR and Ukrainian independence efforts (as well as the politics of national memory) and attempts toharass the academic community in Ukraine.