S8 Ep301: THE STATUE OF KHMELNYTSKY AND THE ORIGINS OF IMPERIAL DOMINATION Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. John Batchelor and Professor Eugene Finkel discuss the 1888 statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Kyiv, originally a project of Russian nationalists who envision

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John Batchelor

Society & Culture, Books, Arts, News

4.5 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2026

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

THE STATUE OF KHMELNYTSKY AND THE ORIGINS OF IMPERIAL DOMINATION Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. John Batchelor and Professor Eugene Finkel discuss the 1888 statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Kyiv, originally a project of Russian nationalists who envisioned a Ukraine stripped of Jews, Poles, and Westerninfluence. Finkel explains Khmelnytsky's 17th-century rebellion against Poland and his subsequent alliance with Moscow, which Russians interpret as unification but Ukrainians view as a pragmatic move for statehood. The conversation explores the 1783 imperial project under Catherine the Great, comparing the colonization of "New Russia" and the Black Sea coast to American colonial expansion, aiming to force Russian identity onto a diverse population. NUMBER 1
SOVIET KYIV

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is CBS Eye on the World.
0:08.5	Here's John Batchelor.
0:11.8	This is CBSI on the world.
0:14.1	I'm John Batchelor.
0:15.6	It is 1888 in Keefe.
0:19.0	A new statue is raised.
0:24.8	The statue is to a man named Kerminski, a hero, to the Ukrainians, to the Crimean Cossacks, to the Russians, even to the Soviets in the future.
0:34.8	Who is he? 17th century man and on the statue's plinth. And originally, because it was a product of
0:42.9	Russian nationalist, activist nationalist in Kiev. They wanted to write, oh, it will be better.
0:50.0	Oh, it will be more beautiful. When in our Ukraine, there are no Jews, no Poles, no Christians
0:57.8	from the West, Uniate Church. It goes on to say, a united, indivisible Russia to
1:05.3	Hetman Bodan Kaminsky. Professor Eugene Finkel is here.
1:11.5	His new book is Intent to Destroy, Russia's 200-year quest to dominate Ukraine.
1:17.9	That statue is a big clue as to what was happening in the 17th century, what is happening
1:24.7	in the 21st century.
1:26.7	Eugene Finkel is the Kenneth Keller Professor of International Affairs,
1:31.5	Johns Hopkins University of Advanced International Studies.
1:35.6	He joins us from Europe to comment on Kaminsky's statue.
1:41.3	Professor, the phrase is that they did not write, although they were approved by the
1:46.9	Tsar, I believe. They tell a story of woe. Who was he? Why was he important to everyone that they
1:54.4	raised a statue to him? Good evening to you. Good evening. Thanks for having me, John. So,
2:00.1	who Bogdan Hamelnitsky is?
	...

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