Olga Khomenko – Forgotten Allies: Ukrainian–Japanese Cooperation in East Asia (1918–1945)
Tuesday, 30 September, 5pm
Earlham Hall 0.12
When Russia launched its full-scale aggression in 2022, Japan quickly emerged as one of Ukraine’s most reliable partners in Asia, sending billions in aid and opening its doors to Ukrainian refugees. Yet this cooperation has deeper, and surprisingly forgotten, roots. A hundred years ago, in the distant lands of the Russian Far East and Manchuria, Ukrainians and Japanese also found themselves in contact—sometimes as allies of necessity, sometimes as strategic partners.
This lecture takes us back to the turbulent decades between 1918 and 1945, when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian settlers lived in the Far East and émigré activists from the defeated Ukrainian People’s Republic tried to build a “Ukraine beyond Ukraine.” Remarkably, Japan not only recognized Ukrainians as distinct from Russians but also saw them as a potential tool in its rivalry with the Soviet Union.
Though brief and situational, this cooperation produced lasting results: a Ukrainian press in Harbin, Ukrainian-Japanese dictionary, and even a detailed map of Ukrainian settlements in the Far East. These forgotten encounters reveal how diaspora activism, migration, and imperial strategy intersected in unexpected transnational ways. And they remind us those alliances—then and now—are never permanent, but shaped by necessity, opportunity, and the resilience of nations that refuse to disappear.
Dr. Olga Khomenko is a historian focusing on the intersections of Eastern Asia and Eastern Europe. She is a Visiting Scholar at the University of Oxford and has previously held a CARA/British Academy Fellowship at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies. Educated in Kyiv and Tokyo, she has combined careers in academia, journalism, and diplomacy. Her recent books include The Far Away Sky of Kyiv (Ibidem, 2025), Ukrainians who crossed the borders (Gunzosha, 2022) and The Far Eastern Odyssey of Ivan Svit (Laurus, 2021).
All Welcome
East European Refreshments provided