Slavic Paganism at the World’s End: from the Baptism of the Kyivan Rus to the War in Ukraine

Come and join Andre Henriques and British-Ukrainian curator Myroslava Hartmond in conversation about the enduring cultural and spiritual relevance of Ukraine’s pre-Christian pagan past. Ukraine has been at the heart of Slavic pagan history, from early settlement of pre-Christian Slavs and the Scandinavian Rus along the river Dnipro, to the baptism of the Kyivan Rus Toppled Lenin statues of recent past echo the fallen Slavic idols of 988 CE, while pagan themes feature in Ukraine’s resistance to the invasion — both in art and practice.

Myroslava shares fascinating aspects of Slavic history and heritage through examples of art and archaeology, and provides a prism for understanding current events.

Andre discusses the Norse people who rose to become the Kyivan Rus state, the cultural ancestors of modern Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. He traces descriptions of pagan rituals in old sources, and modern cinematic portrayals in films like ‘The Northman’ and ‘The 13th Warrior’, bridging the gap between history and modern imagination.

Expect to discover the history of a place so much in our minds today, through a conversation with two engaging speakers.

All profits from the event will go to support the work of British-Ukrainian Aid.