<p>“Understanding the true story of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts has never been more important. <i>Ukrainian Sunrise</i><i> </i>reads like a scholarly work, yet the way it is written remains accessible to a broad audience. Zarembo’s approach ensures that the voices of those in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are heard directly—she serves not as an interpreter, but as a conduit for their stories.”</p><p> —Kate Tsurkan, <i>The Kyiv Independent</i></p>
Preface. The Ukrainian East: Forget everything (you thought) you knew about Donbas
Chapter 1. The myth of Donbas: An attempt at deconstruction
What the mines hide
Donbas and the Ukrainian language: A river filled with stones
The myth of separatism: “The autonomy we didn’t want”
Chapter 2. The story of Poshtovkh
“We only needed ten more years”
The fight for Vasyl Stus
Chapter 3. The “interrupted renaissance” of Donbas: Art as protest and protest as art
The founder of Donetsk’s poetry slam
Luhansk’s STAN: art against the regime
Isolyatsia: A reinterpretation
Chapter 4. The outskirts of Europe: Does European Donbas exist?
Ambivalent Euroscepticism
NATO and EU in Donetsk
The Euromaidans of Ukrainian East
Chapter 5. The villages of Ukraine’s East as carriers of Ukrainian markers
The Halychany of Donbas. Zvanivka
The Aeneid on the H20 highway. Oleksandro-Kalynove
Chapter 6. “Go set a watchman”: Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Greek-Catholic Christians, and Muslims of Ukraine’s East
Protestants: A conversion
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv patriarchate: A confrontation
The Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church: Providence
Muslims: A choice
An Almost-Afterword. Shakhtar Donetsk FC, soccer, and the role of ultras in the fight for the country
Afterword. In a train compartment with people from Donetsk, or Where Ukraine’s sun rises
Key sources