The U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities has terminated a grant for publishing Ukrainian literature in English translation at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), citing a repurposing of funds 鈥渋n furtherance of the President鈥檚 agenda,鈥 according to Oleh Kotsyuba, director of print and digital publications at HURI.
鈥淭he way this termination affects us is that it basically limits our ability to work on these projects,鈥 Kotsyuba said. 鈥淲e were supposed to be able to hire a part-time editor to work on projects for the next two years, and now, because of the termination of this grant, we won鈥檛 be able to do that, which obviously puts the projects in jeopardy.鈥
The grant termination comes at a critical time when preserving and promoting Ukrainian culture and pushing back against Russian narratives has taken on heightened significance during Russia鈥檚 ongoing war against Ukraine.
HURI鈥檚 publications program has published 14 volumes of Ukrainian literature in translation over the past three and a half years, establishing itself as a leading platform for making Ukrainian voices accessible to global audiences. According to Kotsyuba, this was the first federal grant HURI had received for its publications in over 30 years. It would have allowed the institute to showcase Ukrainian contemporary and classic literary works to English-language audiences.
For HURI, which has been cultivating scholars in Ukrainian history, language, and culture since its founding in 1973, the grant termination places significant financial strain on the institute, which operates independently from Harvard University鈥檚 general endowment. HURI is now seeking alternative funding sources to continue its vital work in preserving and promoting Ukrainian literature.
鈥淎t this time, we are primarily trying to find sources to replace this funding, and so we call on all people of goodwill, on people who have meaningful wealth to be able to support this project, this program, to contribute and donate to the publications and help us continue with publishing these works,鈥 Kotsyuba said.
Euromaidan Press (4/5/25) By Alya Shandra