Symon Petlura and disputes over 20th century heritage. XXII global Promethean Conference

The character of Symon Petlura, Ukrainian political and military leader, and disputes over the 20th century heritage in Central and east Europe were the main themes of the 21st global Promethean Conference held in Warsaw on 26-27 October 2026. The conference was organised by the east European Studies of the University of Warsaw. Dr. Shahla Kazimov, editor-in-chief of “New Prometheus” magazine, was liable for the coordination of the event.

This year's gathering coincided with the century of Simon Petlura's death, murdered in Paris in 1926. Although he was not a associate of the movement
Promethean, his activities for Ukraine's independency remained close to the ideas of this movement.
The conference was opened by the manager of the east European Studies of the University of Warsaw Jan Malicki, and the inaugural lecture entitled “The Concepts of abroad Policy Symona Petlura” was presented by Prof. Jan Jacek Bruski. The speech became the starting point for subsequent sessions devoted to the political activity of Petlura and its place in the past of Ukraine and Central and east Europe.

Polish-Ukrainian Alliance and Memory of Petlura

One of the subjects of the first day of the gathering was the alliance concluded by Józef Piłsudski and Symon Petlura and the destiny of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The issue of commemorating Petlura in Ukraine, Poland and another places related to its life and activities took a separate place. In fresh years, the character of Symon Petlura has gained greater visibility in Ukrainian public space. Its name is named after another street, and its memory is commemorated by plaques and monuments. akin initiatives are besides taken in Poland. At the same time, the memory of Petlura is inactive controversial, and its place in the pantheon of Ukrainian national heroes is not yet full established. As the conference participants stressed, possibly due to the ongoing conflict with the Russian aggressor.

The analysis besides covered the celebration of the century of tragic death of Ukrainian leader, which took place in May this year Petlur died in Paris at the hands of Szlomo Szwarcbard; there are indications of possible ties between the bomber and russian services, although the degree of their engagement remains the subject of historians' discussion. In the capital of France there is inactive a tomb of Petlura, regularly visited by delegations of the east European University of Warsaw.

Soviet propaganda and its contemporary echoes

The end of the first day of the conference was a screening of the 1926 russian propaganda movie "P.K.P.: Piłsudski bought Petlura". The introduction to the screening was given by Dr. Alexey Vasilyev, paying attention to the momentum of production, the means of expression utilized and the participation of people associated with the events presented on the screen. The film, eluded by a simple divided into game and document, became the starting point for a lively discussion on how to present the Ukrainian independency movement in russian propaganda.
Production was intended to discredit the thought of Ukrainian independency and Piłsudski's alliance with Petlura. Poles and Ukrainians were shown in caricature, while Ukrainian independency activists themselves were presented as cynical, corrupt and lacking authentic political motivations.
Participants of the conference pointed to the durability of propaganda schemes seen in the movie – akin methods and tools are utilized present by the Russian authorities. Most likely, the movie was not distributed in Ukraine, suggesting that its main nonsubjective was to influence abroad public opinion and undermine the support for Ukrainian independency aspirations.

Promotionism, emigration and Memory Policy

The second day of the conference was devoted to a broader context of the Promethean movement and activities of the anti-bolshevik emigration. Characters of selected activists, including Włodzimierz Wakar and Akaki Czchenkeli, were presented. Discussion
also about russian propaganda and the politics of memory, including Ukraine and Lithuania, as well as the function of the Warsaw East Institute.
There were no shortages of topics relating to modern times. The referees analysed the continuity of the imperial heritage in Russia and the historical memory models operating in Belarus. In the final part of the meeting, Ukrainian issues were referred to, among others, by addressing the situation of national minorities during the revolution.

The 21st global Promethean Conference has shown that the past of the independency movements of nations under Russia and the russian Union remains the subject of a lively technological debate. The diversity of investigation perspectives allowed Petlura to look at not only through the prism of his political activities, but besides later disputes over memory, interpretation
historical and propaganda distortions. Discussions and a variety of perspectives and opinions confirmed at the same time that the heritage of the 20th century inactive affects the way modern political and national conflicts are understood in the region.