We, the undersigned, express our support for academic freedom and Dr. Ivan Katchanovski. We might differ on various issues, but agree on the importance of academic freedom and the need to protect it when it comes under attack. Professor Katchanovski is a well-known Ukrainian and Canadian political scientist at the University of Ottawa. A recent collective letter denounced him and his open access book The Russia-Ukraine War and its Origins: From the Maidan to the Ukraine War. The letter baselessly linked this peer-reviewed book published by a major Western academic press to Russian propaganda and the high popularity of the book to behind-the-scenes promotion by Elon Musk.

Dr. Katchanovski’s other recent academic press book titled The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: The Mass Killing that Changed the World was banned by the Ukrainian State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting led by a far-right OUN leader. Professor Katchanovski was also blacklisted by Myrotvorets hit list for his scholarly studies of the Maidan massacre that were published in peer-reviewed journals and books and for his exposure of a Waffen SS Galicia Division veteran, who was given standing ovations in the Canadian parliament. He also reported that his home and all other property in Ukraine were seized in retaliation to his scholarly studies. Though we might not share all of Dr. Katchanovski’s academic perspectives, we denounce the persecution against him for his scholarly research.

Dr. Katchanovski is one of the most cited political scientists who specialize primarily in the politics and conflicts in Ukraine. His academic publications include 7 books and 3 dozen refereed journal articles and book chapters. He currently teaches at the University of Ottawa. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Politics at the State University of New York at Potsdam, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, and a Kluge Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. He received his Ph.D. from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University under the direction of Seymour Martin Lipset.

We note that Dr. Katchanovski has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 from the start, called for a long time for European Union membership of Ukraine, and supported democracy and freedom in Ukraine since before its independence. He is also widely quoted in many outlets around the world, does numerous media and social media interviews, and presents his research at major academic conferences in the field.

Academic freedom in both the West and Ukraine is especially important during times of crisis and conflict, such as the tragic Russia-Ukraine war. Academic freedom has to be protected even for scholarly research that challenges prevailing narratives. This particularly concerns politically charged topics regarding this war and its origins. Scholars and their books and other academic publications should not be subjected to collective denunciations, censorship, sanctions, criminal prosecution, and other such retaliation for their academic research. Scholarly publications need to be judged by academic standards. Scholarly disputes need to be settled in academic venues.  

This applies to Dr. Katchanovski, his book The Russia-Ukraine War and its Origins: From the Maidan to the Ukraine War, and his other publications. Our position also applies to other scholars researching this war. We advocate for the defense of academic freedom and its application in the case of Dr. Ivan Katchanovski and his research.

Please send your name, position/job title, institutional affiliation, country, and whether you prefer that your name be published (or just your institutional affiliation and country) to openletter2026@gmail.com. 

 

Signed (in alphabetical order)

Abelow, Benjamin, M.D. Formerly, Lecturer in Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine

Acerbo, Maurizio, former member of the Italian Parliament

Alper, Muzaffer Ege, Senior Researcher, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland

Amar, Tarik Cyril, Associate Professor, Department of History, Koc University, Istanbul

Ames, Mark, Journalist, podcast host, “Radio War Nerd,” New York, USA

Anonymous, Dr., School of Political Science, University of Ottawa, Canada

Anonymous, former senior police officer, Italy

Anonymous, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Anonymous, PhD Candidate & Lecturer, York University, Canada

Anonymous, PhD Candidate and Lecturer at the University of Potsdam, Germany

Anonymous, Photographer, freelance, Germany

Anonymous, Retired, Norway

Anonymous, Retired Solicitor, Inverness, Scotland

Anonymous, Student of Economic Sociology, University of Turku, Finland

Anonymous, Teaching Professor, University of Ottawa, Canada

Anonymous, Vocational College BS Wilhelmsburg, Germany

Anonymous, Worker, Slovyansk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine

Aunola, Otso, Political Science student, University of Helsinki, Finland

Bakić, Jovo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Sociology, Serbia

Ball, Karyn, Professor, Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton

Baumgarten, Helga, Professor emeritus, Birzeit University, Palestine

Baysha, Olga, PhD, Associate Professor in Political Communication, National Research University “Higher School of Economics, “Moscow, Russia

Beauchamp, Jonathan P., Associate Professor, Department of Economics, George Mason University, USA

Belorusets, Yevgenia, writer, artist, Ukraine, Germany

Berekashvili, Bakar, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Georgian American University, Tbilisi, Georgia  

Bergeron, Frédéric, Librarian, Quebec, Canada.

Blackburn, Matthew, Senior Researcher, The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway

Blot, Lionel, copy editor, Éditions Gallimard, France

Bloxham, Donald, Richard Pares Professor of History, University of Edinburgh, UK

Blumenthal, Bud, artist, activist, Brussels, Belgium

Borozna, Angela, California State University Fullerton

Bouzek, Tomáš, Mgr., military historian, Opava, Czech Republic

Brandist, Craig, Professor of Cultural Theory and Intellectual History, University of Sheffield, UK

Buhre, Isabelle, MSc MA, Political scientist and latinist, The Netherlands

Buls, Zintis, IT support manager, Latvia

Cafruny, Alan W., Henry Bristol Professor of International Affairs, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, USA

Castelein, Luc, admin of the Karl Popper page on Facebook, Belgium

Cato, Jasper, retired conservator, previously at the Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Cavallari, Gerard, Ethnomusicologist, UK

Chaufan, Claudia, MD, PhD, Professor, Health Policy, York University, Canada

Chebani, Rhizlaine, Retraitée, Québec, Canada

Cinquini, Nicolas, intelligence analyst, former French intelligence officer in counter-terrorism, Corsica

Clayton, James, Journalist, World Socialist Website

Colley, Philip, Literary executor, The Gareth Jones Society, United Kingdom

Cooke, Sophie, Associate Lecturer, The Open University

Cosma, Valer Simion, Dr., historian, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania

Crews, Robert, Professor of History, Stanford University

Cuccoli, Lorenzo, independent historian, Centre d’études russes, caucasiennes, est-européennes et centrasiatiques (CERCEC, EHESS), France/Italy

Dall’Asta, Monica, Full Professor, University of Bologna, Italy

De Leonardis, Fabio, Ass. Prof. of Semiotics, Shanghai International Studies University, PRC/Italy

De Zayas, Alfred, Prof. Dr. Geneva, Switzerland, Geneva School of Diplomacy, former UN Independent Expert on International Order (2012-18), former Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee, former Chief of the Petitions Department at OHCHR, former President PEN International Centre Suisse romand 2006-09 and again 2013-17

Depoortere, Johan, Journalist, Belgium

Dergunov, Yuriy, Senior lecturer in Sociology, Donetsk

Dionisi, Davide, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Doherty, Niall, Project Officer, Ireland

Eckert, Laura, Artist, USA

Elkhoury, Ann, Dr, Sydney, Australia

Ewald, Engelen, Professor of Financial Geography, University of Amsterdam

Federl, Doris, Germany

Forsgren, Mattias, Stockholm, Sweden

Frijters, Paul, Emeritus Visiting Professor, London School of Economics

Gamet, Frédéric, copy editor, Paris, France

Garcin, Javier, journalist, Mexico

Garman, Sebastian, Dr., retired Senior Lecturer, Brunel University, London School of Economics and Brunel University, United Kingdom

Gigantino, Bryan, Lecturer, Georgian-American University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Gjefle, Karsten, International Development Professional, Oslo, Norway

Golinkin, Lev, author and journalist, USA

Golovan, Sergey, Senior Scientist, USA

Grable, Alexander, PhD Candidate, King’s College London, United Kingdom

Grenier, Paul R., President, Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy

Grinshpun, Yelyzaveta, Germany

Haack, Jonathan, Adjunct Faculty, Santa Fe Community College

Hahn, Gordon M., Expert, Corr Analytic

Hagen, Alexander, Founder, ISP, Montara, California

Håkan Julander, actor, poet and podcaster for Dissidentpodden, Sweden

Håkan, Danielsson, retired, Göteborg, Sweden

Hammond, Philip, Emeritus Professor of Media & Communications, London South Bank University, UK

Hanley, Brian, Clinical Asst. Professor, UTRGV School of Medicine, USA

Havryshko, Marta, Dr. Thomas Zand Visiting Assistant Professor in Holocaust Pedagogy and Antisemitism Studies, Clark University, USA

Herman, Daniel, Professor, Central Washington University, USA

Hill, Alexander, Professor in Military History, University of Calgary, Canada

Hough, H.P (Pierre), Chairman, SALM, South Africa

Ilkowski, Filip, PhD habil., University of Warsaw

Ingledew, Francis, Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature, Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA/Germany

Ioffe, Grigory, Professor Emeritus, Radford University, Radford, VA, USA

Ishchenko, Volodymyr, Dr., guest researcher, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Israel, Lena, former associate professor media science, Sweden

Johnová, Radka, PhD, Retired Assistant Professor at Czech Technical University and external lecturer in economics and marketing at Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Johnson, Charles, Worker, Organizing Director for a Peace Organization, Certificate in Unarmed Civilian Protection, Former Educator, United States

Jones, Peter, Professor, Faculty of Design, OCAD U, Toronto

Juncker, David, Professor, McGill University, Canada

Jurema, Bernardo, Research Associate, Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ, Germany

Kalb, Don, Professor of social anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway

Kalkanis, Gregory, school teacher, United States of America

Kallio, Timo, PhD (tech.), Helsinki, Finland

Karrasch, Ulrich, pensioner, Berlin, Germany

Kien, Tran Manh, Vietnam

Klein, Daniel, Professor Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Kozlovsky, Gregory, Ph.D., Owner, Locust Software GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland

Kragsterman, Johan, retired, Stockholm, Sweden

Kuzmenko, Oleksiy, erstwhile researcher of the Ukrainian Far Right

Laakso, Mertz, entrepreneur, Sweden

Lagercrantz, Lova, architect, Sweden

Lane, David, Fellow Academy of Social Sciences (UK), Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Lashmankin, Aleksandr, graduate student, sociologist, Samara University, Russia

Latva-Nevala, Marko, Key Account Manager, Stockholm, Sweden

Lauterbach-Lang, Anastassia, Dr., Professor of AI and Cybersecurity, Founder AI Edutainment GmbH, an AI Literacy company

Law, Simon, Retired, Australia

Lerchner, Johannes, PhD, Senior scientist, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany

Lévesque, Jean, Associate Professor of History, Université du Québec à Montréal, QC, Canada

Libby, Jacob Aaron, OTR-CHT

Lieven, Anatol, Dr., Andrew Bacevich Chair in US Diplomatic History. Director, Eurasia Program, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Lilja, Christer Carl, retired, Sweden

Lindquist, Björn, retired psychiatrist, Sweden

Lodynski, Andrzej, London, UK

Loewen, Helmut-Harry, Lecturer, Criminology and Sociology (retired), The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada

Löfquist, Johan B, journalist/photographer, Oslo, Norway

Lorenzo, Stefano Di, Journalist, East And West, EU

Lorincz, Tamara, PhD, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University

Lottaz, Pascal, PhD. Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Japan

Lucas, Jeffrey, Retired, UK

Malmsten, Hasse, Sweden

Mandel, David, Retired professor, Department of Political Science, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Marcetic, Branko, staff writer at Jacobin magazine, USA

Markwick, Roger, Dr. Honorary Professor of Modern European History, the University of Newcastle, Australia

McCormack, Tara, Dr., Lecturer in International Politics, University of Leicester, UK

McCracken, Ian, Retired, Norway

McFarlane, Peter, Writer, former Chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada, Canada

Mécontent, Gueux, Secretary of the 3R association, Strasbourg, Alsace

Meder, Sigyn, teacher, Sweden

Mercouris, Alexander, YouTube Commentator, The Duran, United Kingdom

Mkrtchian, Alexander, Research associate, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Germany/ Ukraine

Modlich, Hans, M.Eng, Toronto

Mølster, Magne, Theologian / pastor, Estonian Lutheran-Evangelical church, Estonia/Norway

Moscicki, Pawel, Professor, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

Muggler, Reto Andreas, Self-employed, Switzerland

Munley, Frank, Associate Professor (retired), Roanoke College, United States

Mutt, Maria, retired, Sweden

Ng, Ryan, graduating student & Chick Fil A worker, College of Staten Island, USA

Nikitin, Vadim, Contributing writer to the London Review of Books and the Nation, United Kingdom

Nirody, Suresh, President, Naught Foundation, U.S.A.

ÓhAiseadha, Coilín, Senior Medical Officer, Health Service Executive, Ireland

Öhlin, Mats, Retired Director of Education, Sweden

Olofsson, Erika, Librarian, Sweden

Paikin, Zachary, PhD (University of Kent), Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy, Canada

Pearce, James, Dr, history and languages lecturer, City College Peterborough, UK

Peck, Michael, PhD, Retired, Sydney, Australia

Petersen, Henrik, writer and translator, Stockholm, Sweden

Pettersson, Ulf, economist, Stockholm, Sweden

Petrov, Alexey, Hanover, Germany

Pfefferkorn, Roland, Professeur émérite de sociologie, Université de Strasbourg

Pflugbeil, Sebastian, Dr.rer.nat,Dipl.Phys., retired, cofounder of the NEUES FORUM, Minister after 1989, former Member of the Berlin House of Representatives, founder of “Children of Chernobyl”, former President/board of the German Society for Radiation Protection, Germany

Picker, Jean-luc, MD, FRCS (Ed), Retired director of International Centre for Therapeutic Research, France

Pochapsky, Jason, artist and craftsman

Poenaru, Florin, lecturer in sociology, University of Bucharest, Romania

Popova, Ruja, Historian, Assistant Professor, PhD, Institute of Balkan Studies with Centre of Thracology at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria, Sofia

Proskurnyak, Olga, Postgraduate student of political science, University of Sydney, Australia

Prudnikov, Vladimir, PhD Student, Department of History, Princeton University, USA (citizen of Latvia)

Quinn, Kevin J, BA, Owen Sound, Ontario

Ragozin, Leonid, freelance journalist, Latvia/Russia

Raviot, Jean-Robert, Professor of Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Université Paris Nanterre, France

Read, Christopher, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Warwick

Richards, Alan, Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Roberts, Geoffrey Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Emeritus Professor of History, University College Cork

Robinson, Piers, Dr, Co-director, Organisation for Propaganda Studies, Research Director, International Center for 9/11 Justice, Germany

Rodin, Andrei, associated researcher, Paris-Cité university

Rosenzweig, Mark Charles, Easton PA , USA, Former director of Reference Center for Marxist Studies, NYC

Roos, Carl-Erik, Retired, Sweden

Ross, Eric, PhD, MBA, Retired, USA

Rotlid, Steinar, Norway

Ruiz, Daniel, PHD, Researcher, UNED, Spain

Runo, Fredrik, Svetsare, Sverige

Sakwa, Richard, Professor Emeritus of Politics, University of Kent, England

Sand, Bo, Retired nurse, Danmark

Sanduja, Utsav, Founder and Chairman, Hindus for America First, USA

Sanzo, Luis, Former Head of Statistics in Employment and Social Needs, Basque Government, now retired, Spain

Sapir, Jacques, Professor of Economics (retired) at EHESS-Paris, Professor at School of Economic Warfare – Paris

Sazib, Zahidul Islam, Freelance Translator and Photographer, Bangladesh

Schoendorff, Benjamin, Clinical Psychologist, Liberpsy, Montreal

Sedefian, Zachary, graduate student, Department of Political Science, Brooklyn College, USA

Senyk, Sophia, Historian, Professor Emeritus, Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome

Seymour, Michel, professeur honoraire, Université de Montréal

Shakarian, Pietro A. Dr., Lecturer in History, American University of Armenia, Yerevan

Simons, Greg, Professor, Department of Journalism, Media & Communication, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sjölund, Per Olof, history graduate from Lund and Malmö university, Sweden

Skaperdas, Stergios, Professor of Economics, University of California, Irvine, USA

Skogholt, Karl, fisherman, Norway

Slanař, Zbyněk, Businessman-Director/amateur researcher, Pardubice, Czech Republic

Sloper, Miko, retired teacher, Leipzig international school, USA/Thailand

Smirnov, George, Professor of Physics, Retired, Switzerland

Söderström, Henry, economist and translator, Stockholm

Solar, Marc, MSc. Physics, Teacher in Bern and CEO Serenity Audio

Solomon, Jon, Professeur des universités, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 et Université Paris Nanterre, France

Soshnikov, Alexander, Professor of Mathematics, University of California at Davis, USA

Spinoso, Salvatore Fabrizio, Professore, Docente di Conservatorio, Italia

Spriewald, Götz, former photo lab technician and media designer, Germany

Stranne, Frida, Associated Professor Peace- and development Studies, Senior Lecturer Political Science, Sweden

Szamuely, George, PhD, Author, broadcaster and podcast host

Taras, Raymond, Professor Emeritus, Tulane University, New Orleans, United States

Tasić, Vladimir, Professor, University of New Brunswick, Canada

Terekhov, Ievgen, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Ukraine

Thelin, Ace, historian, journalist, California, USA

Tikhonov, Vladimir (Pak Noja), professor, Oslo University, Norway

Tokarczuk, Wiesław, Master of Science in Forestry, retired, Poland

Trégouët, Gildas, retraité, Montréal, Canada

Turner, Hugo, independent historian, USA

Utter, Paul, entrepreneur, Spain/Sweden

Van de Beek, Eric, investigative journalist, Media Pro – Pro Media, The Netherlands

Van de Water, Rob, Former Special Adviser to the Group of Progressives and Democrats in the European Parliament, Germany

Van der Kelen, Thomas, Translator, Antwerp, Belgium

Van der Pijl, Kees (Prof Dr), retired from University of Sussex, UK, the Netherlands

Vidojević, Jelena, Research Fellow, New South Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa

Vielmini, Fabrizio, MA, Analyst – Russia & Eurasia V&GT – International Institute for Global Analyses, translator of the Italian version of the Maidan Massacre book

Villaseñor, Dario, Mexico City, Mexico

Vollan, Tore, Cinematographer, Norway

Voronin, Anatoly, multilingual blogger, Ukraine

Vuorinen, Esa, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Luleå Univ. of Technology, Sweden

Wahlby, Mercédès, Senior physician, in internal medicine and geriatrics, Sweden

Webster, John, Retired, UK

Weskamp, Axel, retired teacher, Germany

Williams, Rob Lyons, former member Province of Saskatchewan Legislature

Winzer, Beate, Dipl. Pol., free Researcher, Berlin

Wünschmann, Doris, Academic Student – master of governance, Fern Universität, Hagen, Germany

Yoshida, Hiroshi, Associate Professor of Okayama University, Japan

Youril, John, Artist, USA

Zaeh, Rudi, retired, Germany

Zaslavskii, Oleg, Senior Scientific Fellow, V N. Karazin Kharkiv University, Ukraine