Scotland's Ukrainians - Their Story

The historic bond between Ukraine and Scotland is a long-standing, often underappreciated relationship spanning centuries. Beginning with academic exchanges in the 1700s, the connection transitioned in the 19th- and 20th-centuries to significant migration, military and industrial links. More recently, Scotland has pledged solidarity by offering safe and welcoming refuge to thousands of Ukrainians.

Join us on the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine for a talk by Dr Peter Kormylo about his book: Scotland’s Ukrainians - Their Story. This social history explores the Ukrainian community in Scotland during the past 100 years.

Dr Peter Kormylo is a retired civil servant, teacher and historian with a passion for Ukrainian and Scottish cultures.

Born in Annan, Kormylo is the son of a Ukrainian father and Scottish mother. His father came to Scotland as a Prisoner of War and worked on farms in the south-west. His mother belonged to a local family who had a great appreciation for the works of Robert Burns. Both cultures have shaped Kormylo’s interests.

Kormylo has very close ties with the Ukrainian community in Scotland. He is Archivist for Edinburgh’s Ukrainian Community Centre, Director of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, and is often a spokesperson for the community with the media.

He received his PhD from the University of Glasgow School of Social Political Sciences where he produced his thesis on the Ukrainian diaspora in Scotland.

In addition to his diaspora work, Kormylo has put together a collection of many of Burns’ poems translated into Ukrainian, and is a past-president of the Burns Howff Club.

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Canonmills Church, 14 Canonmills, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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