This talk tells the story of the unknown 100 000 people Ukrainian diaspora in Manchuria and its leader, Ivan Svit (1897–1989), a forgotten Ukrainian journalist, editor, historian, and social activist, and their active communication and collaboration with Japanese authorities under the occupation (1932-1945). During this time, Ukrainians tried to negotiate about creating a Ukrainian national state in the Far East and broader North-East Asia.

Co-convenors Juliana Buriticá Alzate, Jenny Guest, Hugh Whittaker

Besides working as a journalist, a stamp dealer, and an editor running a couple of Ukrainian printed media publications, including the “Manchurian Herald” (1932-1937) and “The Call of the Ukraine”(1941-1942) as well as radio programs, Svit helped to print a Map of Green Ukraine (1937) and to publish the first Ukrainian Japanese dictionary (1944).

This talk explores the processes of self-identification of Ukrainians through printed media and the cooperative nature of Ukrainian-Japanese relations in Manchuria (1922-1945).