Research archive · University of Pécs
Ukrainian science fiction, 1920–2020
Research by Oleh Shynkarenko, a Ukrainian writer and PhD candidate at the University of Pécs, on how a century of Ukrainian science fiction moved from the techno-communist utopias of the 1920s to the irony and doubt of the post-Soviet decades. Here you will find author profiles, peer-reviewed articles, essays and his own fiction.
About
Oleh Shynkarenko
PhD candidate, Doctoral School of Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Pécs
Born in Zaporizhzhia, I trained as an automation engineer, spent more than twenty years in journalism and have published six books of fiction, one of them in English translation. My research reads Ukrainian science fiction as a record of how an era believed in technology — and how that belief wore out.
Full biography →Dissertation
“From Utopia to Dystopia: Ukrainian Science Fiction and the Collapse of Techno-Communism”
Explore the research →- 1920s–30sUtopias of the machine: techno-communist faith in progress
- 1940s–50s“Near-target” fiction under Stalinist control
- 1960s–80sMysticism, scepticism and the golden age
- 1990s–2020sPostmodern irony after the collapse of the USSR
Fiction
All books →
How to Disappear Completely
Smoloskyp Prize. Stories in which a self slowly comes apart.
Kaharlyk
Ukraine a hundred years after a war with Russia: a satirical journey through the ruins.
Kaharlyk (English)
Translated by Stephen Komarnyckyj; Kalyna Language Press, UK.
The First Ukrainian Robots
A woman, her failing husband and a robot who does everything better.
Cherep
Three bogatyrs drive a T-34 into Ukraine, lost in their own propaganda.
Bandera Distortion
Between Bandera the man and Bandera the symbol.
Conferences & talks
Full list →- AATSEEL 2026 — American Association of Teachers of Slavic & East European LanguagesNew Orleans, USA
- Philosophy in Technology (PinT), 5th editionWrocław, Poland
- Budapest Workshop on Philosophy and TechnologyBudapest, Hungary
- Young Philosophers Conference — National University of Public ServiceBudapest, Hungary
- Contexts VIII — International Interdisciplinary Conference for Young ScholarsNovi Sad, Serbia
- Interdisciplinary Doctoral Student Conference (IDK2025)Pécs, Hungary
- Interdisciplinary Doctoral Student Conference (IDK2024)AwardPécs, Hungary
- Budapest Workshop on Philosophy and TechnologyKeynoteBudapest, Hungary