Ukraine History Professor Talks Corporate War Profiteers at Angelo State University

SAN ANGELO – Angelo State University's Russian Enrichment Program will host a presentation by Dr. Volodymyr Kulikov, a visiting historian in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the ASU Academic Building, 2502 Dena Drive.

Titled "Stand on the Right Side of History: Multinational Corporations and the Russia-Ukraine War," the presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 135 of the Academic Building and is free and open to the public.

During his presentation, Kulikov will discuss how since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, the multinational corporations operating in Russia have been facing challenges rarely dealt with at business schools. They face ethical dilemmas and feel strong pressure from their shareholders and stakeholders, forcing the executives to make decisions that go well beyond usual business thinking and strategizing. Thousands of companies have decided to divest, withdraw or scale down their operations in Russia. In contrast, others justify their decision to stay with their responsibility toward their employees in Russia and their unwillingness to deprive Russia's population of essential goods, such as food and medical supplies.

Kulikov will also address the following questions: How and why can some companies benefit from war while others suffer disruption and destruction in their production and distribution networks? How does public pressure affect corporate behavior and reputation? What does (business) history teach us about ethical behavior in times of war?

To provide answers, the Russian case will be compared with previous armed conflicts and humanitarian crises, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, Apartheid, the Soviet-Afghan War, and the Yugoslav Wars.

A native of Ukraine, Kulikov is also a professor in the Department of History at the Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, and taught previously at the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Central European University in Austria. He specializes in the business history of Eastern Europe, with a particular interest in the history of industrial enterprises, history of monoculture, and historic corporate social responsibility. His main publications are on the history of company towns in Ukraine, big business in the Russian Empire, and industrial heritage in Eastern Europe.

Kulikov's ASU presentation is sponsored by the Department of English and Modern Languages and the ASU Russian Club. ASU's Russian Enrichment Program hosts guest speakers and other presentations during each academic year to encourage the study of Russian language and culture.