Iaroslav Lebedynsky, born in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1960, is a
French historian of
Ukrainian origin, a specialist in ancient warrior cultures of the
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropica ...
and the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
, and a prolific author in that field. He has also translated seven books on history or languages of this region into French.
Since 1997, he has taught Ukrainian history at the
National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris. Lebedynsky and Iryna Dmytrychyn are the editors of the series ''Présence Ukrainienne'' published by
L'Harmattan
Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
.
He leads the research circle ''Gallia-Sarmatia'' which aims to study the traces left by the
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...
and
Alans
The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...
in the West. He also co-directs, with Lora Arys-Djanaïéva, the collection'' Voice of the Caucasus'' whose objective is, through various topics, to communicate this region with many influences.
Iaroslav Lebedynsky grew up in a cultured and polyglot family who contributed to his intellectual awakening. The Ukrainian part of his family was originally from central Ukraine and completely
Russified. He learnt
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
and was familiar with Russian culture from an early age. Only later, he discovered his Ukrainian heritage.
With a very early passion for history, Iaroslav Lebedynsky does not see it without involving other disciplines of human knowledge. It was his interest in Ukraine and the role of its territory in history, which led to him developing a passion for the ancient cultures of the steppe. From this passion, he went on to scientific study.
Regarding the history of Ukraine, he regretted the proliferation of pseudo-historical works that reflect his view on "an inferiority complex of Ukrainians who, ignoring their own history and not wanting to be satisfied, construct compensatory myths". In France, the inquiry into the misinformation about the history of Ukraine conducted in 2001 by Iaroslav Lebedynsky and his colleague Iryna Dmytrychyn, led to the creation of the collection, ''Présence Ukrainienne''.
Publications
* ''Les armes cosaques et caucasiennes'', Éditions du Portail, Paris, 1990.
* ''Les armes orientales'', Éditions du Portail, Paris, 1992.
* ''La collection d'armes de l'empereur de Russie Alexandre II'', Édition du Portail, Paris, 1993.
* ''Histoire des Cosaques'', Terre Noire, Paris, 1995.
* ''Les armes traditionnelles de l'Europe centrale'', Éditions du Portail, Paris, 1996.
* Co-author with Vladimir Kouznetsov, ''Les Alains'', Errance, Paris, 1997 (2 ed, 2005).
* Co-author with Vladimir Kouznetsov, ''Les Chrétiens disparus du Caucase'', Errance, Paris, 1999.
* ''Armes et guerriers barbares'', Errance, Paris, 2001.
* ''Les Scythes'', Errance, Paris, 2001.
* ''Le Prince Igor''. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2001.
*
ntroduction and notes for :Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan
Guillaume Levasseur de Beauplan ( – 6 December 1673) or William le Vasseur de Beauplan was a French-Polish cartographer, engineer and architect.
Beauplan is best known for his maps of Ukraine (which he spelt as ''Ukranie'' or ''Vkranie'', wi ...
, ''Description d'Ukranie'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2002.
* ''Les Sarmates''. Paris: Errance, 2002.
* ''Les Nomades, les peuples nomades de la steppe des origines aux invasions mongoles, IXe siècle av. J.-C. - XIIIe siècle apr. J.-C.'' Paris: Errance, 2003 (2nd ed., 2007).
* ''Les Cosaques, une société guerrière entre libertés et pouvoirs. Ukraine, 1490-1790''. Paris: Errance, 2004.
* ''Les Cimmériens''. Paris: Errance, 2004.
* ''Les Indo-Européens: Faits, débats, solutions''. Paris: Errance, 2006 (2nd ed., 2009).
* ''Les Saces: Les « Scythes » d'Asie,
e siècle av. J.-C. –
e siècle apr. J.-C.'' Paris: Errance, 2006. .
* Co-author with Katalin Escher, ''Le dossier Attila'', Errance, Paris, 2007.
* ''Armes et guerriers du Caucase'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2008.
* ''Ukraine, une histoire en questions'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2008.
* ''De l'épée Scythe au sabre Mongol'', Errance, Paris, 2008.
* ''Scythes, Sarmates et Slaves'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2009.
* ''Temoignages anciens sur les Tcherkesses'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2009.
* ''Les Amazones, mythe et réalité des femmes guerrières chez les anciens nomades de la steppe'', Errance, Paris, 2009.
* ''Sarmates et Alains face à Rome'', Les Éditions Maison, Clermont-Ferrand, 2010.
* ''Skoropadsky et l'édification de l'État ukrainien'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2010.
* ''La « constitution » ukrainienne de 1710'', L'Harmattan, Paris, 2010.
External links
The series ''Présence Ukrainienne''5 questions for Iaroslav Lebedynsky, on the site of ukrainian ambassade in France
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebedynsky, Iaroslav
1960 births
Living people
20th-century French historians
French male non-fiction writers
21st-century French historians
Historians of Ukraine