Grégoire Le Gall

What is your project and why did you choose it?

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My project focuses the transnational and transgenerational experience of Ukrainian kinship groups, i.e. beyond the framework of the contemporary Ukrainian State in time and space. I question the practiced and lived dimension of the upheavals induced by the war in Ukraine (2014-) over the long term. It was brought to me by the discussions I had with the Ukrainians I met in Poland in 2022.  

What brought your interest to the region?

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Languages. Russian was my first love. It brought me to Saint-Petersburg as an exchange student five years ago. My second love was Georgian, and thus, I took the opportunity to spend one year in the Caucasus, firstly as an intern at the Embassy of France. At that point, I became more aware and passionate about post-soviet States societies and I became especially curious about Ukraine, which slowly raised my interest into conducting a PhD. 

How has Russia's war against Ukraine affected your project?

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When the war started, I just began a project about sports recruitment networks in Ukraine, knowing that they would enlighten the Ukrainian entre-deux geographical and secular situation. The war made it impossible, as the planned fieldwork should have taken place in Ukraine. I took time to think, try and fail to build something else which could match the gravity of the events. I managed by volunteering at the border and by asking genuine questions to displaced persons, who spontaneously discussed their family stories with me, again and again. Eurêka.  

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Grégoire Le Gall is trained as a geographer at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon. He is currently conducting a PhD in cultural geography at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris.