“It's IU that picked me,” said Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova, seen here at the 2024 Indiana Global Economic Summit. Photo by Jessica Corry, Indiana University

Before Oksana Markarova became the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, she was selected by Indiana University to pursue a Master of Public Affairs focusing on public finance from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

In 1999, she applied to the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship program, a U.S. State Department initiative that provided opportunities for graduate students and professionals from the former member countries of the Soviet Union. Upon acceptance, American universities select which students they want to bring to campus.

“It’s IU that picked me,” Markarova said. “I applied from Ukraine for the Muskie fellowship, and then the university picks you. So, in a way, it was destiny.”

“In Indiana, I came across beautiful landscapes, delicious food and nice people. When volunteering, I met Colin Powell before he became secretary of state. Bloomington is a small town, but so many amazing things happen there,” Markarova said. Photo by Jessica Corry, Indiana UniversityIU already had a rich relationship with Ukraine and Eastern Europe. In 1947, the Department of Slavic and Eastern European Languages and Cultures was established in the College of Arts and Sciences. As a result, summer training in Russian and other Eastern European languages has been offered on the Bloomington campus since the 1950s.

During that period, IU’s Army Specialized Training Program, a U.S. military partnership with universities that trained officers to meet World War II wartime needs, had the largest language program in the country. At present, the summer Language Workshop remains the largest program of its kind in the United States.

The specific focus on teaching Eastern European languages inspired the founding of the Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute in 1958. It serves as a hub for leading research, language training and regional area studies. Shortly thereafter, a report from American experts on Eastern Europe cited the institute as “clearly one of the three best concentrating on that area in this country.”

In the 1970s, as trade with Eastern Europe became more of a possibility, IU was selected to host a national conference of economists. After the dissolution of the USSR, IU hosted a U.S. Department of Energy-funded conference on migration from Eastern Europe in 1993. Four years later, IU acquired Slavica Publishers, the largest publisher of Slavic and East European languages, linguistics and literature.

IU’s extensive connection to the region made it the ideal place for Markarova to expand her knowledge and skills and tackle challenges like being immersed in a predominately English-speaking environment.

“There was so much that I learned, but also so much that I discovered,” she said. “In Indiana, I came across beautiful landscapes, delicious food and nice people. I loved the library; I spent so much time there. When volunteering, I met Colin Powell before he became secretary of state. Bloomington is a small town, but so many amazing things happen there.”

Professor Emeritus Robert S. Kravchuk, right, an expert in Russian and Ukrainian public administration and political economy, has become a lifelong mentor and friend. Photo by Jessica Corry, Indiana UniversityMany O’Neill faculty members made a lasting impression on Markova and her career. Professor Emeritus Robert S. Kravchuk, an expert in Russian and Ukrainian public administration and political economy, has become a lifelong mentor and friend. She said she learned from her peers, many of whom were working professionals, and relied on other top-notch faculty, too.

Markarova said the core curriculum courses prepared her to be a leader in her field, strengthening her analytical and project management skills. She also explored the public policy process in both U.S. and international contexts, the management of public institutions, and the social equity implications of public policy decisions.

“In our public finance class, we went beyond the theoretical and examined specific issues; having real projects was very useful,” she said. “Something else that stayed with me in the first public administration class was our first two cases. We examined the Challenger disaster as well as Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those were very difficult assignments.”

When Markarova graduated in 2001, Ukraine’s public sector was still under the influence of pro-Russian forces despite its independence, so she went back to work in the private sector. In 2003, the O’Neill School had a role in shaping the newly sovereign country’s constitution. This was one aspect of legislative reform that took place through the $4.9 million USAID-funded Parliamentary Development Project led by Professor Emeritus Charles Wise.

In late 2013, 1,500 people protested President Yanukovych’s sudden decision to reject an EU association agreement in favor of closer ties with Russia. Daily events across Ukrainian cities supported European integration. Armed police forcibly removed 400 activists from Kyiv’s streets, sparking massive protests against human rights abuses and pro-Russian policies. Known as Euromaidan, these events evolved into the Revolution of Dignity, a movement for democracy and systemic renewal.

After Yanukovych fled the country, Ukraine began to establish a new technocratic government. It was during this period in 2014 that Markarova received a phone call from Natalie Jaresko, a Ukrainian-American former U.S. State Department official, who had just accepted the position of Ukraine’s minister of finance.

“She asked me what I was doing next week. I told her working and helping,” Markarova said. “She said, ‘No, no! You must serve your country. Many people are volunteering to join the front lines because that is where they can help. Now, you have to volunteer where you can help most.’

“So, I thought I would join the ministry for one year, help my country and go back to the private sector. But I spent five years being the deputy minister, first deputy minister and ultimately the minister of finance.”

In 2022, Markarova spoke during a hearing with the Helsinki Commission in Washington, D.C. The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which includes members from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, met to discuss issues relating to Russian imperialism in Ukraine and beyond. Photo by Anna Moneymaker, Getty ImagesAs the decade came to a close, the country’s financial situation stabilized with the help of the International Monetary Fund and through changes to fiscal policy. Around that time, IU was awarded a U.S. Department of State grant of just under $1 million, in partnership with the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, to design and implement an academic government communications program in Ukraine. IU committed to contribute an additional $360,000 to the project.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected in 2019, he requested Markarova stay on as minister of finance. She returned to the private sector after his first term, but Zelenskyy asked her to serve as an ambassador to the United States less than a year later.

Given her background, the goal was to focus on American business investment in Ukraine. However, due to Russia’s invasion, she is now a wartime ambassador. Still, she said her finance experience has been useful.

“Congress has adopted supplementary funds for Ukraine,” Markarova said. “We had to explain to our friends on the Hill why we needed what we requested, how we will use it transparently and effectively, and how the funds are not only helping us but helping the U.S.”

“Without U.S. support, we could not stay that course. We could not fight as successfully as we do. My finance experience and the knowledge I learned at IU enabled me to explain more effectively.”

In the face of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, IU leveraged its resources to support Ukrainian scholars, educate the community and help Ukrainian students. The Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute launched the IU-Ukraine Nonresidential Scholars Program, which offers a stipend, library access and professional development opportunities to scholars in Ukraine so they may continue researching, writing and teaching.

In 2023, Markarova spoke at an IU Alumni Association event in Washington, D.C. “If you work in Washington like I do, you see IU graduates everywhere,” she said. Photo by Jessica Corry, Indiana UniversityEarlier this year, Ukrainian scholars worked with IU students and faculty to host “Ukrainian Week at IU” as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion approached. In June, professors Sarah Phillips and Tatiana Saburova organized a workshop at the IU Europe Gateway in Berlin; the goal was to create an international working group to develop a digital teaching resource on Ukrainian history. They want to center voices of Ukrainians, which means revising the major historical narratives created by Russia.

Much of Markarova’s time on Capitol Hill is spent advocating for the Ukrainian cause before leaders, policymakers, federal agents and more. In the process, she often runs into IU graduates and recently spoke at an IU alumni event in Washington, D.C.

“If you work in Washington like I do, you see IU graduates everywhere,” she said. “Whether I’m in the State Department, USAID, Department of Commerce — everywhere I go, actually — I meet alums from Indiana University. I think this is what IU is known for: to be a great school that has a devotion to public service.”