UDC 303.094(.4/.5)(=161.2) THE UKRAINIANS: ATTEMPT OF SELF-IDENTITY AND SELF-ESTEEM (original) (raw)
Image of an “Enemy” as a Factor of Constructing the Ukrainian National Identity
2020
The article shows that contrary to the fact that constructing the image of an “Enemy” for a long time has been remaining an inseparable element of the strategy of forming a national identity, yet it should be regarded as a rudiment of the national policy of the modern period, since then homogeneous national identity was the only way to gain political independence of a conscious proper cultural cutoff of the community. Meanwhile, in today’s conditions, the formation of a homogeneous national identity is a conflict strategy that can lead to a social split and fragmentation of the state borders. Given this, strategies that are aimed at ensuring a high level of citizens’ loyalty to the political state institutions on the basis of “constitutional”, “territorial”, “regional” and other patriotism seem more fruitful. Under conditions of implementing such a strategy and rational cultural policy aimed at developing a system of super-ethnic values that will be shared by the majority of the pop...
National Identity in Ukraine: History and Politics
RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS, 2022
This article studies the historical background that determined the formation of the specific features of Ukrainian, Little Russian, and Russian identities starting from the late 17th century to the present day. It traces the evolution of Ukrainian identity from the notion of "a single Slavic-Russian people" to the current radicalization and consolidation of anti-Russian sentiment as its dominant element. At different stages of nation-building, intellectual elites molded different constructs of this identity. At times these constructs existed in parallel and independently of each other, and at other times they confronted one another. The notion of a single people (or different peoples) constantly changed. The article highlights the key
Constructing a Ukrainian identity within the European context
The present paper investigates and problematises how the discourse of Ukraine's national identity is being constructed. The transformation of Homo Sovieticus into Homo Europeicus, which consists in the modification of the old boundaries of Ukraine with the Soviet Union, along with the delimitation of new ones within the European Union, is traced on both the tangible (material) and conscious psychological) levels. Due to historical, geopolitical and ethnopsychological factors, various material and mental objects, signs, and notions encapsulating and radiating Soviet ideology, are being replaced with new signs and notions restoring a version of the Ukrainian, pre-Russian past, and simultaneously projecting Ukraine's European future.
Ukraine's National Identity Formation in the Nineteenth Century
2019 CIEES SKOPJE/NORTH MACEDONIA DOĞU AVRUPA ARAŞTIRMALARINDA KAVRAMLAR, KAYNAKLAR, METODOLOJİ VE SANAT CONCEPTS, SOURCES, METHODOLOGY AND ARTS IN EASTERN EUROPEAN STUDIES, 2019
The roots of Ukrainian nationalist movements can be traced back to the pre-World War I period, when the Western world was dominated by multiethnic empires rather than small nations. To analyze the origins of the Ukrainian national identity crisis, this study focuses on the developments in the second half of the nineteenth century, which marked a crucial period for the national identity formation of Ukraine. In this period, the process of Ukrainian national identity formation was severely undermined by the strict policies of the Russian government. The strict policies of Russian Empire in the second half of the nineteenth century towards the non-Russian subjects of the empire faced a reaction by rising Ukrainian nationalism. This study argues that Russia's suppressive policies towards the rising Ukrainian subjects of the empire in the nineteenth century, through cultural Russification process, interrupted the consolidation of Ukrainian national identity formation.
Anthropological Measurements of Philosophical Research, 2018
Purpose. This article clarifies the significance of the person's social self-identification as a basis for civilization and institutional explanation of national self-identification in Ukraine. Theoretical basis. The authors found that the analysis of the cultural and anthropological principles of national self-identity reveals two main opposed concepts: the concept of "eastern" cultural and social self-identity of Ukraine, which correlates with the metaphor of the split between "East" and "West", and the concept of "western" projection of the European future of Ukraine, which correlates with the metaphor of the bridge between "East" and "West". These concepts reflect the options for the citizens of Ukraine to make a personal choice of the way in achieving social self-identity. Douglas North's concept of "openaccess order" states and "limited access order" states can be used as a basis for an alternative, pragmatic approach to choice the criteria of national self-identity. Originality. National self-identification is a result of the choice of the person's self-identification: still the person takes into account the history of the nation, the ethnic diversity of the nation, its cultural and civilizational characteristics. The philosophical-anthropological approach contributes to the demystification of the grounds of social self-identification, revealing the decisive role of the personal choice in shaping the new institutional foundations of national self-identity. Harmonization of the social institutions of Ukraine with the institutions of the European Union and the international community institutions opens wide opportunities for Ukraine's successful integration into the "open-access order" societies. The clarification of the value and symbolic aspects of national self-identity in Ukraine contributes to the successful functioning of these institutions. Multilingualism is an adequate response to the global challenge of the reconstruction of Ukraine's national selfidentity. The education system is a key area for introducing multilingualism. Conclusions. The development, justification and systematization of cultural and institutional criteria for choosing the best ways to strengthen of national self-identity in Ukraine are a prerequisite for the successful self-identification of Ukrainian citizens in a complex and ever-changing global world.
Reflections on Historiography and Sources of (Ukrainian) National Identity
Ukrainian Quarterly, 2023
Sometimes university students question basic assumptions which we as “seasoned academics” take as givens. Such is the origin of these reflections on the origins of ethnic identity and its legitimacy as a legal concept in international law to justify the right to self-determination and the consequent right to formation of an independent, sovereign state. Ukrainian national identity is merely the case I, as the academic, have chosen. For the record, unequivocally I support Ukrainian national sovereignty and Ukrainians as a distinct national group deserving of a homeland of their own. The student raised the question of what distinguishes Kashubians, Silesians, and Poles versus Russians and Ukrainians; and why is it Ukrainians deserve national sovereignty while Kashubians and Silesians do not. I do not attempt to understand the reasons why Kashubians and Silesians have not and do not demand a separate nation-state from Poland. The student’s question did raise an academic question though, which as pedantic as it seems, ebbed into the question of the international legal grounds upon which the US supports Ukraine in its current war with Russia. Sometimes, encouraging critical thinking amongst our students can be both enlightening and aggravating.
Гендерна ідентичність жінки в Україні як результат інтерпретації культурних текстів (англ. мовою)
Збірник наукових праць: психологія (Збірник наукових праць: філософія, соціологія, психологія), 2018
The paper focuses on the problem of constructing gender models of a Ukrainian woman’s identity in a social-cultural context. Gender identity is analyzed as a comprehension of the individual «Self», connected with cultural determination ofmasculinity and femininity. The role of culture is being disclosed as a text within formation of social-cultural experience of a person, creation of new gender senses, concepts. Comprehending cultural texts, a personality develops as a discursive subject. The paper gives coverage to different cultural texts, the analysis of which let us identify concepts of Ukrainians’ gender culture, which determine construction of models of women’s gender identity. Crucial concepts of gender relations, gender identity of a woman in Ukraine are analyzed in the light of different communities which inhabited its territory over various periods of time on the basis of academic studies, papers devoted to the current problem.
Volume 6 of Mykhailo Hrushevs'kyi's (Hrushevsky's) monumental History of Ukraine-Rus' is the concluding tome of a three-volume series (volumes 4, 5, and 6) dedicated to the Lithuanian-Polish epoch of the history of the Ukrainian people. Volumes 1 to 3 of Hrushevs'kyi's History, together, address the period ending with the fall of Kyivan Rus' and the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia, while the tomes after volume 6 deal with the early stages of the Cossack period and the (re-)establishment of Ukrainian sovereignty in the form of the Cossack Hetmanate. Hrushevs'kyi's conceptualization of the "history of the Ukrainian people" can be seen as one of his most important contributions to Eastern European historiography. In his work, we encounter the study of the Ukrainian people as a whole-as opposed to the study of various distinct entities located within a number of neighbouring states (Poland; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Hungary and then Austria-Hungary; Muscovy and then Russia; and so on). Hrushevs'kyi conceived of a fundamental unity permeating the history of the Ukrainian people from the time of Rus' all the way to the goal and apogee of the historian-cumpolitician-the re-establishment of a unified and independent Ukraine in the twentieth century (a project that Hrushevs'kyi himself took part in, both in its glorious beginnings and in its heartbreaking failures). In setting down a thesis on the continuity of the history of the Ukrainian people, Hrushevs'kyi provided subsequent generations of students of Ukrainian history with an essentially anti-statist methodological framework that allowed them to explore a subject area not merely reduced to a political history of a state with precisely delineated political borders. Such theoretical innovation and foresight have secured Hrushevs'kyi's high stature in the field of history-and especially in the study of Ukrainian cultural history. Mention should also be made of Hrushevs'kyi's importance in the study of the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC) as a whole. By creating a model that includes the dwellers of the Brest and Pinsk regions of what is now Belarus within a definition of the Ukrainian people and that thoroughly documents them, Hrushevs'kyi has indirectly given us a paradigm for conducting cross-cultural and cross-national research that aims to
The Roots of the National Idea in 19th Century Western Ukraine
*** This is one of my largest papers and I hope once the typos are worked out it will be published *** Please assist me in pointing out any errors you find *** This analysis of the national idea will be limited to two territories which were compromised of Ruthenian peoples, Galicia and Transcarpathia. This will allow for a comparative study between the two as they are radically different in regards to when there was consensus among the national idea and when it was able to flourish. It will be particularly interesting to examine why the national idea did not spread equally among Ruthenians living under the same empire. The importance is then to understand the role that the state and other external factors can play in determining the speed and direction of national ideas among a common people. At this point it will be possible to notice that regardless of the national idea, the attitude of the state towards nationalism can help or hinder any progression that leads to a national awakening. This, combined with the Ruthenian question of which national idea was to shape the identity of its people, complicated the uniform growth of Ruthenian nationalism and ultimately led to the stagnation of Ukrainian ideas in Transcarpathia. What specific events resulted in this stagnation as well as how the competition of diverging national ideologies affected the growth of the idea in Transcarpathia and Galicia from 1848 to 1914 is the purpose of this analysis. Providing a background of the specific situation that Ruthenians found themselves in living under Austro-Hungarian rule and stating the differences of the three national ideas will be a precursor that will set the context for the remainder of the paper. Galicia will be the first to be examined, specifically its major historical events from 1848 to 1914, the role of its intelligentsia, the role of the Austrian State in Ruthenian nationalism, and the politicization of the Ruthenian National Movement. Following this, Transcarpathia will be examined from 1848 to 1914 in the context of major historical events. This will then allow for a comparison of the similarities and differences between Galicia and Transcarpathia and will ultimately allow for the examination of why the Ukrainophile idea was a success among Ruthenians in Galicia but was not the same success for the Ruthenians of Transcarpathia.
Future Human Image, 2019
The paper is devoted to further development of the criteria for identifying the Ukrainian nation. It is claimed that the effective strategy for such identification could be found in the theory of nation by the 20th-century Ukrainian philosopher Julian Vassyian. His main theoretical writings are focused on the "inner" factors which considered being crucial in terms of self-determination of the Ukrainian nation. In philosopher's opinion, the foreign policy factors are not as essential for the nation's self-identification as "inner" criteria, which are the national character, volitional activity and spiritual unity. He claimed that the definition of the objective "external" criteria such as language, territory, economic factors, etc. is not essential as well. The main principle of Ukrainian's national self-identification ought to be an awareness of being a representative of the nation and focus voluntary efforts on its development and improvement. Vassyian pays a lot of attention to the analysis of the main treats of the Ukrainian nation. Ukrainians should overcome the historically formed negative traits of the national mindsetpeacefulness, defensiveness, excessive sentimentalism, social underdevelopment, etc. in order to become active subjects of the historical process. Ukrainian nation's formation mechanism is based on the triad "idea-will-aim." Vassyian's concept of "national genius" acts as a mechanism for activating and directing the individual's will to the formation of the nation. It is claimed that Vassyian's basic theoretical statements could be productively used by modern nation studies. In the authors' opinion, Vassyian's key ideas could contribute to the solution of current value-formation problems for the modern Ukrainian nation. It is asserted, that particular provisions of Julian Vassian's philosophy of Ukrainian nation could be helpful for the Ukrainian nation development in a modern globalised society.
The Formation of the European Identity of Ukraine : Key Factors and Principles
2014
This article analyses the main determinants of the formation of the European identity of Ukraine. Using the historical background of the Ukrainian statehood the author focuses on European cultural and political components inherent to the mentality of Ukrainians. It is proved that Ukrainian regionalism does not separate the population into groups with different mentalities but contributes to the realisation of their specific features. The long absence of statehood caused the detraction of importance of some Ukrainian mental traits, which is why it is only nowadays that the Ukrainian population can be considered to be a conscious nation. This article focuses on the main features that unite Ukrainian people with Europeans: individualism, constitutionalism, democratism, etc. It also analyses the geographical component of Ukraine’s identity, and the current trends in the formation of the latter. The author concludes that the formation of the European identity of Ukraine is possible only ...
Ideologies of the Self: Constructing the Modern Ukrainian Subject in the Other’s Modernity
2016
Postcolonial theory has recently come under critique as an interpretative scheme applied to Eastern Europe and particularly Ukraine. However, a closer look suggests that the critique applies only to some aspects of the approach, such as a focus on power relations and representations, while the key question should be rephrased as whether the Ukrainian subject was constituted as a colonial subject. A range of empirical material from 1920s Ukrainian discourses, both Soviet and émigré, is analyzed to shed light on how Ukrainians constructed their subjectivity as “a site of disorder” (Dipesh Chakrabarty), splitting themselves into uncultured peasant masses to be modernized and erased as a voiceless subaltern subject, on the one hand, and modernizing elites, on the other. This split can be understood as an epitome of the colonial condition.
The Condition of Contemporary Ukrainian Culture: The Postcolonial Retrospective and Perspective
Ukrainian Policymaker, 2019
Contemporary Ukrainian culture is in a state of redefinition of the basic values and principles on which its functioning is based. The challenge faced by the political and intellectual elites of Ukraine is to create a common language code that will be accepted and understood by members of the whole society. The postcolonial character of culture in this context is the platform on which the contemporary image of the Ukrainian state is created. Therefore, the idea of contemporary Ukraine should be based on the process of getting rid of the "postcolonial syndrome" and shaping the Ukrainian culture based on the traditions and attitudes of national culture. The state's position in this regard should be compatible and follow the common goal of real independence from the then colonizer. The Russian Federation, implementing its imperial policy towards Ukraine, effectively hinders the development of the Ukrainian cultural sphere, which is one of the priority state-building spaces. Therefore, Ukrainian society faces a very difficult task, because it should create an effective institutional and systemic base that will allow for nationwide development. The process of uniting the Ukrainian nation around the basic state-building idea should be based on a common language space, because language is the element that shapes the area of mutual social interactions. Ukraine in the conditions of competition, not only in the military context, but above all in the cultural context, should go in the direction of promoting its own position in every sphere of functioning, and especially in the cultural sphere.
East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies
Volume 6 of Mykhailo Hrushevs'kyi's (Hrushevsky's) monumental History of Ukraine-Rus' is the concluding tome of a three-volume series (volumes 4, 5, and 6) dedicated to the Lithuanian-Polish epoch of the history of the Ukrainian people. Volumes 1 to 3 of Hrushevs'kyi's History, together, address the period ending with the fall of Kyivan Rus' and the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia, while the tomes after volume 6 deal with the early stages of the Cossack period and the (re-)establishment of Ukrainian sovereignty in the form of the Cossack Hetmanate. Hrushevs'kyi's conceptualization of the "history of the Ukrainian people" can be seen as one of his most important contributions to Eastern European historiography. In his work, we encounter the study of the Ukrainian people as a whole-as opposed to the study of various distinct entities located within a number of neighbouring states (Poland; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Hungary and then Austria-Hungary; Muscovy and then Russia; and so on). Hrushevs'kyi conceived of a fundamental unity permeating the history of the Ukrainian people from the time of Rus' all the way to the goal and apogee of the historian-cumpolitician-the re-establishment of a unified and independent Ukraine in the twentieth century (a project that Hrushevs'kyi himself took part in, both in its glorious beginnings and in its heartbreaking failures). In setting down a thesis on the continuity of the history of the Ukrainian people, Hrushevs'kyi provided subsequent generations of students of Ukrainian history with an essentially anti-statist methodological framework that allowed them to explore a subject area not merely reduced to a political history of a state with precisely delineated political borders. Such theoretical innovation and foresight have secured Hrushevs'kyi's high stature in the field of history-and especially in the study of Ukrainian cultural history. Mention should also be made of Hrushevs'kyi's importance in the study of the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC) as a whole. By creating a model that includes the dwellers of the Brest and Pinsk regions of what is now Belarus within a definition of the Ukrainian people and that thoroughly documents them, Hrushevs'kyi has indirectly given us a paradigm for conducting cross-cultural and cross-national research that aims to
Ethnologia Actualis, 2018
The paper is based on the conclusions of ethnological research of Ukrainian minority carried out by the author on the territory of Slovakia between 2014 and 2016. Its main objective was the reflection of ethnic stereotypes of the Ukrainian minority towards the Slovak majority. An unavoidable element in research on stereotyping and reflection of "national character" was also an analysis of ethnic identity of the members of the minority group. How do they perceive themselves, what does it personally mean to them to be a Ukrainian and what practically fulfills an abstract category of "being Ukrainian". The author briefly summarizes key theoretical objectives of the concept of ethnic identity and then analyses its reflection within the Ukrainians in Slovakia with regard to its main characteristics. Ukrainian autostereotypisation in the broader context of Ukrainian-Russian relationship is also examined.
2021
In the context of the modern military-political conflict in Donbass, the national identity of the Ukrainians of the Donetsk region attracts considerable attention. After all, it is thanks to the self-determination and self-identification of the individual that an adequate national and political identity is formed. But as a result of the post-totalitarian syndrome, Ukrainian society was unable to achieve this. The national identity of the Ukrainians of the Donetsk region during the period from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century underwent a rather complex transformation (first of all, a significant Russification). As a result, there was a deformation of cultural and national identity and a leveling of consciousness. Subsequently, this led to a crisis in the socio-political position of the individual and the population of this region. During the existence of the totalitarian regime in the Ukrainian SSR, a process of total Russification was observed. At the...
Ethnopolitics of the Ukrainian State in Historical and Political Science Discourses
Studia Europejskie-Studies in European Affairs, 2018
Ethnopolitics of the Ukrainian State (April-December 1918) has for a long period of time remained beyond the scope of historical-political research. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the policy of the Ukrainian authorities towards national minorities in Ukraine. By relying on little-known historical sources and summarizing the elab-orations of various scientists, the author tried to show how the ethno-national policy was really being implemented in the Ukrainian State and why the Ukrainian-Russian relations had become a decisive factor in interethnic processes. Furthermore, at the beginning of the XXI century the interethnic and interstate relations of Ukraine continue to remain relevant.
The Periodization of Ukrainian and Russian National Identities: a Comparative Analysis
Folklore and ethnology, 2017
The article attempts to analyze and compare the historical periodization of Ukrainian and Russian national identity. The main problem of this research is a political and mentality specificity of both nations caused by the political and historical differences. Diedush, O. (2017) The Periodization of Ukrainian and Russian National Identities: a Comparative Analysis. Folk Art and Ethnology, 6 (370), 45–50.