Ukrainian literary intelligentsia and the formation of the image of the «New Man» during early stalinism (late 1920s – early 1930s)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Objective of the Article. The purpose of this article is to historical analyze the literary process in Soviet Ukraine during the formation of Stalinism (late 1920s – early 1930s), with a particular focus on the theme of the search for the “new person” as a cultural and artistic discourse. Research Methods.The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematization. Methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, as well as generalization, have been employed. These approaches allowed for a focus on the key elements of the problem and an examination of it in a comprehensive manner. Scientific Novelty. The scientific novelty lies lies in the analysis of the communist cultural mythologeme of the “new person” and its reflection in Ukrainian literature during the formation of Stalinist totalitarianism. Attention is given not only to the creative legacy of writers and poets of Soviet Ukraine but also to the political and social conditions of their lives and work. This approach has made it possible to draw several conclusions regarding the changes in the consciousness of the population of Soviet Ukraine during that period. Conclusions. Based on the analysis of the existing historiography and source base, it has been proven that Soviet literature in Ukraine during the Stalinist era served as one of the means of shaping the "new person." Only those artists who fully shared (or at least publicly declared) the political clichés and myths of Bolshevism, transferred into culture, could live and create in the republic. Literary works written in Soviet Ukraine during Stalinism were primarily aimed at shaping a loyal public consciousness, to assist the totalitarian communist regime in eradicating the national component from Ukrainian literary art, and fostering the formation of the Bolshevik "new person" in the republic. However, as demonstrated in the article, if the Moscow authorities designated a particular writer as an "enemy," even public declarations of loyalty to communist ideology often failed to save them.
Author: Artur Mykhailyk
Language: English
Topic: Soviet and Russian History
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4412007128