Russian Literature as Channel for Spread of ‘Russian World’: Ukrainian Dimension

Keywords: literary imagination, ‘Russian World’, ideology, socialist realism, stereotypes, propaganda, hybrid war

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to study the potentiality of literature for the transmission of Russian narratives and to identify stereotypes that are inherent in the mass consciousness of Ukrainians and were formed under the influence of the literary imagination.

The research methodology is based on general scientific (analytical, paradigmatic, synthetic) and general historical (historical-comparative, systematic-chronological) methods.

The scientific novelty is in the identification of the ties between literary imagination, dominant culture, and national memory.

Conclusions. In Soviet myth-making, literature was assigned one of the main tasks. It was implemented by sacralized Russian poets and writers of the 19th century (in Russia, it was the time of the crystallization of imperial ideology and the emergence of the theory of official nationality: ‘Orthodoxy-autocracy-national principle’) O. Pushkin, F. Dostoevskyi, L. Tolstoi, M. Lermontov, and others. Their creative works are dedicated to praising the imperial ideology. The ‘cult of victory’ praised by L. Tolstoi became a model for Soviet and modern Russian ideologues. School education was a means of ideological education and a tool for the formation of certain stereotypes (Russians and Ukrainians are one people with a common history, and Russians act as the ‘elder brother’; the belief that nothing depends on the ‘little man’; paternalistic attitude towards the state; the philosophy of war was understood based on Russian narratives). Soviet ideologues used literature as a resource for promoting monoideology, creating an image of the enemy, and glorifying the Party.

The commonality of memory and culture is obvious. Since independence, the policy of strengthening the ‘cultural core’ of Ukrainians has not been implemented. Russian propagandists and pro-Russian politicians made efforts to keep the Ukrainian cultural space of the transformation period eclectic, that is, one not fulfilling its integrative function. Since the revival of independence, Soviet stereotypes and myths, different interpretations of the past, and the Russian/imperial/colonial literary imagination, which promoted Russian values, have remained in the symbolic representation of memory in parallel with the historical culture of Ukraine.

Literary imagination occupies one of the key places in the cultural environment of Ukraine and is part of the dominant culture shaping meanings and influencing ethics. School subjects of the social and humanitarian cycle have worldview potential; with their help, it becomes possible to form a holistic image of the historical past, national memory, and system of values.

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Published
10.11.2023
How to Cite
Grusheva, T. (2023). Russian Literature as Channel for Spread of ‘Russian World’: Ukrainian Dimension. Eminak: Scientific Quarterly Journal, (3(43), 96-112. https://doi.org/10.33782/eminak2023.3(43).660
Section
Modern History