Transcript war as a factor of ukrainian national consolidation:lessons of 1914

WAR AS A FACTOR OF UKRAINIAN
NATIONAL CONSOLIDATION:
LESSONS OF 1914 FOR 2014
Olena Zlobina,
Institute of Sociology NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv
Nadiya Lintsova,
Umbrella Research agency, Kyiv
The Past vs. the Present
 “History is not
entirely the
past, but it is
not also all that
remains of the
past. There is a
living history
that continues
and is renewed
through the
years”.
History vs. collective memory
History gives us an overall picture
of continuous social change,
considering social groups from the
outside.
Collective memory represents the
group from the inside. It is the own
image of the group, which unfolds
in time but is kept over in
changes.
Purpose of the study
Discover historical milestones that
retrospectively connects
Ukrainians’ national image as an
independent community during
World War I with a modern vision of
theirs image
Determine the historical lessons
that the present might learn from
the past
Ukrainians in the arena of World War I
“Repulsive forces split
apart the segments of
Ukrainian community
and attracted them to
the civilization magnets
of another societies. It
created a sense that
they are different
nations and belong to
different territories”.
Samuel P. Huntington
Codification of the national
consciousness
Khokhol, Ukrainian,
Little Russian
 Khokhol is
dumber than a
crow but trickier
than a heck.
 Khokhol won’t lie
but wouldn’t tell
the truth either.
Vladimir Dal
Explanatory Dictionary of the
Living Great Russian Language
1863-1866
Ukrainianness is a
quality and an
activity of the
Ukrainian in the
national
meaning.
Borys Hrinchenko
Dictionary of the Ukrainian
language
1907-1909
World War I vs.
October Revolution
Prehistory
True history
World War I in the collective
memory of Russians
(Russia Public Opinion Research Center)
What were the opposing sides in World War I?
Austria-Hungary and Germany /
Germany against Russia
Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance
(correct answer)
Triple Entente / England / France /
Japan and other countries against Russia
Hard to answer
World War I
is a new Russian myth
1. Supporting the historical narrative which is a
symbol of an indissoluble millennial history of the
great state
2. Supporting the historical patriotic narrative
3. Rethinking the past based on what the current
political situation requests:
 Russia could came out as a winner of this
war but lost everything due to a
misunderstanding between government
and society
 Peace and stability in Europe is impossible
without Russia
Monument for heroes
of World War I in Russia
 Idea of World War I
heroes’ descendants
 Fundraised
 Poklonnaya Hill is a
symbol of classing
World War I as a
“Patriotic War”
 Tricolor emphasizes
the inheritance of the
Russian statehood
and facilitates the
identification with a
memory of the
forgotten war
World War I in the collective
memory of Ukrainians:
findings
Research methodology:
• Online survey using iVOX Ukraine
panel
• Date: June 2015
• The sample consisting of 1200
respondents is representative for
the urban population of Ukraine by
gender, age, type of settlement
and region of residence
How do you think, are these
statements fair?, N 1200, %
General statements
Yes No
The disappearance of 4 Empires
is a result of World War I (Russian
47 19
Empire, German Empire, AustriaHungary, Ottoman Empire)
Hard to
answer
34
Ukraine at World War I
Yes No
Hard to
answer
Ukraine is one of the largest
arenas at World War I
35 37
28
How do you think, are these
statements fair?, N 1200, %
Implications for Ukrainian
Hard to
Yes No
statehood
answer
World War I created the conditions
for the victory of the Bolshevik
41 24
35
regime
World War I woke Ukrainian
national liberation movement
40
23
37
Ukraine as an independent state
arouse during the World War I
39
28
33
How do you think, are these
statements fair?, N 1200, %
Ukrainian-Russian relations
Yes
No
Hard to
answer
During World War I Soviet Russia
committed aggression against
independent Ukrainian People's
Republic
33
32
34
How do you think, are these
statements fair?, N 1200, %
Yes
No
Hard to
answer
World War I occurred under the
influence of growing national
chauvinistic sentiments in Europe
30
23
47
National chauvinistic sentiments
psychologically “charged”
European nations for their
aggression and set them to World
War I
24
26
50
National chauvinistic sentiments
Regional specificity
of collective memory
22
South
28
Ukraine is one of the largest
arenas at World War I
32
East
39
45
North
42
World War I woke Ukrainian
national liberation
movement
37
Center
48
45
West
49
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Lesson 1
Mutual hate and
aggression that
prevailed in the
relations between all
nations and
countries
psychologically
prepared all parties
of the conflict to its
starting and
escalating.
Lesson 2
The war, which
was accepted,
lived through and
supported by the
population,
immediately after
its ending was
condemned at
the individual and
collective levels
despite the
approval at the
national level.
Lesson 3
 Any attempts to suppress national
consciousness only reinforce national
liberation aspirations.
Every Russian democrat ends on the
Ukrainian question.
Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Love Ukraine not by noisy and bustling
stream of phrases but by quiet and
tireless work!
Metropolitan Archbishop Andrey
Sheptytsky
Lesson 4
In spite of the fact
that Russians and
Ukrainians are
fraternal peoples,
Soviet Russia has
already fought
against the Ukrainian
People's Republic.
Under paragraph 6 of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia
took the responsibility to
admit Ukraine's
independence in the face
of the UPR government to
withdraw its troops from
Ukrainian territory and to
stop any agitation and
propaganda against the
government or government
agencies of UPR.
Conclusion
The main “lesson” of World War I is
the process of forming in the public
consciousness an insecurity of
chauvinism and intolerance
strengthening, which can
imperceptibly replace the
patriotism and mutual aid during
the war.