This project deals with the prerequisites for cultural production under conditions of coercive cultural change. It focuses on Russification policies pursued by Soviet authorities in Ukraine up to the 1991 collapse of the USSR.
The purpose of the project is to address Russification in Soviet Ukraine as a multilayered, multidimensional, and dynamic phenomenon which brought about cultural processes still active. Transcending the boundaries of earlier sociolinguistic research on Russification, the project targets contexts of cultural production.
Building on prior research by the project participants, the investigation focuses on: the making of dictionaries; the translation of foreign literature; and the publishing process. These areas were instrumental in shaping a “topography of the possible” in the Soviet era. The project approaches them as open to both Russification and actions directed at negotiating and countering it, thus forming “spaces of de/colonization.”
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and drawing on both print and archival sources, the project aims at throwing new light on the cultural dynamics of Russification in Soviet Ukraine. The ultimate goal is to uncover cumulative workings and synergy effects of Russification policies on culture as a whole. Thereby, it contributes new perspectives on current issues of de/colonization, national culture and national identity in Ukraine and adds to the groundwork for comparative studies of Russification in (post-)Sovie