CULTURAL TRANSIT IN THE ETHNIC POLITICS OF WARRIANT UKRAINE

Abstract

The article clarifies the essence and place of cultural transit in the ethnopolitics of Ukraine against the background of the occupation and genocidal war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Mass murders, the destruction of historical and cultural heritage, and the temporary occupation of a part of the territory led to the emergence of about 12.2 million forcibly displaced persons in the country and beyond – migrants and refugees of various ethnic origins, which fundamentally changed the ethnonational structure of the population and led to the displacement of cultural values. Millions of Ukrainian citizens, who as a result of Russia’s aggression found themselves abroad, having received asylum and protection in democratic countries, on the one hand, integrate into societies that provide them with opportunities for inclusion, and on the other hand, preserve their cultural identity, connection with the homeland and all its support in confrontation with the enemy. Preserving the identity and cultural code of Ukrainian refugees from the war, promoting their return is one of the priority components of Ukraine’s ethnic policy. The war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine became a difficult and unexpected test for Ukrainian society for self-preservation, survival, political maturity, ethnocultural stability, national and civil unity. Under the guise of “denazification”, the enemy destroys Ukrainian identity, its ethnocultural component, seeks to split society, and incites inter-ethnic enmity. Under such conditions, the priority task of ethnopolitics remains the consolidation of society through the establishment of ethnic and civil identities of society, the support of Ukrainian-centric ethnopolitical processes, primarily in the sphere of culture and historical memory. A powerful impulse was given to the natural process of the return of Russified Ukrainians to their own cultural tradition, values, and native language – a cultural transition. The ethnic policy of a country embroiled in a war should take into account the desire of Ukrainians for consolidation, while at the same time resisting attempts at discrimination or forced acculturation of citizens. It was found that the aggression of the Russian Federation proved a high level of cultural resilience of Ukrainians, activated additional reserves for the affirmation of the ethnic and linguistic identity of citizens, the use of the Ukrainian language in everyday communication, the growth of its role as a language of inter-ethnic communication, because the interest in mastering the Ukrainian language is shown by an increasingly large part of the national minorities A number of proposals to take into account the cultural transit of Ukrainians in the development and implementation of special additional measures to protect and support the spread of Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian language among forcibly displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees from war abroad are substantiated.