National Dimension of Changes in Public Consciousness of the South and East of Ukraine 1991-2013

Abstract

The peculiarities of the national, linguistic and religious composition of the population of the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine after the declaration of independence until the beginning of the Revolution of Virtue are highlighted. It is revealed their connection with self-identification of local residents. Part of the locals have adopted the Ukrainian civic identity, which was reflected in the answers to the 2001 census. If earlier the Russian designation in the documents gave more mobility and allowed to build a career more successfully, in the conditions of independence this motive disappears. The model of the late-Soviet era «Moscow-capital / region» in regional identities after 1991 is partially replaced by the model «Kyiv-capital / region». The complexity of the linguistic picture of the region means more complex «hybrid» identities. Along with the literary versions of the Ukrainian and Russian languages – the most common among local residents – various versions of «surzhik» are used at the household level. Also worth noting is the significant number of bilinguals in the study area – people who are fluent in both languages. These facts suggest that considerable inertia in the public consciousness of the region was manifested in the preservation and only relative transformation of the Soviet era. The abolition of restrictions on religious life in the face of independence led to the revival of church structures, which became influential agents of constructing regional identities. The most influential denomination in the south and east of Ukraine was the Orthodoxy represented by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Despite the outward resemblance of these religious structures, they carried out radically different preaching activities. The conclusion was substantiated about a complex palette of identities, characteristic for the South and East of Ukraine, which arose as a result of the contradictory processes of 1991-2013.