POSTCOLONIAL IMAGE OF UKRAINE IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ESSAYS IN 20 CENTURY

Abstract

The article explores the reasons for the emergence of an ambivalent image of postcolonial Ukraine. There is a sporadic comparison of Ukraine with Ireland due to such colonial experience. It is noted that some intellectuals do not agree with the search for common features between these countries. The geographic and historical factors that play a significant role in the “Ukrainian organism” are considered. They are determined by his “aesthetics, emotions, style and attitude” (R. Kharchuk). The geopolitical position of Ukraine made it possible to synthesize the experience of Byzantium, Orthodoxy, Catholic Rome, and Oriental culture. Three historical heritage are a heavy burden on the shoulders of the Ukrainian state and does not contribute to its modernization. This is the Eastern Christian, imperial and communist (Y. Grytsak) components of the Ukrainian historical past. The tragic vicissitudes of the world history of the20th century also affect the specifics of Ukrainian society. Geographical location and affiliation in the past to several historical models creates «a broad field for choosing the main vector of development.»