The Place of Ukrainian National Motifs in the Art Culture of the Ukrainian SSR: 1960’s - 1970’s (the Theater and the Cinema Art Case Study)

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru

The Place of Ukrainian National Motifs in the Art Culture of the Ukrainian SSR: 1960's - 1970's (the Theater and the Cinema Art Case Study)

Nadia M. Kindrachuk

Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University Dr. (History), Associate Professor (Ukraine)

Tetiana V. Meleshchenko

Ukrainian State University after Mykhailo Drahomanov PhD. (History), Associate Professor (Ukraine)

Надія Кіндрачук

Прикарпатський національний університет імені Василя Стефаника доктор історичних наук, доцент (Україна)

Тетяна Мелещенко

Український державний університет імені Михайла Драгоманова кандидат історичних наук, доцент (Україна)

Місце українських національних мотивів у художній культурі УРСР: 1960-ті - 1970-ті рр. (на прикладі театрального та кінематографічного мистецтва)

Анотація

Метою статті є дослідження місця українських національних мотивів у художній культурі УРСР 60-х - 70-х рр. ХХ ст. на прикладі театрального та кінематографічного мистецтва, демонстрація протесту української інтелігенції проти русифікації та денаціоналізації корінного народу України. Методологія дослідження. Під час здійснення дослідження застосовано конкретні наукові методи, зокрема аналітико-логічний, історико-системний, пояснення, пошуку, синтезу, співставлення, комплексного добору. У роботі також використано метод аналізу - для з'ясування рівня зростання національної свідомості українців. Наукова новизна. З'ясовано, що початок 1960-х рр. характеризувався певним піднесенням української проблематики в художній культурі, проте вже з другої половини цього десятиліття і впродовж 1970-х рр. прояви українських національних мотивів активно почали витіснятися з кіноекранів та театральних сцен УРСР тощо. Аргументовано, що спротив української творчої інтелігенції радянській тоталітарній системі вилився в культурно-мистецький нонконформізм. Висновки. Незважаючи на утиски та репресії з боку правлячої комуністичної верхівки, українські митці намагалися в своїй творчості пропагувати українську минувшину, розкрити багатогранну національну культуру корінного народу УРСР та продемонструвати перед усім світом її окремішність і право на самостійне існування. Незворотнього характеру набирав процес відродження національного обличчя української культури, повернення з глибин народної творчості, взаємозв'язку національного і духовного. Дух вільнодумства, морально-естетичні новації, виборювання права на автохтонне мистецтво наповнили діяльність молодих талановитих українців.

Ключові слова: художня культура, національні мотиви, українська нація, українське національне відродження, українські митці, радянська влада, денаціоналізація.

Abstract

The focus of this article is the study of the place of Ukrainian national motifs in the art culture of the Ukrainian SSR during the 60's - 70's of the 20th century on the example of theatre and cinema art, demonstration of protest of the Ukrainian intelligentsia against russification and denationalization of the indigenous people of Ukraine. Research methodology. During the research, such scientific methods as analytical-logical, historical-systemic, explanation, search, synthesis, comparison, complex selection were applied. The work also used the method of analysis is to find out the level of growth of national consciousness of Ukrainians. Scientific novelty. It was found that the beginning of the 1960's was characterized by a certain rise of Ukrainian issues in art culture, however since the second half 60's and during the 70's of the twentieth century the Ukrainian national motives began to be actively pushed out of the movie screens and theatrical stages of the USSR etc. It is argued that the opposition of the Ukrainian creative intelligentsia to the Soviet totalitarian system resulted in cultural and artistic nonconformism. Conclusions. Despite oppression and repression by the ruling communist elite, Ukrainian artists sought to promote Ukraine's past, reveal the multifaceted national culture of the indigenous people of the USSR, and demonstrate to the world its uniqueness and right to exist. The process of revival of the national face of Ukrainian culture, return from the depths of folk art, the relationship between national and spiritual was becoming irreversible. The spirit of free thought, moral and aesthetic innovations, struggle rights to indigenous art filled the activities of young talented Ukrainians. ukrainian national motif

Key words: art culture, national motives, Ukrainian nation, Ukrainian national revival, Ukrainian artists, Soviet power, denationalization.

The Problem Statement. During the 60's - 70's of the XXth century the ideologists of communism used all possible methods to impose on the titular nation of the USSR the idea that Ukrainians have never had their own national language and culture, but have drawn their roots exclusively from the «great culture of the fraternal Russian people». As an ideological tool for the formation of a totalitarian state and the spread of the «Russian great-power spirit», the CPU actively used theater and cinema, which were devoted to the ruling party and were a reliable tool for campaigning in the hands of the Communist Party leadership.

With the independence of Ukraine, democratization of socio-political life, opening access to many archival sources, favorable conditions were created for free, unbiased, methodologically balanced study of the Soviet past of the Ukrainian nation and expanding the field of national memory and historical consciousness of citizens. Therefore, a comprehensive study of the place of Ukrainian national motifs in the artistic culture of the USSR during the 60's - 70's of the twentieth century is extremely relevant and requires a special approach to study.

The Analysis of Sources and Recent Researches. The issue of Ukrainian culture and art in the USSR during second half of the XX century was highlighted in the works of such authors as: A. Yaremchuk (1994), N. Korniienko (1999), L. Krupnyk (2002), J. Sytnyk and O. Sytnyk (2020), V. Abakumova (2021), N. Kindrachuk and V. Vasylchuk (2022) and others. However, in the scientific literature the topic remains understudied. This enables us to continue working in this promising area.

The Purpose of the Article. Thus, the focus of this article is the study of the place of Ukrainian national motifs in the artistic culture of the USSR during the 60's - 70's of the twentieth century on the example of theatrical and cinematographic art, demonstration of all possible forms of protest of the Ukrainian intelligentsia against russification and denationalization of the indigenous people of Ukraine.

The Results of the Research. The Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian SSR saw the primary goal of its activity in increasing the role of cultural institutions, in particular cinemas, in shaping the ideological and political worldview of every Ukrainian.

Archival documents show that according to the guidelines of the time, most filmmakers in the USSR worked in the spirit of so-called «socialist realism» and were burdened by the Soviet propaganda and demonstrating the «achievements» of communist society (DAChO, f. R- 1339, d. 1., с. 774, p. 17). The cinemas of the republic, fulfilling a political order, did a lot of work to create a new, officially in demand movie poster, which was filled with works of «Soviet ideological and artistic sound» (DAKhO, f. R-5672, d. 3, с. 441, p. 1).

It should be noted that the CPU's ideological control limited the range of permitted topics in the cinema. Propagating communist reality, the Soviet film industry intensified its struggle against «Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism» and manifestations of «foreign ideology», which, according to state officials, glorified «the bourgeois system and its worthless way of life» (DADO, f. 5048, d. 4, с. 471, p. 36). These restrictions contributed to the emergence of colorless, gray and emotionless films in the USSR, which did little to meet the interests of many Ukrainians.

It should be emphasized that the role of Ukrainian national cinema in the period under study was minimized, while the number of Russian-language films increased, which in turn increased the russification of Ukrainian audiences. Archival documents indicate that for screenwriters who worked at the Moscow film studio, there were four approving instances, while for authors from Ukraine there were six such instances (TsDAHOU, f. 1, d. 70, с. 2043, p. 107), which, in turn, significantly complicated the release of Ukrainian film products. However, the film was not considered final until it was duplicated in Russian.

The fact that the funding of Ukrainian film studios was much lower than that of Russian ones also had a negative impact on Ukrainian film production. For example, researcher L. Krupnyk notes that for the production of feature films for O. Dovzhenko film studio 400 thousand rubles was allocated, and at «Mosfilm», for the same film - 550 thousand rubles (Krupnyk, 2002, p. 78) therefore, the number of films created in Russia has been constantly increasing. This situation stimulated the emergence of film schools in Russia, which were often filled with people from the Ukrainian SSR, which led to the outflow of the best creative forces from the Ukrainian land.

Disagreeing with the political oppression of Ukrainian national cinema, S. Paradzhanov, addressing the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus on ideology F. Ovcharenko in 1969, said: «I just want to ask: can the Ukrainian Soviet state in the second half of its existence not give the opportunity to a film director who has proven his professional level and creative scale, which is recognized by the whole film world, to make films that would enrich the art of the Ukrainian people» (Korogodsky et al., 1994, p. 180). However, due to his active national position, he, a world-class filmmaker suffered a brutal political repression by the party leadership. It should be emphasized that the creative career in the Ukrainian SSR among other contemporary Ukrainian filmmakers, including B. Ivchenko, Y. Illenko, I. Mykolaychuk, M. Mashchenko, L. Osyka, V. Denysenko, was extremely difficult due to national views as well.

By banning national motives in Ukrainian cinema, the communist authorities stimulated the influence of the Russian factor on Ukrainian artistic culture. Soviet ideologists tried to unite the history of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples through movie screens, to show their «common historical roots». The leitmotif of Soviet cinema is the «unbridled desire of the Ukrainian people for reunification with Russia» invented by Soviet ideologists.

It is worth noting that during the years of Brezhnev's «stagnation» the film industry of the Ukrainian SSR became even more distant from the national direction. The plot line of the films of that time was thoroughly permeated by the struggle against the «Ukrainian national bourgeois ideology». In particular, film broadcasting was intensively russified, Ukrainian scholars were purposefully persecuted and arrests and a series of political trials against dissident artists began.

It should also be noted that the processes of ideologization and russification also affected the Ukrainian theater. Order of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR № 55 of August 2, 1963 «on the ideological orientation of theatrical repertoire and increasing the role of theater in the communist education of workers» in the USSR created a new body - the Art Council, which determined readiness for public theatrical productions and exercised control by the ratio of the number of plays by Russian and Ukrainian authors (Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1972, p. 367). The Art Council coordinated all its work with the leadership of the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian SSR, which in turn was under the control of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR. Such a closed system demonstrated the existence of a single mechanism for controlling artistic production, which was carried out centrally from Moscow.

In the early 60's of the twentieth century, during the collapse of Khrushchev's «thaw», the Soviet theme of Ukrainian theaters began to gradually displace the plays, which covered the history and life of Ukrainians. Soviet ideologues often called the Ukrainian national repertoire openly «secondary», «outsider», «infantile», one that did not meet the requirements of the time, had no future development and was marked by «unstructured aesthetic space» (Kornьenko, 1999, p. 310).

During the period under study, only a few dramas of folklore and everyday life by luminaries of Ukrainian drama were staged, in which directors had to weaken ties with the Ukrainian national cultural tradition. In this regard, the researcher N. Kornьenko notes: «We must admit almost complete lack of highly artistic original national drama and, practically, non-use of one's own national classics in the Ukrainian theater» (Korniienko, 1999, p. 310). Instead, the repertoire policy of the time required the inclusion of ideologically colored performances in Ukrainian theaters, which would highlight the «full- blooded images of advanced people» of Soviet society (DAOO, f. R-7292, d. 2, с. 134, p. 3). According to archival documents, the issue of selecting the repertoire of Ukrainian theaters was constantly discussed in the propaganda and agitation department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (DAIFO, f. R-1-P, d. 1, с. 2540, p. 62). Such a disappointing situation led to reducing the number of Ukrainian spectators in theatrical institutions of the Ukrainian SSR.

The extremely difficult situation at that time contributed to the spread of anti-Soviet artistic tendencies in the Ukrainian ethnic environment. For example, the Ukrainian literary critic and public figure I. Dziuba noted: «... I do not know who directs the repertoire and performance of many creative groups, but we must admit that the vast majority of them are not propagandists of Ukrainian art, they are not based on Ukrainian national culture» (Dziuba, 1998, p. 87).

Despite the official Soviet ideology, some theatrical groups in Ukraine still dared to cover and promote the Ukrainian past in their creative work. According to archival documents, M. Sadovsky Vinnytsia Theater and M. Gogol Poltava Theater in 1964, achieved 77,1 % of audience attendance of performances exclusively due to Ukrainian repertoire, which included such performances as «Banker» - O. Korniychuk, «Marina» - M. Zarudny, «Thyme smells like the sun» - O. Kolomiyets, «Natalka Poltavka» - I. Kotlyarevsky, «Haidamaki» - T. Shevchenko (DAChO, f. 1, d. 22, с. 215, p. 83).

Archival documents indicate that as of 1965 in the theater posters of M. Zankovetskaya Lviv Theater, I. Franko Ivano-Frankivsk Theater and O. Kobylyanska's Chernivtsi Theater the play «Truth and Wrong» by M. Stelmakh was popular; The following plays were staged in the corresponding theaters: T. Shevchenko Volyn Theater and M. Shchorsa Zaporozhye Theater - «Oh, don't go, Hryts» by M. Starytsky; T. Shevchenko Dnipropetrovsk Theater - «Give the heart freedom and it will lead into captivity» by M. Kropyvnytsky; Artem Donetsk Theater - «Oh, don't go, Hryts» by M. Starytsky; P. Saksagansky Kyiv Theater - «on the eve of Ivan Kupala» by M. Starytsky; M. Kropyvnytsky Kirovograd Theater - «She-wolf» by O. Kobylyanska; M. Gorky Crimean Ukrainian Theater, October Revolution Odessa Theater and M. Shchepkin Sumy Theater - «Fortune» by M. Zarudny; M. Gogol Poltava Theater - «Stolen Happiness» by Ivan Franko; T. Shevchenko Ternopil Theater - «Unforgettable» by O. Dovzhenko; Kherson Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater - «Marusya Boguslavka» by M. Starytsky; T. Shevchenko Cherkasy Theater - «Zaporozhets on the Danube» by P. Gulak - Artemovsky (DAChO, f. 1, d. 22, с. 215, p. 18-25).

However, pro-Ukrainian theatrical work was not widespread in all regions of the USSR. The West and the Center of the Republic remained predominant in defending Ukrainianness. In general, the Ukrainian repertoire of theaters of the first half of the 1960's, due to ideological limitations, was a minority of the total number of the repertoire offered to the audience. Thus, analyzing archival documents, we see that the board of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR, considering the repertoire plans of drama and music-drama theaters of Soviet Ukraine, stated that for the season 1965-1966, among the new 204 productions of plays there were only 95 created by Ukrainian playwrights (DAKhO, f. R-5672, d. 3, с. 188, p. 11).

Speaking about the partial filling of theaters with Ukrainian themes, it should be emphasized that many creative teams of theater institutions had problems with knowledge of the Ukrainian language. In this context, we are talking about the East of Ukraine. According to the documents of the State Archives of Kharkiv region, the actors of Kharkiv Theater of Musical Comedy had problems with their knowledge of Ukrainian. Thus, the Deputy Head of the Kharkiv Regional Department of Culture E. Surina, in 1967 pointed out that half of the staff of their theater did not speak Ukrainian, which created serious difficulties for actors in performing the Ukrainian repertoire: «Last year's attempt to stage the play «Stupid fools» testified to the rather low level of knowledge of Ukrainian among the actors... The production «Sorochyntsi Fair», the premiere of which will take place on May 26 this year, was preceded by a large and painstaking work of the production team. The level of the Ukrainian language in the play «Sorochyntsi Fair» is satisfactory. Therefore, a consultant on the Ukrainian language has been invited to the next performance of the Ukrainian language theater «Trembita», the preparation for the production of which has already begun. It takes some time to master Ukrainian» (DAKhO, f. R-4785, d. 6, с. 51, p. 40).

It should be noted that knowledge of the Ukrainian language was not a priority for theaters in the East of the USSR, because the frequent tours of these theater troupes to Russia did not necessitate improving the Ukrainian language. Thus, T. G. Shevchenko Kharkiv Ukrainian Drama Theater often toured in Moscow and Leningrad (DAKhO, f. R-5885, d. 3, с. 120, p. 1). According to archival data, only during 1962 in Moscow he performed 131 performances, which were staged in Russian (DAKhO, f. R-5885, d. 3, с. 120, p. 29).

Another negative factor that had a detrimental effect on the development of contemporary Ukrainian national art was a weak government funding of Ukrainian theaters and a lack of own funds.

It should be emphasized that if in the early 60's of the twentieth century Ukrainian issues, despite all the negative external and internal factors, still to some extent present on movie screens and theatrical stages, then since the second half of the 1960's the process of rapid and comprehensive displacement has begun. Archival sources indicate that with the beginning of the 1970's, the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian SSR, the Ukrainian Theater Society, and the Republican Committee of the Trade Union of Cultural Workers began to more actively direct the educational role of film networks and dramatic and musical-dramatic theaters in the USSR toward communist convictions the promotion of «close cultural friendship» of the peoples of the USSR and intolerance of «bourgeois ideology» (DAKhO, f. R-5672, d. 3, с. 441, p. 12).

Conclusions

Thus, the artistic culture of the Ukrainian SSR during the 1960's and 1970's was completely subordinated to the Soviet centralized command-and-control system. If the early 60's of the twentieth century were characterized by a certain rise of Ukrainian issues, then since the second half of this decade, the manifestations of the Ukrainian national «Self» began to be actively pushed out of the movie screens and theater stages of the USSR. In order to form a «one-Soviet international culture», a process of rapid and comprehensive eradication of the national component of the republic's artistic products took place. During the 1970's, the desire of Ukrainians for national and cultural revival through artistic culture suffered a devastating blow. Ukrainian artists with national conviction were accused of «Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism». Their works were considered «ideologically flawed», «artistically imperfect», «apolitical» and, accordingly, were not accepted for production.

Absolute subordination of the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian SSR to the Ministry of Culture of the USSR moved the development of Ukrainian art in the same direction with the culture of the Russian people, in which the role of Ukrainian-language art product was minimized. The Soviet government was not interested in the existence of professional Ukrainian art centers. Such a disappointing situation led to the decline of national culture.

However, despite the oppression and repression by the ruling communist elite, Ukrainian film directors, film actors, screenwriters, and playwrights tried to promote the Ukrainian past, reveal the multifaceted Ukrainian national culture, and demonstrate to the world the right to its own development.

Acknowledgements. The author expresses sincere gratitude to the editors for the opportunity to publish the article.

Funding. The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and / or publication of this article.

References

Abakumova, V. (2021). Updating the repertoire of the Ukrainian film studios in the context of the perestroika process. Skhidnoievropeiskyi istorychnyi visnyk - East European Historical Bulletin. 18. S. 199-209. [in English]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058X.18.226504

Dziuba, I. (1998). Internatsionalizm chy rusyfikatsiia. [Internationalism or Russification]. Kyiv: Akademiia. 272 p. [in Ukrainian].

Kindrachuk N., Vasylchuk V. (2022). The Ukrainians' resistance to the anti-religious policy of the Soviet totalitari an state on the way of preserving their national and spiritual values: 1960's - 1970's. Skhidnoievropeiskyi istorychnyi visnyk - East European Historical Bulletin. 25. S. 189-199. [in English]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058X.25.269552

Korniienko, N. (1999). Ukrainskyi teatr 1980-1990-kh rokiv - tsinnisni oriientatsii ta kartyny svitu u viziiakh lideriv. [Ukrainian theater of 1980 - 1990's - value orientations and pictures of the world in the visions of leaders]. Pratsi teatroznavchoi komisii. Lviv: Naukove tovarystvo im. Shevchenka. S. 308344 [in Ukrainian].

Korohodskyi, R. M., Shcherbatiuk S. I. (1994). Serhii Paradzhanov. Zlet, trahediia, vichnist: tvory, lysty, dokumenty arkhiviv, spohady, fotohrafii [Sergey Paradzhanov. Rise, tragedy, eternity: works, letters, documents of archives, memories, photographs]. Kyiv : Spalakh LTD. 280 s. [in Ukrainian]. Krupnyk, L. O. (2002). Derzhavna polityka u sferi ukrainskoho profesiinoho mystetstva (1965-1985): dysertatsiia kandydata istorychnykh nauk : 07.00.01. [State policy in the field of Ukrainian professional art (1965-1985): dissertation of the candidate of historical sciences: 07.00.01]. Kyiv. 212 s. [in Ukrainian].

Kommunystycheskaia partyia Sovetskoho Soiuza. (1972). Kommunystycheskaia partyia Sovetskoho Soiuza v rezoliutsyiakh y reshenyiakh sъezdov, konferentsyi y plenumov TsK: v 14 tomakh. [Communist Party of the Soviet Union in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee: in 14 volumes]. Moskva : Yzdatelstvo polytycheskoi lyteraturbi TsK KPSS. 8 (1959-1965). 572 p. [in Russian].

TsDAHOU - Tsentralnyi derzhavnyi arkhiv hromadskykh ob'iednan Ukrainy [Central State Archive of Public Associations of Ukraine].

DAChO - Derzhavnyi arkhiv Chernivetskoi oblasti [State Archives of Chernivtsi region].

DADO - Derzhavnyi arkhiv Dnipropetrovskoi oblasti [State Archives of Dnipropetrovsk region].

DAIFO - Derzhavnyi arkhiv Ivano-Frankivskoi oblasti [State Archives of Ivano-Frankivsk region]. DAKhO - Derzhavnyi arkhiv Kharkivskoi oblasti [State Archives of Kharkiv Region].

DAOO - Derzhavnyi arkhiv Odeskoi oblasti [State Archive of Odesa Region] [in Ukrainian].

Sytnyk Yu. & Sytnyk O. (2020). Revival of a language national consciousness of the Ukrainians of Donetsk region under conditions of «perestroika» and during the first years of independent Ukraine. Skhidnoievropeiskyi istorychnyi visnyk - East European Historical Bulletin. 15. S. 196-207. [in English]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058x.15.204979

Джерела та література

Abakumova, V. (2021). Updating the repertoire of the Ukrainian film studios in the context of the perestroika process. Східноєвропейський історичний вісник. 18. С. 199-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058X.18.226504 ДАДО - Державний архів Дніпропетровської області.

ДАІФО - Державний архів Івано-Франківської області.

ДАОО - Державний архів Одеської області.

ДАХО - Державний архів Харківської області.

ДАЧО - Державний архів Чернівецької області.

Дзюба, І. (1998). Інтернаціоналізм чи русифікація. Київ: Академія. 272 с.

Kindrachuk N., Vasylchuk V. (2022). The Ukrainians' resistance to the anti-religious policy of the Soviet totalitari an state on the way of preserving their national and spiritual values: 1960's - 1970's.

Східноєвропейський історичний вісник. 25. С. 189-199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24919/2519- 058X.25.269552

Коммунистическая партия Советского Союза. (1972). Коммунистическая партия Советского Союза в резолюциях и решениях съездов, конференций и пленумов ЦК: в 14 томах. Москва: Издательство политической литературы ЦК КПСС. 8 (1959-1965). 572 с. Корнієнко, Н. (1999). Український театр 1980-1990-х років - ціннісні орієнтації та картини світу у візіях лідерів. Праці театрознавчої комісії. Львів: Наукове товариство ім. Шевченка. С. 308-344. Корогодський, Р. М., Щербатюк С. І. (1994). Сергій Параджанов. Злет, трагедія, вічність: твори, листи, документи архівів, спогади, фотографії. Київ: Спалах ЛТД. 280 с.

Крупник, Л. О. (2002). Державна політика у сфері українського професійного мистецтва (1965-1985): дисертація кандидата історичних наук: 07.00.01. Київ. 212 с.

Sytnyk Yu., Sytnyk O. (2020). Revival of a language national consciousness of the Ukrainians of Donetsk region under conditions of «perestroika» and during the first years of independent Ukraine. Східноєвропейський історичний вісник. 15. С. 196-207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24919/2519- 058x.15.204979

ЦДАГО України - Центральний державний архів громадських об'єднань України.

Размещено на Allbest.ru