OVER THE CATCH OF LIES: NATIONALIST WANDERING OF POST-SOVIET ART BETWEEN CULTURE AND POLITICS (ON THE EXAMPLE OF JUDGMENTS AND PUBLIC ACTIVITIES OF UKRAINIAN ARTISTS)

Abstract

The article examines the problem of interaction between culture and politics in the context of radical socio-political changes that occurred after the collapse of the USSR. The post-Soviet period was initially difficult for the development of various spheres of society, including mass culture and art. It is known that former Soviet cultural figures found it difficult to integrate into new realities, often being unprepared to accept new moral and ethical values and principles of public life, therefore negatively perceiving changes in the cultural sphere. On the other hand, many representatives of creative professions (theater, film and television artists, writers, musicians, directors, etc.) easily changed their political and other views, sometimes really getting into the "winds of change", sometimes acting solely for the sake of preserving their privileged position in society and maintaining popularity. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the fact that in Soviet society cultural figures were perceived as a kind of moral reference points, often (for example, in the case of artists) being considered inseparably from their theatrical or film heroes. Accordingly, in the new realities, any changes in their behavior and rhetoric could have a significant impact on public sentiment. This was actively used by various political forces, which were sometimes directly joined by various cultural figures. A good example in this case is Ukraine, which in the Soviet period gave the country a huge number of diverse talents. However, after the collapse of the USSR, many cultural figures took the path of conformity and preferred to adapt to new socio-political realities, often completely opposite to their previous views and positions. Based on the analysis, the authors conclude that the role and importance of cultural figures in post-Soviet societies are extremely exaggerated. The examples of the biographies of Ukrainian artists discussed in the article clearly demonstrate (with rare exceptions) their qualitative inconsistency with the high ideals and values that they were endowed with during the Soviet period and "by inertia", and also continued to be attributed to them later. It is characteristic that representatives of new generations of Ukrainian artists, due to circumstances, became involved in political vicissitudes, while actively using state propaganda for their own purposes.

For citation:
Belashchenko, D. A., & Dolzhenko, K. N. (2024). Over the catch of lies: nationalist wandering of post-soviet art between culture and politics (on the example of judgments and public activities of ukrainian artists). Experience industries. Socio-Cultural Research Technologies (EISCRT), 4 (9), 19-52. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.34680/EISCRT-2024-4(9)-19-52