M. Borovyk, PhD in History, Postdoctoral Researcher,
Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies / LMU Munich, Germany;
Associate Professor, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
CHOOSING THE OTHER WORDS: THE UNKNOWN DIARIES OF IRINA KHOROSHUNOVA
The purpose of this research is to analyse previously unknown diaries of Irina Khorshunova, who is the author of one of the most cited sources of personal origin about the life in Kyiv during the Nazi occupation. The analysis is an attempt of contribution to the discussion on the problem of the nature of the "soviet subjectivity" and the social control mechanisms had been functioning in Stalin's USSR. The special attention is paid to the discourse features of the texts in their relations to the official Soviet discourse of socialist revolution. It is shown, that in the prewar time Khoroshunova had quite a critical stance regarding the realities of the Soviet socialism and did not belong to the enthusiastic supporters of Soviet power. The analyzed sources enable the deeper understanding of the ideological environment and more detail picture of social divisions and hierarchies, which dominated the Soviet society. According to the article, the conception, that the world-view of the "first Soviet generation" was completely dominated by the communist ideology is too simplistic and does not reflect the historical realities of that time. It is also shown in the article that the traditional imperial divisions and hierarchies had not lost their influence in the prewar USSR and coincided in the consciousness and social practices of Soviet citizens with the class characteristics, which are traditional to our understanding of the Soviet society.
Key words: Khoroshunova, diary, Ukraine, Stalinism, "Soviet subjectivity".
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References
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