ШВЕДСЬКА СПІЛЬНОТА У НАЦІОНАЛЬНОМУ НАРАТИВІ: СПІЛЬНА СПАДЩИНА ТА КУЛЬТУРНА ПАМ’ЯТЬ

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of actualizing the role of historical heritage and cultural memory of the Swedish community of Kherson region in the national narrative of Ukraine. The study is based on the analysis of modern Swedish English and Ukrainian historiography, application of interdisciplinary discourse and methodological approaches to colonial studies, micro-history, cultural memory and identity studies. It aimed to clarify the factors determining sociocultural processes of adaptation and preservation of Swedish colonists’ identity during the long period of their settlement in the south of Ukraine and later reintegration into Swedish society. As a result of scientific analysis, the cornerstones of the historical past of the Swedish colonists are reproduced. The cultural heritage and identity of the Swedes after migrating to the Russian Empire underwent significant changes and evolution in a specific natural and social environment. Changes in political regimes and historical events in the late XVIII–XX centuries. had a direct impact on the processes of self-identification of Swedish colonists. At the same time, the ability of Old Swedes to maintain contact with their homeland helped to preserve their identity, cultural and mental characteristics, which enabled them to return to their homeland and reintegrate into Swedish society. The article presents forms of preservation and presentation of the cultural memory of the Swedish community in modern public discourse. One of the important channels of modern cultural communication and popularization of the historical heritage of the Swedish community is its presentation in museum expositions and places of remembrance in Ukraine and Sweden. The European dimension gives special relevance to the research topic. The image of the village and the preservation of the identity of the Swedish community have been significantly influenced by its constant contacts with Sweden and the Swedes of Finland in the past and present. Visit of the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Sylvia of village Zmiivka in Ukraine in 2008 and the meeting with the descendants of the Old Swedes became the object of great attention of the wide public discourse in Ukraine and Sweden. It contributes to the strengthening and development of intercultural contacts and relations. My visit Roma in Gotland, Sweden in the framework of the European educational program in autumn of 2021, personal acquaintance with the museum exposition of Svenskbygården about the fate of Swedish colonists in Ukraine, direct communication with their descendants, contributed to the the research. Therefore, the article has a direct entry into the plane of public history.