Пострадянська ментальна спадщина українського селянства

Abstract

The subject of this research is the economic traditions of the Ukrainian peasantry. The article aims to provide a historical and economic assessment of the transformation of Ukrainian peasant mentality, substantiating the need to overcome the long-term effects of the Soviet economic model's impact on the current trajectory of agricultural development in Ukraine and the mentality of the Ukrainian peasant. The article outlines various determinants in the development of informal economic institutions in the agricultural sector during the Soviet period, including the repressive mechanisms of state agricultural policy, the unprofessional and irresponsible management of collective farms, changes in the social structure of villages, and the destruction of horizontal social connections. The author reveals long-term socio-economic consequences of agricultural collectivization, such as the eradication of traditional individual family farms, reduced agricultural production efficiency, changes in the social role and status of peasants due to their alienation from land and production means, the elimination of national culture of responsible land use, deterioration of the environmental situation, proletarianization of the population, and the breakdown of informal moral norms, heightened social tension, and societal division, along with the establishment of authoritarianism through mass repression. To mitigate the negative impacts of Soviet agricultural policy, Ukraine’s development strategy should include fostering small family farms, expanding various forms of solidarity-based economic self-organization among Ukrainians, and restoring leadership institutions within rural communities.