Cinnisni orієntiri v Ukrainі v umovakh formuvannja totalіtarnogo mentalіtetu 1920 – 1930-kh rr.

Abstract

Values in Ukraine in the Formation of a Totalitarian Mentality in the 1920s and 1930s. Mental origins of Soviet totalitarianism were formed after the brutal military conflict during the establishment of the Soviet regime in Ukraine. Protracted military confrontation of several military and political forces exposed civilians to violence and lawlessness. Mass sufferring devalued a human life and intensified social disappointment. Physical and psychological injuries affected daily life and values of the society. The values of survival and self-preservation became dominant under conditions of permanent violence against society. The main characteristic of the totalitarian mentality was the fear, which consolidated the position of non-interference and passivity. During the 1920s and 1930s it facilitated Soviet authorities to use violence against some classes and groups of the society (requisition of bourgeoisie property, abuse of intellectuals, clergy, etc.). Sharp inversion of values, philosophical and moral foundations of the nation, multiplied by the forcible practices of the Soviet policy, resulted in the erosion of values, distorted traditional behavioral patterns of the society and caused deep injuries of mass consciousness.