Educational activity of the old intellectuals at the beginning of the formation of totalitarianism in Ukraine

Abstract

Problem statement. The study of problems related to the old domestic intellectuals, which acquired education, upbringing and practical experience before the Bolshevik occupation of Ukraine, continue to be relevant today. Because the historical circumstances of 100 years ago in many ways resemble the situation and events in Ukraine today. That is why it is important to re-analyze the selected issues in order to come to convincing conclusions for making promising fateful decisions for modern Ukraine and its future.
 In the course of scientific research, the author took into account the conditions under which the cultural and educational activities of the old intellectuals of Ukraine took place — mainly between 1917–1925. It was the period of civil war in Ukraine, when the presence of the figure of the leader, dictatorship and terror, forced mobilizations of the population and especially of the old intellectuals, which were supplemented by the death sentence without charge or trial of those who disagree with the ruling regime. All this testified to the fact that a totalitarian system of state and political power was gradually formed in Ukraine, which led to the death of almost all the old intellectuals, which the Bolshevik regime turned to its advantage, shot down, tortured in prisons and camps, or forced to emigrate.
 It should be noted that a detailed historiographical analysis of the available literature on the old intellectuals and government was conducted by the author in his monograph (Sheiko, 2020, pp. 8–87). This analysis testifies to the relevance of this topic and that it is still poorly studied.
 The methodology of this study are culturological principles and methods of analysis of problems related to the cultural and educational activities of the old intellectuals during the Ukrainian revolution of 1917–1921 and the formation of the totalitarian system in Ukraine.
 The result of this scientific research is a culturological analysis of the problems of educational activities of the old intellectuals of Ukraine under the conditions of the civil war, the Ukrainian revolution and the formation of the totalitarian system.
 The scientific topicality of this scientific research is that with the help of culturological methodology it was possible to highlight the role of the old intellectuals in mass cultural and educational activities among the population in the difficult and brutal conditions of the civil war, revolution and totalitarianism that had begun to form.
 The practical significance of this article is that its results can be used in further researches on selected topic. At the same time, the scientific results of this study can serve as material in the process of preparing scientific and methodological documentation for humanities courses.