‘Imperial Culture’ and Russian—Ukrainian Unity Myths

Abstract

This chapter examines the divergent views among Russian and Ukrainian elites on the possibility of a single high culture in imperial Russia. The ‘imperial culture,’ as a hybrid or ‘all-Russian’ formation, which relied on Ukrainian participation and subordination, but whose Ukrainian element is elided in discourses that imagine Imperial Russian culture as a Russian ‘national’ one, was founded on a Ukrainian—Russian consensus that was shattered during the 19th century, when Ukrainian elites began withdrawing from pan-imperial cultural participation. This laid the foundation for a rival ‘national’ high culture in the imperial state and may be seen as the most important reason why the empire did not coalesce on the basis of a single multinational culture. Ukrainian high culture never challenged Great Russian (ethnic) nationality or culture, only the state-sponsored all-Russian imperial culture — which later assumed the deceptive, un-prefixed name ‘Russian.’ The current crisis of what is called ‘Russian identity’ amounts either to attempts to resuscitate the ‘all-Russian’ idea or to come to terms with its demise. Russian Federation leaders still dabble in the former, believing that a ‘union’ with Ukraine would legitimize the continued existence of the ‘all-Russian’ idea.