NATIONAL SELF-PRESERVATION OF UKRAINIANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MODERN FESTIVAL MOVEMENT IN POLAND

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the consideration of the Ukrainian festival movement in Poland in the third decade of Ukraine 's independence in the context of national self-preservation. The paper substantiates the social and political reasons for the relevance of preserving the national self-identification of Ukrainians in Poland. Attention is paid to the legal basis of this aspect of Ukrainian-Polish relations and to the current statistics on the number of Ukrainians in Poland. The author proposes a conditional division of the Ukrainian festival movement in Poland according to its direction into «festivals of national preservation» and «festivals of cultural exchange» depending on the goals, participants and program of events. The characteristics of the most important public organizations that provide the cultural needs of the Ukrainian national minority are presented: the Association of Ukrainians in Poland, the Union of Ukrainians of Podlasie, the Lemko Association, etc. Attention is drawn to the role of the mass media as an important factor in popularizing information about festivals and consolidating the Ukrainian people scattered throughout Poland. The newspaper «Nashe Slovo» («Our word») is considered to be the most influential information resource and at the same time a source of research on the issue. The article analyzes the problems of sources of funding for the Ukrainian festival movement, focuses on significant financial assistance from the Polish government, administrations of gmins, powiats and Voivodeships, as well as private foundations. The author describes the development and features of the most famous Ukrainian-Polish festivals in Poland till 2021. The features of these events and some changes in their activities caused by recent events are shown: Russia's military aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the coming to power in Poland party «Law and Justice» and the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest editions of Ukrainian festivals in Poland are presented, the most famous bands and artists that took part in them are listed. Among the current problems of these cultural events are the aging of the organizers and the departure of socially active youth to large cities or abroad. Based on quantitative and qualitative indicators, the author making tha accent on the growing influence of the Ukrainian festival movement in Poland in 2014 − 2021 compared to the previous decade.