Ukrainian Culture Research Articles

Analysing the results of a questionnaire survey as part of a study of the role of the sound producer in the contemporary Ukrainian sound industry

In the 21st century the sound industry in Ukraine, which includes music, movie, gaming, and other sectors, has undergone substantial development. An essential figure in this process is the sound producer, an expert accountable for sound solutions in the creative industries. This study’s relevance is emphasised by the context of European integration processes in Ukraine, the modernisation of professional listings to align with the current labour market, and the integration of Ukrainian culture and cultural industry representatives in Europe. The purpose of the study is to examine the perspectives of sound industry professionals regarding the role of sound producer and to define the responsibilities of a sound producers within the industry. The study used a questionnaire, and empirical, analytical, and generalisation methods. This article analyses the results of a survey conducted to delineate the role of sound producers in the contemporary Ukrainian sound industry. The key findings reveal that 38.5% of the people surveyed agree that the sound industry in Ukraine has established itself as a separate entity within the creative industries. Additionally, 63.7% confirm that the sound industry and music industry are distinct yet interconnected activities. Furthermore, 73.3% perceive a distinction between a music producer and a sound producer. 91.1% of the respondents were unaware of the existence of the “Sound Producer of the Year” award in Ukraine. 82.2% of respondents support the introduction of sound producer and music producer professions to the official profession classifier. The survey results confirm the crucial significance of sound producers in the contemporary Ukrainian sound industry. Sound producers are essential in the creation of top-notch sound material and make a vital contribution to the growth of the industry. The collected data from the survey can be employed to improve training for professionals and advance the general growth of the sound industry in Ukraine

STUDY OF ARTISTIC FOLK EDUCATION AS A CONDITION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL TEACHING

The article is devoted to the problem of inconsistencies in the implementation of art education in the State Standard of General Secondary Education of Ukraine. To achieve this goal, the task was set to demonstrate the importance of public art education as the basis for the education of young people. The study was conducted using the methods of theoretical, empirical research and general methods of scientific research.The article analyzes the forms of non-formal art education introduced by cultural and artistic figures in 2004. Restoring the experience of ethnic festivals and preserving the traditions of artistic families becomes the basis for the implementation of the state standard of general secondary education. The comparative analysis demonstrates the importance of combining different approaches in the formation of public education in the country, preserving the spiritual, moral and ideological positions of young people. The experience of leading artistic families in popularizing art education in the region is analyzed. The influence of prominent artists on the formation of interest in Ukrainian culture among international partners is studied. An example of the assimilation of individual experience of artists to the challenges of life is given.The conclusions summarize the importance of combining art and public education for the formation of key competencies, harmonious personal development, and the reproduction of the sacred meaning of art education. It has been shown that the art education sector has a number of gaps in its implementation and future development. The task of the teacher is to develop the spiritual and psychological spheres of the individual; actualization of historical, cultural, artistic or ethnographic influence; formation of skills to look for hidden meaning in the language of art: understanding the non-verbal dialogue with the author, learning to decipher the composition code and learning to understand the principle of the universe, the laws of the world continuum through art; creating parallels during lessons, trying to fill the entire educational space with art (musical minutes during breaks, musical accompaniment during intellectual tasks, the use of stimulating visual content in the space of the educational institution, visiting the workshops of artists and sculptors, holding master classes in museums), which enhances informal education.It is assumed that the creation of an artistic educational product should have a gender aspect in the popularization of influence, the economic background that always surrounds the student and determines his or her artistic and aesthetic preferences. A successful combination of didactic tools of influence and the achievements of Ukrainian folk art can become a source for implementing a comprehensive process of psychotherapy for young people in the context of war and postwar.

DEVELOPMENT OF LISTENING COMPREHENSION SKILLS OF FOREIGN COMMUNICATORS (LEVELS B1) USING AUTHENTIC VIDEO MATERIAL FROM YOUTUBE FOR VYSHYVANKA DAY

Listening comprehension is both a goal and a means in the educational activities of foreign language learners, as it builds listening skills and enhances the effectiveness of acquiring communicative competence. It also stimulates their receptive abilities. Consequently, the creation of didactic materials and audio-video content, along with exploring new methods and techniques for their use, remains a critical area in linguodidactics. These materials should be of high quality to facilitate the professional development of future professionals and assist in adapting adapting to new life circumstances. This article presents a model for organizing listening comprehension training for students in preparatory departments using authentic audio and video material available on YouTube. The selection and usage of this material are thoroughly justified. Methodological recommendations regarding the implementation of exercises that enhance the ability to understand foreign language texts are also developed and detailed.The described system of working with audio material aligns with the functional and communicative methods of teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language and facilitates reflection and the updating of the students’ background knowledge of Ukrainian culture and language skills. It is important to note that foreign students are allowed to commence their educational activities at various times according to the Admission Procedure for Foreign Citizens, necessitating a holistic approach to the learning process and adaptation for groups that have already developed basic language and speech skills. Mastering listening comprehension is notably challenging in learning a foreign language, requiring deliberate, consistent effort and the meticulous selection of materials. Effective results in Ukrainian language acquisition can only be achieved through regular listening practice in the classroom. This article employs methods such as analyzing scientific literature, justifying the choice of educational materials, generalizing and systematization.

Ukrainian Scenography at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Algorithms of Existence—Essential Meanings

The article identifies the main trends in the development of Ukrainian scenography of the beginning of the 21st century, which are implemented by th artists of the national theatre in the complex reality and historical contexts. The author analyses aspects of psychological reformatting of Ukrainian scenography, the artists’ creative guidelines reevaluation under the influence of war and their ability to fully implement their ideas in the formats of theatrical performances, in the space of exhibition projects, installation performance practices formats, in easel works and teaching. The paper studies the projects’ conceptual characteristics and targets of Mariya Levytska, Andrii Aleksandrovych-Dochevskyi, Lyudmila Nagorna, Sergiy and Natalya Rydvanetskis, Bogdan Polishchuk, Inessa Kulchytska, Oleg Tatarynov, Yulia Zaulichana, Olesya Holovach, Olena Polishchuk, and other artists. The author defines the theatre artists’ positions in critical moments of Ukrainian history, identifies the figurative characteristics of the participants’ project installations as manifestations of the artists’ style and the phenomenon of artistic response to the Russian-Ukrainian war and analyses the main participants’ features of the creative development in artistic processes and their role in the evolution of scenography culture in Ukraine. Highlighted is the extraordinary role of theatre artists of the early 21st century as the successors of the national scenography school leading development concepts, in whose creative projects national consciousness is manifested and clearly defined constantly gravitating towards European values.

Ukrainian Show Business in the 1990s: Communication Models and Forms of Presentation

The article examines the formation and development of Ukrainian show business in the 1990s. The author studies the communication models used by the members of artistic circles to present themselves to a wide audience. The main forms of representation of artists, in particular, through television, radio, and print media were analysed. It is found that in the early 1990s, traditional models of communication dominated, when the artist was an object of media influence. Later, however, there was a shift to the agency of performers who constructed their public image independently. The transformation of mass communication in Ukraine in the context of the establishment of a market economy and democratic freedoms was emphasized. The role of new media platforms (music channels and magazines) in shaping the popularity of artists is noted. The results of the study show that in the 1990s there was a transition from the “star” model of artists’ presentation to more diverse forms of self-presentation. In particular, the role of artists in constructing their own image has become more important, which correlates with the processes of commercialization and democratization of the media space. The study is based on a comprehensive methodological approach that combines historical, cultural and socio-communication analysis. Content analysis of media materials and discourse analysis were used. The data obtained can be used for further research on the transformation of the national media system and cultural industries. The results of the study may also be of interest to specialists in the field of mass communications, sociology, cultural studies, as well as to a wide range of readers interested in the history of Ukrainian culture

Сoncept of M. BOICHUK and the Features of Ukrainian MODERNISM

The article is dedicated to the place and significance of the ideological and artistic concept of M. Boichuk in the formation of Ukrainian modernism, which, despite connection with the global European trends, has clear originality, conditioned with historical, social and cultural processes in Ukraine. The heritage of M. Boichuk and the art school created by him has reflected the demonstrative tendency towards the national self-determination and national culture creation. This trend has distinguished Ukrainian modernism in the context of European directivities. Unlike the European modernism, the main ideas of which are related to the affirmation of the self-worth of individuality, subjectivity and open self-expression and polemics against artistic traditions, modernism in Ukraine affirms the national originality and diversity of its culture. Founded in the conditions of statelessness and indeterminacy of the national heritage, the concept of M. Boichuk has determined the essential principles of the national tradition, where folk art and the Ukrainian Middle Ages with its unique icon painting become the main phenomena. The invention of traditions, their formalization and ideological substantiation, those have become the basis of Boichukism, describe the Ukrainian cultural space, are considered to be an impulse for the further development. M. Boichuk’s school has several stages of its history. The first period includes 1908–1910–1917 (from the Revival of Byzantine Art group created in Paris to the leadership of M. Boichuk at the studio in the newly founded Ukrainian Academy of Arts in Kyiv). The second one – 1918 – mid‑1930s, formed in the post-revolutionary Soviet decades, those have subdued it to their ideological program. Constantly preserving its defined formal and figurative principles, M. Boichuk’s concept has also reflected the ideas of the National Ukrainian Renaissance and the Soviet Korenization and Ukrainization of the 1920s. M. Boichuk’s school and the artistic movement founded by it have been abolished with the establishment of totalitarian power in the mid‑1930s. Their significance goes beyond art, relates directly to Ukrainian culture creation.

Interior design concept of Ukrainian brands clothing store

The issue of retail establishments design and planning is considered based on the example of clothing store interior conceptual development. The relevance of finding new forms of expression of Ukrainian identity in design is justified, in particular, clothing stores of Ukrainian brands, which today are not only trade establishments, but also the popularizes of Ukrainian culture. Based on the results of the analysis of literary sources and design experience, trends regarding the formation of the interior space and content of modern clothing stores were revealed, including: versatility; combination of various functions; a new interpretation of mannequins; change of exposure according to the principle of the gallery. A separate direction of form creation is the combination of national iconic elements of culture and modern requirements for arranging space. The purpose of the research is to develop a concept of a modern, multifunctional retail space, a color and style model that combines modern European trends and a new look at Ukrainian culture and its origins. The main theses of the concept are modeled on the example of the design development of the interior of a clothing store of Ukrainian brands. It is proposed to organize the store space as an exhibition platform for local artists with a new interpretation of elements of Ukrainian culture. Means of expression of the defined task are: space zoning, color model, use of ornament, design of decorative and compositional element. The purpose of the conceptual composition of stylized mannequins is to allegorically and abstractly depict the national idea and peculiarities of the history of the Ukrainian nation with the help of images, shapes, poses, and colors. The color model is based on the connection between Ukrainian culture and the culture of Northern Europe, and the placement of the figures refers to the ancient Slavic understanding of the sides of the world and their symbolism. Stylized ornaments with unconventional presentation are offered as decor on architectural and structural elements. It was concluded that the interior of a Ukrainian clothing store should be formed as an exhibition and presentation platform for Ukrainian designers, combining a recognizable identity with modernity; to represent Ukraine in a new way for Ukrainians and foreigners. The means of expressing the formulated demands should influence the historical national consciousness through indirect associations and symbols, which are based on historical and cultural artifacts.

Regarding the implementation of foreign psychotherapeutic approaches in the mental health protection system of the population of Ukraine in conditions of war

Background. The work is devoted to the problem of preserving the mental health of the population of Ukraine. The emergence of stress-related mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, leads to a negative effect on families and communities, problems of mutual understanding, support and recovery. Against this background, there is no doubt about the need to implement the experience of Western colleagues in the mental health care system at all levels of care provision. The purpose of the work is to update the issue of the implementation of foreign psychotherapeutic approaches in the system of mental health care of the population of Ukraine in the conditions of war. Materials and methods. On the basis of the analysis of literary sources and information resources, a modern overview of the problem of introducing modern psychotherapeutic directions into the system of mental health protection of the population in wartime conditions was obtained. Discussion. An analytical review of pathogenetic prerequisites for the implementation of the experience of Western doctors in rehabilitation measures and psychological support measures was carried out. Implementation of strategies aimed at preventing mental illness through education, stress reduction, and development of psychosocial support can help reduce the prevalence of risk factors for the development of mental health problems. Justification of the implementation of Western experience is important for improving the provision of assistance in the mental health system in Ukraine, which will meet modern standards and take into account the peculiarities of Ukrainian culture and society.At the same time, ensuring effective rehabilitation for victims is an act of recognition of their dignity and rights to a full life. Conclusions. At the current stage, Western health care systems emphasize the prevention of mental illnesses through education, stress reduction, and the development of psychosocial support. Implementing these strategies can help reduce the prevalence of risk factors for developing mental health problems. The ability to integrate mental health care into the general medical context is a priority, as it can improve detection of mental illness, provide a comprehensive approach to treatment, and reduce stigmatisation in the society. Focusing on the scientific basis is a priority, because the proven base of Western approaches to the issue of maintaining mental health is based on scientific research and effective methods.

Legal basis for the regulation and functioning of youth sports and educational organizations in Eastern Galicia from 1848 to 1939

The Prosvita Society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries played a key role in the formation and development of the Ukrainian cultural and educational sphere in Eastern Galicia. Its activities were based on historical and legal principles that determined its purpose, tasks and organisational structure. The main goal of Prosvita was to raise the educational and cultural level of Ukrainians. Its activities were based on the idea of national and cultural consciousness and self-awareness. It also promoted the creation of an extensive network of societies covering different segments of the population. This allowed for the formation of a united community that understood national needs and aspirations. She actively worked on the Ukrainisation of the school system and the promotion of the Ukrainian language in the educational process. «Prosvita» initiated and supported the creation of various public, educational, cultural and other organisations, such as «Selskii Hospodar», «Maslosoyuz», «Narodna Torgovlya», «Ridna Shkola», «Ruska Besida», «Union of Ukrainian Women», «Sokil», «Sich», «Plast», «Luh» and many others. It played a prominent role in the national liberation movement, in which Prosvita was considered one of the main institutions that fostered patriotic feelings and national consciousness among Ukrainians. The organisational structure of Prosvita helped to unite Ukrainians into a strong and well-organised community that was ready for self-determination and national revival. It actively worked to preserve and develop Ukrainian culture and identity, supporting Ukrainian traditions and language. A number of student organisations, such as the Ukrainian Student Society Sich, Academic Circle, Druh, Druzhnyi Lichvar, Academic Brotherhood, Vatra, Academic Community, Osnova, and Ukrainian Student Union, demonstrate the diversity and multilayered nature of the Ukrainian student movement. They worked on the basis of the leading higher education institutions of Lviv, such as Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic. On the eve of the Second World War, in the western part of Ukraine, particularly in Galicia, there were a significant number of youth associations that were united into county unions. These associations ranged in size from 10 to 30 local societies and performed various functions in the fields of sports, culture, and education. At the end of May 1933, there were 109 unions in Galicia, uniting 12 county and 254 local societies. Their membership totalled 13,245 people. The societies were actively engaged in various activities such as football, volleyball, skiing, drama, and other types of cultural and educational events.

Development of ballroom choreographic culture in Ukraine in the 2010s–2020s

The purpose of the study is to reveal the consequences of the challenges of the 2020s, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation with partial occupation of territory, migration of population, expansion of zone of battle actions and the threat of aerial attacks for the entire country. All this had an impact on the ballroom choreographic culture in Ukraine.
 The methodology is based on the principles of a system-synergistic approach. The main methods applied were participant observation, analysis, generalization and systematization of the authors’ many years of dance, organizational and pedagogical experience.
 The results. The challenges of the 2020s, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation with partial occupation of the territory, population migration, expansion of the combat zone and regular missile terror throughout the country, have significantly affected the ballroom dance culture of Ukraine, in particular, changed the country’s dance map, limiting and partially making it impossible to hold competitions and training in the combat zone and eastern regions that are unprotected from sudden missile attacks. The socio-political upheaval has prompted the Ukrainian dance community to seek national self-identification, giving rise to the creation of imaginative and meaningful compositions through ballroom dance that would embody the pressing issues of our time, including the themes of war, occupation and the challenges they have caused. At the same time, the national organization system of the ballroom dance tournaments and training process has revealed significant shortcomings. In particular, the problem of upgrading to an international class of dancing in the context of the pandemic and then the war, which was felt in previous years, made it impossible for dancers in the eastern regions of Ukraine to develop, as they were deprived of the opportunity to regularly participate in competitions.
 The scientific novelty of the study is to analyze the modern tournament and training system of sports ballroom choreography in Ukraine in the last decade and to identify the problems that hinder the development of this type of dance art and have become especially acute during the challenges of the 2020s.
 The practical significance. Some provisions of the article can be used for updating Ukrainian ballroom dance competitions in accordance with current social and political conditions.
 Prospects for further research. A number of problems require scientific and theoretical comprehension, in particular, the place of ballroom dance in Ukrainian culture, its philosophy, images, styles, principles and expressive means of dance composition. The methodology of dancer’s physical training, based on the peculiarities of sports ballroom dance, requires separate research.

The Convergence of Slobozhanska Iconography in the Discourse of Western European Baroque

Based on the analysis, generalization and systematization of documents, some well-known to researchers and others not so much investigated, this article studies the influence of Western European Baroque art on the iconography of the region of Slobozhanska (Ukraine) during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is argued that the use of Western European religious themes by Slobozhanshchyna icon painters, in combination with previous iconographic traditions and their transformation to the spiritual and religious features of the region, contributed to the development of a regional iconographic art, a process that could be regarded as a unique phenomenon in the history of Ukrainian culture. As the text will highlight, the stylistic program of Slobozhanshchyna iconography of the Baroque period was influenced by symbolic and emblematic Western European collections that inspired icon painters to create new iconographic subjects. To that aim, the article analyses the artistic and figurative system of iconography, considers its characteristic stylistic features, and draws attention to the borrowing of elements of Western European painting and graphics in Orthodox iconography.

Determining the ability of artificial intelligence to establish authorship of artistic ukrainian texts using significant fragments

Artificial intelligence is becoming an integral part of everyday life and profes-sional activity of a person. Bing, as an intelligent search system, can serve as a tool for determining the authorship of artistic text in Ukrainian. Bing helps to uncover in-formation about a text fragment and its author, although the search results may be inaccurate or incomplete. This work aims to explore the effectiveness of determining the authorship of ar-tistic texts using modern artificial intelligence tools based on significant fragments of works. Ten Ukrainian authors with a rich body of artistic works, reflecting various as-pects of Ukrainian culture and history, were selected for the experiment. Random fragments up to 500 words in length were selected from various works of these au-thors. An experiment was conducted to determine the authorship of 360 fragments. Using the Python programming language and the skpy package, software was created that sends queries and receives responses from the Bing bot embedded in Microsoft Skype. The presence of the author’s name and the corresponding title of the work were checked in the response texts. This work introduces, for the first time, a method of verifying the authorship of Ukrainian-language text fragments using the Bing bot equipped with artificial intelli-gence. A comparative analysis was conducted and experiments were carried out to identify the authorship of significant long fragments. It was found that long fragments allow the author of the artistic Ukrainian text to be determined with high accuracy. Ivan Franko has the highest percentage of re-sponses where the author’s name and the title of the work were mentioned - 87%. The proposed hypothesis regarding the effectiveness of artificial intelligence in establishing authorship of works has not been confirmed. Artificial intelligence has slightly lower efficiency than expected, which indirectly exposes its means of opera-tion. Namely, when establishing authorship, a sequential research comparison of the proposed fragment with a bank of works that are widespread in the Internet environ-ment is not performed.

Mykola Makarenko ir Mariupolio neolitinis kapinynas. Tragiškas ukrainiečio archeologo ir vietovės likimas

Mariupol Neolithic burial site, unique by its exclusive rich and diversiform inventory, was excavated by Ukrainian archaeologist and art critic Mykola Makarenko in 1930. The author of the excavations was executed by Soviet punitive authorities. The top-level and highly informative publication of the materials on the cemetery, made in 1933, was confiscated. Part of the burial inventory was taken to Russia. Anthropological materials were destroyed during World War II.The tragedy of Mariupol Cemetery continued in 2022. This was the year which became the tragedy in the history of Ukraine and inherently influenced the history of Europe. The Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian nature, and the Ukrainian culture suffered irretrievable losses. So did Ukrainian archaeology.Hundreds of archaeological sites in the war zone, in the zone of occupation and in the annexed territories were completely destroyed or irreparably damaged. Among them, there were the scant surviving artifacts from Mariupol Cemetery.This article is devoted to the history of excavations of Mariupol Burial Complex and the tragic fate of the collection of artifacts.

Філософські виміри культурної політики

Against the background of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the question of an effective cultural policy that would support national identity, contribute to the purification of consciousness from propaganda myths and preserve the heritage of Ukrainian culture is becoming more acute. Since cultural policy is related to both aesthetic-artistic and cultural-anthropological dimensions of social life, in order to identify the effective influence of cultural policy on dominant social practices, it is necessary to find out the universal principles of its functioning. The purpose of this article is to identify the relevant philosophical and methodological basis of cultural policy for modern Ukrainian realities. Based on the fundamental ideas of Richard Rorty’s pragmatic philosophy and his analysis of cultural policies, the generally accepted nature of the inferential approach to social reality on the part of individual social groups was ascertained. The variability of cultural policy depending on the type of social organization community/society is demonstrated. In small social groups of the authoritarian type, social epistemological authority is mediated by the individual preferences of the leader of this group, so the tools of cultural policy are weak (patriarchal family, religious or political sect). An authoritarian or totalitarian mass society shows a high propensity for linguistic practices of propaganda, which can be seen as an extreme distorted form of cultural politics. In democratic societies, cultural policy is able to harmonize social life, improving its practices and building a value-symbolic world that constitutes culture in a broad sense. The social institute of education has all the tools, including digital ones, to shape the necessary social practices and educate a critical thinker who is able to generate conceptual knowledge, i.e. see relationships and be aware. Openness in decision-making, interaction of expert groups, public discussions are necessary elements for an effective cultural policy, which should be different from “cultural management”. Creative cultural industries play an important role in modern popular culture societies, and these industries significantly strengthen the economic component of social life. Public projects and initiatives effectively help to preserve Ukrainian culture, influence the level of awareness of Ukrainians and the economic well-being of our country.

Світоглядно-філософські засади педагогічних поглядів К. Д. Ушинського

The article is dedicated to the memory of Kostiantyn Dmytrovych Ushynskyi (1823-1871), an outstanding Ukrainian teacher-philosopher, founder and developer of the theoretical foundations of education based on the cooperation of pedagogy and psychology (the middle of the 19th century). In general, the purpose of the article is to update the scientific achievements of prominent compatriot. The article’s goal is detailed in such tasks: the assertion of Ukrainianness as the source or origin of K. Ushynskyi’s personality and creativity; the substantiation of the features of his life philosophy, mentality (the priority of the value of the human soul, heartcentred meaning of human being in the comprehension of life; high personal emotionality, but subject to will; love for the native foundations), which total combination nourished the thinker’s ideas about pedagogical anthropology; substantiation of the peculiar intertextuality of the K. Ushynskyi’s book “Man as an object of education. An attempt at pedagogical anthropology” (1868–1869); an attempt to characterize the worldview and philosophical meanings of K. Ushynskyi’s construction of the psychological and pedagogical foundations of the educational process (cultural conformity, nature conformity, activity as the basis of education), which remains not only the historical heritage of Ukrainian humanitarian thought, but also a variant of an anthropologically sharpened worldview landmark for modern educators. It has been established that in the documentary substantiation of K. Ushynskyi’s belonging to Ukrainian culture, the contribution of the modern local historian and teacher V. Terletskyi became the most important. It is shown that the appeals made by K. Ushynskyi to the thoughts, ideas, opinions of numerous European scientists, writers, historical figures, polemics and dialogues with them on the pages of the book ensured the transition to the creation of a text as a stereophonic intersection with other texts. The author of the article tries to substantiate this feature of the book as a kind of intertextuality of the analyzed scientific work.

To save a cultural heritage: Lessons from a volunteer network’s support to Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions

This paper is a short summary of the experiences from the first one and a half years of support to the Ukrainian cultural heritage sector from the international volunteer network SUCHO (Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online). The paper first outlines the current situation in Ukraine in the shadow of the full-scale Russian invasion and then focuses on the role of grassroots movements and the different forms of support provided by SUCHO. Finally, the paper discusses some key experiences from these efforts and addresses ideas for further support.

Between Comparative and Postcolonial Studies: the Past and Future of Italian Approaches to East Slavic Literary Intersections

This contribution reflects on the state of comparative studies devoted to East Slavic literatures in Italy. Between the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, Italian scholars of Slavic studies and the editors of Italian journals have made a number of interesting proposals on the subject. However, hyper-specialization has often hampered efforts to put theory into practice. I foreground some of these important methodological contributions by Italian scholars on comparative Slavic studies and discuss them both in the international context and with reference to other methodologies and research fields, most notably postcolonial studies. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022, comparative studies at the crossroads of Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian cultures have become a thorny issue. Scholars should seek to strike a balance between a philological approach and the ethical need to respect the different cultural orientations of East Slavic nations.

Ukrainiečių pasakojimai apie karo pradžią: svarbiausios temos, struktūra, kompozicija

The article aims to consider the main themes and structures of autobiographical narratives by the Ukrainian people about the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It analyses narratives of life events becoming the elements of storytelling about the beginning of the war. The article focuses mainly on the plot structure of stories about the war’s outbreak, and the narrators’ self-presentation strategies. Folklore tools reveal typical plots of autobiographical narratives about the outbreak of war. The symbolic meanings of oral histories attributed in modern Ukrainian culture to various events, people and things are considered. Methods of structural narratology have proven to be advantageous in this research. Autobiographical narratives concerning the outbreak of the war coincide with the five criteria of the eventfulness level by Wolf Schmid: relevance, unpredictability, persistence, irreversibility and non-iterativity. The predominant motifs under consideration include reports regarding the beginning of the war, leaving one’s home, seeking refuge in shelters, undergoing evacuation, contemplating the causes of the war, predicting the war, and reflecting on the cruel nature of warfare.

Intangible cultural heritage as a resource for consolidating modern Ukrainian society

Relevance. The relevance of this study lied in actualising the issue of increasing the level of social consolidation of Ukrainian society under the conditions of a number of political, economic, social, and cultural transformations. Intangible cultural heritage serves as the main resource for the establishment and development of national consciousness, which, in turn, strengthens integration processes within society.Purpose. The purpose of the study is to prove the value of intangible cultural heritage in the modern life of Ukrainians and substantiate the need to preserve cultural values in the course of historical development as a powerful ethno-unifying factor.Methodology. In the course of the study, general scientific methods, namely analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, systematic, and comparative were used for logical and consistent presentation of the material. A critical approach to information allowed comprehensively and thoroughly examining the issue of cultural heritage as a unifying factor.Results. As a result of the study, it was discovered that due to complex socio-political and globalisation processes, there is still a need to preserve the traditional heritage, which is an indicator of cultural independence, proving the uniqueness and originality of each nation. Therefore, in the course of the technologisation of society, shifting from the conventional provisions, Ukrainians continue to preserve long-established values, transmit elements of intangible cultural heritage from generation to generation, emphasising the heredity of Ukrainian culture. In the context of this subject, there are currently a small number of publications that only briefly mention the consolidating function of intangible cultural heritage for a particular culture, and, to a greater extent, cover the issues of preserving this type of cultural heritage.Conclusions. The scientific value of the study lies in emphasising the relevance of preserving and further transmitting cultural traditions and languages to protect national identity and raise the level of civic consciousness.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s Presidential Rhetoric as a Strategic Resource

The article exposes Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential rhetoric as a strategic resource in Ukraine’s confrontation with the Russian aggressor after 24.02.2022. By grasping varied aspects of political communication exercised by the Ukrainian president, we try to explain how and why the Ukrainian state is capable of creating an effective communication campaign in times of being invaded by its powerful neighbor. According to our assumptions, it is particularly a matter of 1. clarity and relevance of goals that the head of Ukraine wants to achieve through his rhetoric, 2. inclusiveness of the formula that Zelenskyy uses to demonstrate the essence of being Ukrainian and contributing to Ukrainian culture; 3. his artistic proficiency which helps him in identifying the proper means of persuading broad audiences to his narrative and agenda.
 To verify the accuracy of the hypotheses, we employed theoretical concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos in the course of analysing chosen speeches delivered by the Ukrainian president. Moreover, the notions of “facilitating leadership” proposed by George C. Edwards III, and the “Medici Effect” coined by Frans Johansson are involved.
 The outcomes of the work confirmed our expectations. The high quality and strategic meaning of Zelenskyy’s statements after 24.02.2022 come from three main sources, i.e., 1. transparent and justified message; 2. the unifying qualities of the speaker; 3. his persuasive skilfulness.