Southeastern Ukraine Research Articles

On Records of Three Additional Species of the Weevil Genus Otiorhynchus Germ. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Entiminae) on Lilacs (Syringa L.) in St. Petersburg

In the summer and autumn of 2017, two mostly Southeastern European weevils Otiorhynchus albidus Stierlin, 1861 and O. asphaltinus Germar, 1824, and also O. rotundus Marseul, 1872, previously unknown from Russia, were found in numbers on Syringa vulgaris L. and S. josikaea Jack. in St. Petersburg. New data on the distribution of O. smreczynskii and a key for differentiation of O. rotundus, O. smreczynskii and closely allied to the latter O. ukrainicus Korotyaev, 1984 from southeastern Ukraine and eastern Crimea are reported.

The renaming of streets in post-revolutionary Ukraine: regional strategies to construct a new national identity

After the 2014 revolution, a massive renaming of toponyms related to the communist ideology took place in Ukraine. The resultsof this renaming help understand the essentiality of Ukrainian delayed post-socialist and post-colonial transition and, in particular,national and regional identities that Ukrainians are going to build, and ideology that local and national authorities are going toimpose. This study covers the 36 largest cities in Ukraine with a population of more than 100,000 and focuses on the new streetnames that appeared as the result of de-communization. It was found that in south-eastern Ukraine, the renaming strategy wastargeted to avoid the commemorative names, especially those related to military-political events and personalities, as well as todepoliticize urban toponyms, by using non-commemorative categories of street names, like topographical or poetic ones, or restoringthe historical toponyms. On the contrary, new toponyms in western and central Ukraine reflect the legacy of the national liberationmovements of the 20th century. However, urban toponyms in the most eastern regions, including Donbas, continue to retainclose links with the Soviet period. The memory of the Cossack era and Ukrainian Peoples Republic seems to be the well-perceivedand common-shared strata of national identity. At the same time, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Soviet legacy remain topicsdividing the Ukrainian society. The street renaming process in post-revolutionary Ukraine shares some common characteristics withother post-socialist European countries, such as the appeal to the pre-socialist period in order to reinforce the national identity,replacement of political and military place-names with those related to local and national culture and heritage, and the increasedimportance of local and regional toponyms.

THE UKRAINIAN SSR POSTWAR WORKING CLASS (1946 – 1965) IN EVALUATION OF WESTERN SOVIETOLOGY

The article describes the most important tendencies in the study of the history of the Ukrainian Soviet working class of the postwar period (1946 – 1965) in Western historiography. The achievements, main ideas and peculiarities of the historiographical process, methods of historical research, influence of socio-political phenomena on the themes and content of works of Sovietologists are determined. The main thesis of the article is the statement that Western historical science paid much attention to the study of the Ukrainian Soviet society of postwar twenty years, in particular to the study of the situation of the Soviet workers as the most mass class of the society. The key thesis of Western Sovietology regarding the problems of Ukrainian Soviet postwar working class was the emphasis on the complete lack of workers’ rights. According to Sovietologists, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union pursued a policy of industrial totalitarianism towards the Soviet working class, imposing on workers the orientation of accelerated forced industrial development at any cost, causing the workers a direct material as well as indirect social and moral damage. One of the central places in the study of the situation of Ukrainian working class in the first postwar twenty years is obtained by the conclusion of Western scholars regarding the strengthening of the targeted Russianization policy of Moscow, including the method of relocating a significant number of Russian workers to the cities of Southeastern Ukraine.

New and Little-Known Species of Casebearers (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae) from Ukraine and Kazakhstan

Abstract Multicoloria jukkai Budashkin & Bidzilya, sp. n. is described from South-Eastern Kazakhstan and South-Eastern Ukraine. Casignetella pokrovkella (Baldizzone & Tabell, 2007), comb. n. is found in South-Eastern Crimea. The larvae host plant of the second species is Climacoptera brachiata (Pall.) Botsch. Adults and the genitalia of both species are illustrated. The following new combinations are proposed: Casignetella psamata (Falkovitsh, 1973), comb. n. and Casignetella cyrta (Falkovitsh, 1973), comb. n.

A tale of two regions: geopolitics, identities, narratives, and conflict in Kharkiv and the Donbas

In 2014 Russia occupied and then annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea, and subsequently incited and later directly supported a rebellion in southeastern Ukraine, ostensibly in both cases to protect the Russian-speaking population. Although the Crimean gambit was quickly resolved in Russia’s favor, at least on the ground, the fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine continues with huge loss of life, well over 2 million internally displaced persons, and massive damage to infrastructure. On the other hand, in the neighboring Kharkiv region, the population remained loyal to the Ukrainian state and Russian incitements to rebellion were rebuffed. This paper delves deeper into the mindset of the residents of eastern Ukraine to ascertain why support for Russia differs between these two regions. It focuses on the identities, memories, and narratives of the main groups of residents inhabiting the Donbas and Kharkiv Oblast. Then it compares the attributes of these main groups to each other to illustrate their differences. It characterizes the geopolitical narratives promoted by Russia to generate support for its actions to re-construct the Russian geostrategic area of control and demonstrates where and with which group these emotive narratives were successful and where and why they failed.

‘Why Did MH17 Crash?’: Blame Attribution, Television News and Public Opinion in Southeastern Ukraine, Crimea and the De Facto States of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria

ABSTRACTShock events are often pivotal moments in geopolitics and objects of intense disagreement among conflicting parties. This paper examines the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 and the divergent blame storylines produced on Russian and Ukrainian television about the event. It then examines results of a question asking why MH17 crashed in a simultaneous survey conducted in December 2014 in six oblasts in Southeastern Ukraine, Crimea, and the de facto states of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. An analysis of the surveys shows that blame attribution was driven more by television viewing habits than by any other factor.

Indo-European origin of alphabetic systems and deciphering of the Byblos script

The Irish alphabet Runogham and the Oghamic signs Forfeda are very similar to the ancient Indian Brahmi alphabet. Besides, a common origin with them have such alphabets as Phoenician, South Arabian, the Ancient Italic, Carpathian runes, Germanic runes, Aramaic, the Ancient Berber, Carian, Ugaritic and Old Permic. Possible “parent” system for all these writing systems is the Script of the Catacomb culture in South-Eastern Ukraine. A wide expansion of chariots from South-Eastern Ukraine during the Bronze Age can be considered as the reason for the expansion of the Catacomb writing system. A deciphering of the Byblos alphabetic script based on the Brahmi letters is made taking into account the data related to writing systems mentioned above. As the result a conclusion has been made that the Byblos texts should be read in Sanskrit. The total gift character of inscriptions in any case is fully consistent with artifacts on which they are made.

One Day in Israylovka: A Case Study of the Holocaust in Southeastern Ukraine

This article uses sources gathered in the course of Australian war-crimes proceedings to examine a massacre carried out in mid-1942 in the Ukrainian village of Israylovka. A distinctive feature of the events of that day was that the killing of more than a hundred members of the local Jewish population was followed immediately by the murder of Mischling (mixed-race) children. Focusing on the role played by the alleged war criminal Heinrich Wagner, the authors analyze the role of ethnic Germans in facilitating genocidal actions in southeastern Ukraine. In doing so, they relate the inter-ethnic dynamics of the Holocaust in Ukraine to the larger temporal context of the history of Israylovka, which reaches back to the early nineteenth century.

The climate to growth relationships of pedunculate oak in steppe

Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) is a long-lived species that dominates the extra–zonal natural forests in the steppe landscape of southeastern Ukraine. Although Q. robur is considered to be one of the most important species in European dendrochronology, it has received little attention in the steppe zone because of its scarcity in the often-degraded steppe forests. Nevertheless, a small and unique patch of old-growth oak exists within the boundary of Donetsk, a large industrial center in Eastern Europe. This forest is a remnant of an ancient wood and includes several dozen old-age trees that can contribute to filling some of the spatial gaps in pedunculate oak dendrochronology in Eastern Europe. In this study, we aim to determine the effect of climatic variables on pedunculate oak growth in the steppe zone, and to estimate the longevity of this species in the heterogeneous conditions of an urban forest. A total of 20 trees were cored for this study, varying in age from 55 to 254. The resulting tree-ring chronology correlates strongly with local precipitation in spring and summer, and with local temperature in April, June and July. Moving correlation analysis indicates a shift over the last 80 years in the relationship between oak growth and late winter and early spring temperatures, as well as between oak growth and precipitation in February and August. These findings imply that warming has caused both an advance in oak phenology and changes in the climatic conditions in early spring.

Перша в України знахідка Sporobolus cryptandrus (Poaceae) та нові для флори південного сходу України види з території Трьохізбенського степу

Перша в України знахідка Sporobolus cryptandrus (Poaceae) та нові для флори південного сходу України види з території Трьохізбенського степу

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Fringe Benefits

Hedychridium monochroum and Chrysis lanceolata (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae)– two species of cuckoo wasps reared from nests of Solierella compedita(Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in southeastern Ukraine

Hedychridium monochroum and Chrysis lanceolata (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae)– two species of cuckoo wasps reared from nests of Solierella compedita(Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in southeastern Ukraine

Актуальные вопросы формирования билингвизма у детей в дошкольных учреждениях юго-восточного региона Украины

The article deals with the problem of Russian-Ukrainian bilingualism formation of preschool children under the conditions of the multicultural and multilingual environment of south-eastern Ukraine. It corresponds to the objective need to teach childrenthe Ukrainian language as a state language in preschool institutions with a predominantly Russian-speaking organization of the educational process. As it turned out, the process of bilingualism formation in children faces several contradictions arising between the sociolinguistic specifics of the South-Eastern region of the country and the linguistic situation in preschool institutions, between the actual level of preschool children’s knowledge of their native language and the Ukrainian language; between the level of language-consciousness development of children and the applied methodological tools of bilingualism formation. The most frequent errors in common practice in the formation of secondary phonetic, grammatical, dialogical, and communicative skills are singled out; the effective means of coping with cross-language interference, methodical ways of maximizing the positive impact of the transposition are named. Bilingualism formation in a multilingual environment can be successful if the training is based on the principles of reliance on pupils’ native language, on awareness and communication, taking into account the function of language units. The main conditions of bilingualism formation are the following: parity in the bilingual educational potential of preschool institutions’ speech environment; provision of conscious learning of a second language based on the native language; maximum immersion of children in the actual communicative speech and in language-play activities; the presence of positive emotional stimuli.

Who identifies with the “Russian World”? Geopolitical attitudes in southeastern Ukraine, Crimea, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria

The concept of the Russian world (Russkii mir) re-entered geopolitical discourse after the end of the Soviet Union. Though it has long historical roots, the practical definition and geopolitical framing of the term has been debated and refined in Russian political and cultural circles during the years of the Putin presidency. Having both linguistic-cultural and geopolitical meanings, the concept of the Russian world remains controversial, and outside Russia it is often associated with Russian foreign policy actions. Examination of official texts from Vladimir Putin and articles from three Russian newspapers indicate complicated and multifaceted views of the significance and usage of the Russkii mir concept. Surveys in December 2014 in five sites on the fringes of Russia – in southeastern Ukraine, Crimea, and three Russian-supported de facto states (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria) – show significant differences between the Ukrainian sample points and the other locations about whether respondents believe that they live in the Russian world. In Ukraine, nationality (Russian vs. Ukrainian) is aligned with the answers, while overall, attitudes toward Russian foreign policy, level of trust in the Russian president, trust of Vladimir Putin, and liking Russians are positively related to beliefs about living in the Russian world. In Ukraine, the negative reactions to geopolitical speech acts and suspicions about Russian government actions overlap with and confuse historical linguistic-cultural linkages with Russia, but in the other settings, close security and economic ties reinforce a sense of being in the Russian “world.”

Refugees from South-Eastern Ukraine in Russia: Sociological Analysis

Objectives: The issue of refugees leaving their countries because of war, religious, ethnic or political factors is one of the greatest humanitarian problems of the present day. Methods: These refugees differ from migrant workers since any escalation of the conflict pushes them to the territory of more affluent countries on a mass scale. There are fewer reports about the refugees from the territory of South-Eastern Ukraine, the territory with a continuing armed confrontation, than about refugees from North Africa. This occurs due to the fact that most Ukrainian refugees fled to Russia, hardly affecting Eastern European countries. Findings: This article discusses the issue of Ukrainian refugees who decided to go to Russia, the country closest to them in linguistic and cultural aspects. In the course of conducted sociological research the authors considered plans of the refugees for their future life, mechanisms of adaptation, interaction with authorities and locals, sources of information on regularization of stay. Application: The study did not analyze the issues related to political evaluation or interpretation of the events, while its main focus was on humanitarian aspects.

Theses on Ukraine: Dialogue with an Emerging Leadership

ABSTRACTBetween May and July 2014, when the crisis in south-eastern Ukraine was reaching its peak, a school of political leadership was organised in Belgorod by the Institute of Globalisation and Social Movements and the “New Rus” Centre for leaders and activists of the protest movements in the region, including Donetsk, Lugansk, Nikolaev, Odessa, Kharkov and Sumy. This article contains a description of the survey conducted with school cadets and reveals the political views and preferences, as well as the goals and expectations of people who are in the middle of the Ukrainian conflict. Based on survey data, the author presents conclusions about the content of the political conflict in the Ukrainian south-east.

Визуализация политического медиапространства

Media space is a part of social space covered by means of mass communication. Social environment, saturated with visual images, gradually turns into visual space, and if controlled by visual mass media, it turns into visual media space. Visualization is, on the one hand, a tool for orientation in the world, and on the other hand, it is a means of representing the world, in other dimensions and projections. The media space, rich with political content, turns into a political media space, formed mainly by political stakeholders to influence the target segment − for example, the electoral audience. The media space produces the most effective political impact on people. This, in particular, explains the emergence of mass society, which is dominated by the average perception of the familiar world of images, which saturated the world. Today, a strong system of mass communications exists, which affects human behavior. If earlier, less rigid stratification dominated in society, the blurring of its boundaries shows the development of “mass man” society. In this society, elite gets less recognizable as it is mixed with the crowd. Political competition and one-sidedness, poor information culture of those who produce visual content seriously distort the media space environment. Therefore, visual informaiton that is associated with aggression, violence, killings of civilians by Ukrainian military in the southeastern Ukraine, dominates on TV screen. Visualization of media space by various means, described in this article, can become a powerful tool of political influence.

Ultramafic and Mafic Rocks Found in the Near Vicinity of Mariupolites within the Alkaline Oktiabrski Massif (SE Ukraine) – Preliminary Investigations

AbstractThe preliminary results of the mineralogical and geochemical investigations of ultramafic (peridotite and pyroxenite) and mafic (olivine gabbro) rocks from the Mazurovski Field of the Oktiabrski Massif in South-eastern Ukraine are presented in this paper. Peridotite is mainly composed of olivine (forsterite), pyroxene (diallage), plagioclase (labradorite) and ore minerals such as magnetite, ilmenite and pyrite. Antigorite and talk are secondary components. Diallage with subordinate plagioclase, olivine and Fe compounds (oxides/sulphides) are found in pyroxenite. Gabro is made of two generations of plagioclase, diallage, olivine, biotite and amphiboles (hornblende and actinolite). Chlorite, talk and ore minerals (ilmenite, pyrite, Fe oxides/hydroxides) occur as its subordinate components. On the basis of their mineral composition peridotite was classified as wehrlite, pyroxenite as clinopyroxenite, whereas the mafic rocks are represented by olivine gabbro. The mafic rocks are most likely products orginating from calc-alkaline magma. Owing to the fact that chromite was not identified in periodite, it is very probable that this rock is loco-temperature differentation product of ultramorfic rocks. The ultrabasic rocks and enriched with Al2O3, CaO and Fe and complethy impoverished of REES and alkalis. Only one olivine gabbro shows some amounts of REEs (0.096 wt.% REEs with the distinct predominance of LREE over HREE) and alkalis (2.89–4.0 wt.% Na2O + K2O), which are surely genetically associated with alkaline rocks occurring in the near vicinity of the ultramafic and mafic rocks of the Oktiabrski Massif. The enrichment of gabbro in REEs and alkalis most probably proceeded post-magmatic activity.

Variability of microsatellite loci in Vincetoxicum Wolf species in southeastern Ukraine

Genetic diversity of 13 species of the genus Vincetoxicum Wolf found in Ukraine with the use of four of eight nuclear microsatellite markers previously developed for Vincetoxicum atratum from Japan was studied. The number of alleles in studied loci varied in the range from 8 to 25. The expected heterozygosity was 0.690–0.938; the observed heterozygosity varied in the range from 0.205 to 0.806. The total rate of genetic variability of studied species was found to be comparable to the rate of variability of Vincetoxicum atratum from Japan. Microsatellite loci Vinc5, Vinc104, Vinc123, and Vinc124 can be successfully used for estimating the intra- and interspecific polymorphism of the species of genus Vincetoxicum Wolf in Ukraine.

Picea pungens Engelm in Urban Dendroflora of Industrial Towns in South-eastern Ukraine

Наведено результати обстеження Picea pungens Engelm. у насадженнях промислових міст південного сходу України. Визначено репрезентативність виду в міських насадженнях різних типів (парках, скверах, на вулицях), вік рослин, їх життєздатність. Представленість виду в насадженнях змінюється від 3 % (парки, вуличні насадження) до 16 % (сквери). У паркових зонах і вуличних насадженнях трапляються дерева віком від 10 до 50 років, у скверах – до 40 років. Встановлено, що у Picea pungens із досягненням 30-річного віку з'являються ознаки старіння і зниження життєздатності. Зроблено висновок, що в насадженнях промислових міст старі дерева Picea pungens потребують заміни на молоді саджанці у віці 40 років (сквери) та 50 років (парки, вуличні насадження).