Historiographical discourse on the conceptual interpretation of Ukraine's 'colonial heritage' in the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

Relevance. The colonial status of Ukraine as part of the Russian Empire and Soviet colonial practices in the Ukrainian SSR in the 1920s and 1930s is a minimum – researched historiographical problem. Modern Ukrainian historiography of Soviet neocolonialism is recently being formed. Western political science highlighted the formation and functioning of the totalitarian regime – the "Soviet evil empire". The Ukrainian diaspora actively studied the issue of "colonial exploitation" of Ukraine by Russia. Therefore, we have a significant gap in historiography. The research methodology is determined by the practical task of the article, so its main theoretical approach is the structural and functional analysis of historiographical sources. The purpose of the article is to establish the fact of historiographical interpretation of the concept and phenomenon of "colonial heritage" of Ukraine, i.e. the signs of its colonial position. Scientific novelty discover the combination of historiographical discourse with the identification of conceptual features the study of a scientific problem. Conclusions. A historiographical fact of studying the relations between the "metropolis" (Russia) and the "colony" (Ukraine) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been established. It is noted that in the 1920s. there was a public discussion about the presence of signs of "colonial vestiges" in the system of public administration and in the relations of the union government with the Ukrainian SSR. "Volobuevshchyna" confirmed to the presence of "colonial remnants" in the economic life of Soviet Ukraine, and therefore is the theoretical basis for the study of Soviet colonial practices.