The development of Ukrainian cultural policy in the context of Russian hybrid aggression against Ukraine

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study is to understand how Ukrainian cultural policy has developed in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine. It examines new conceptualizations of cultural policy that appeared in Ukrainian public discourse after 2014 and the new legal solutions introduced under their influence. Reformers associated with the ‘independent cultural scene’ attempted to introduce a cultural policy model for managing cultural institutions based on liberal values and transparent, inclusive, and competitive principles. However, those in power, who were operating in the face of both an internal crisis and external threat, began to implement a cultural policy that was based on conservative values and subordinated to ensuring national security. The study’s principal thesis is that the resulting hybrid model facilitated dismantling of the Soviet cultural management model, strengthening local cultural industries and communities and actively countering hostile Russian activities in the field of culture. The activities of the the newly created and radically reformed institutions, such as the National State Film Agency, Ukrainian Institute, and Ukrainian Cultural Foundation have facilitated forming a greater self-awareness of Ukrainians as a political community, and mobilized them to fight for the integrity of the Ukrainian state. They have also had a tangible impact on international recognition of Ukrainian culture as independent of Russian culture, which was crucial in gaining international support in the conditions of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural policy
• Ukraine
• hybrid war
• Russian-Ukrainian war

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for carefully reading my paper and their valuable feedback that helped me improve the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. In 2014, due to the massive Euromaidan revolution (known also as the Revolution of Dignity) the then-pro-Russian president of the country was forced to flee (see more, e.g. Portnov 2014). In Ukraine, a new, revolutionary government took power, combining the policy of democratic reform bringing Ukraine closer to the EU and NATO with the Ukrainization policy (Kulyk 2019).

2. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/5/2015#Text.

3. The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture changed its name to Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in 2019. Since March 2020, it has been known as the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.

4. Hrytsenko (2019) presents the list and detailed discussion of subsequent legal acts that define the state policy in the sphere of culture. As calculated by Kuchyn (2013), from 1991 to 2013, over 300 legal acts related to culture were drafted in Ukraine, many of which contradicted themselves. The Law ‘On Culture,’ (available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2778–17#Text) which is the primary document that defines the state policy principles in the sphere of culture, was passed only in 2011, after twelve years of work by the working group. See also: Zlenko (2020).

5. Available at: https://undiasd.archives.gov.ua/doc/news/2015_07_15/2015_07_15_02.pdf.

6. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/955–19#Text.

7. Available at: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/npas/248862610.

8. The Institute, which was subordinated to the President of Ukraine from 2002, performs a research and advisory role for the President of Ukraine and the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in the field of Ukraine’s national security.

9. The term ‘cultural product’ is widely used in the Ukrainian cultural policy discourse and in legislation. It can be defined as goods and services produced by cultural actors in the fields of visual and performing arts, literature, national heritage, and creative industries (Pesenti 2020, 7).

10. Available at: https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/2872015–19070.

11. In the article, due to its limited size, the issue of the dynamically developing cultural diplomacy in post-Maidan Ukraine was not developed. For English on the subject, see Tereshchuk (2019).

12. Available at: https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/472017–21374.

13. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/159–19#Text.

14. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1780–19#Text.

15. For the current list, see: https://mkip.gov.ua/content/perelik-osib-yaki-stvoryuyut-zagrozu-nacbezpeci.html.

16. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2165–19#Text.

17. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1977–19#Text.

18. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1421–19%20#%20Text.

19. According to the Law ‘On the State Support for the Cinema in Ukraine,’ until January 1, 2022, at least 15 percent and, after January 1, 2022, at least 30 percent of the total monthly time of film screenings should be used to screen national films, other films produced by Ukrainian filmmakers and works of national cinematographic heritage.

20. In 2019, the first year of the program’s operation, UAH 500 million was allocated to it. For comparison, in the same year, the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the central institution established to support Ukrainian cinema’s production, distribution, and popularization, received a similar sum of UAH 505 million for all its activities.

21. Available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0940–20#top.

22. Available at: https://ucf.in.ua/p/about.

23. Statute of the Ukrainian Institute available at: https://ui.org.ua/en/statutory-documents/.

24. For more about the activities of the Ukrainian Institute, see: https://ui.org.ua.

25. Map of Cultural Losses, prepared by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation based on data from the population and organizations, available at: https://uaculture.org/culture-loss-en.

26. See more: https://uaculture.org/en/digests/.

27. Available at: https://ui.org.ua/en/postcards-from-ukraine/.

Additional information

Funding

The publication was supported by the Jagiellonian University: a grant funded by the Strategic Program Excellence Initiative at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the Priority Research Area ‘Society of the Future’ under the program ‘Excellence Initiative - Research University’.

Notes on contributors

Elżbieta Olzacka

Elżbieta Olzacka Graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków: MA in Sociology and Russian Studies; Ph.D. in Sociology. Assistant professor in the Center for Comparative Studies of Civilisations, Jagiellonian University. Her current research includes Ukrainian cultural mobilization and cultural policy in the context of the Russian–Ukrainian war.