Ukrainian intellectuals and de-Sovietization : between scholarship and society

Abstract

This comparative case study investigated the de-Sovietization of Ukrainian history, literary studies, philosophy, and sociology to further understanding of transformations in the disciplines previously indoctrinated with Marxism-Leninism for the molding of the Soviet people. Scholars argued that post-Soviet transformations in Ukraine’s higher education and research liberated humanities and social sciences from the pressures of ideological knowledge production, but researchers rarely investigated the de-Sovietization of these disciplines. Meanwhile, occasional reflections of the researchers studying Ukraine’s history, literature, philosophy, and society suggested that the Soviet legacy persists. Scholars in these disciplines produced on average five times less publications compared to their counterparts globally. The tension between the higher education scholarship and experiences of researchers in humanities and social sciences informed the focus of this study on the de-Sovietization of knowledge production in embattled Ukraine. This qualitative research draws on the Derridian concepts of decentering and deconstruction, alongside Drahomanov’s conceptualization of the collective agency exercised through self-governing communities to investigate de-Sovietization. This study focused on scholarly conceptualizations and interpretations of re-envisioning values, practices, and institutions in epistemic communities crucial during the Ukrainian struggle for freedom and independence. The comparative case studies of each discipline draw on document analysis and interviews with researchers in the four selected epistemic communities to compare disciplinary experiences with de-Sovietization. The findings of this study suggest that the nature of knowledge in the focus of the disciplines and resources available for deconstructing the Soviet legacy drive epistemological and institutional transformations. Researchers in history and literary studies spearheaded de-Sovietization efforts by drawing on their pre-Soviet legacy and the efforts of diasporic scholars. Meanwhile, philosophy’s central role in legitimizing Soviet ideology had detrimental effects on the discipline. Soviet legacies of isolationism and Russification create the challenges faced by the epistemic community in the process of de-Sovietization. In sociology, the disrupted disciplinary tradition limited scholarly knowledge about their pre-Soviet legacy, forcing sociologists to rely primarily on the experiences of their Western counterparts in the discipline. Across the disciplines, the rejection of Marxist-Leninist dogma enabled the epistemic communities to engage with a plurality of theoretical and conceptual perspectives. However, a departure from the Soviet epistemology of ideology required scholars to engage in re-negotiating the purpose of their knowledge production efforts. Scholars strive to identify research questions relevant to the public and share their scholarly findings with lay communities to support sense-making about the complex reality. The Russo-Ukrainian war further reinforced the orientation toward applied research through Russia’s weaponization of history to justify the destruction of Ukrainian culture, identity, and society. This study highlighted the contribution of decentering and restructuring agencies to the deconstruction of the Soviet legacy. It offers a nuanced conceptualization of de-Sovietization, which spans across disciplinary contexts and can inform future studies of the dialectical transformations in knowledge production in and about post-Soviet states. The findings contribute to the international scholarship on the academic disciplines and higher education reform by providing insights into conceptualizations of the knowledge production values and practices in war-torn Ukraine.