Dokash O. Political and cultural transformation of western regions of Ukraine in the context of establishing the ideology of Soviet totalitarianism (1930’s – 1950’s)

This thesis for the first time in home political science gives conceptualization of directions and trends of political and cultural transformation of western regions of Ukraine in the context of establishing the ideology of Soviet totalitarianism (1930’s – 1950’s). Analysis of scientific research certified the underdevelopment of problems connected with the include of western Ukraine, North Bukovyna and Transcarpathian Ukraine to the Soviet political and cultural space in domestic and foreign science as a whole, and in the context of transformation of political and cultural sphere of mentioned regions during the consolidation of the Stalinist totalitarian regime (1930’s – 1950’s) in particular.The concepts of totalitarianism make theoretical and methodological principles of the research of political and cultural development of Western Ukraine, North Bukovyna and Transcarpathian, as well as the means of Stalinist totalitarian regime.Theoretical and methodological base of the research expands by the means of integrating of modern terminology and conceptual apparatus and conceptual vision of the phenomenon of totalitarianism. This made it possible to explore political and cultural transformations in western Ukraine at late 30’s – early 50’s under the influence of establishing of Stalinism ideology in complex.Ideological variability of totalitarian political regimes was identified. It gave an opportunity to underline specific features of Stalinist ideology in its historical development – from the birth of the late 1920’s to the top of the evolution of value-orientation principles at the early 1950’s.Ideological ambivalence as characteristic feature of political and cultural life of Western Ukraine, North Bukovina and Carpathian Ruthenia at early 1930’s was investigated.Transformation of ideological priorities in newly western regions of the USSR in terms of Stalin's totalitarian regime was defined. Recovery of communist ideological dictatorship in Western Ukraine in the final stage of the World War II and the early postwar years were analyzed. The features of mass political consciousness and behavior under the terms of totalitarianism establishment were highlighted.Changes in political and cultural spheres of western Ukrainian region in the context of the Soviet value-orientation system imposition through the destruction of cultural and mental bases of the Ukrainian USSR in terms of the establishing of Stalinism ideology were analyzed. The process of transformation of political and cultural rules of the information space in western Ukraine and northern Bukovina during incorporation with the USSR is generalized. Political propaganda as the basis for imposition of the Soviet value-orientation system (late 1940’s – early 1950’s) were discovered. The crystallization of political protest consciousness in Western Ukraine as a result of opposition to the Stalinist political regime, political, cultural and ideological dimensions of the policy of occupation regimes as a factor of Stalinism struggle with Ukrainian national liberation movement at the closing stages of the World War II and the early postwar years was investigated. Protest potential of political culture, which was formed on the basis of stereotypes of mass consciousness and intensified in the days of Soviet occupation was discovered. Extermination tendency of political behavior of western region inhabitants in terms of geopolitical threats and strengthening of authoritarian political regimes of Poland, Romania and Hungary in the second half of 1930’s was outlined. Forms of adaptation of the population of Soviet Ukraine in the final stage of the World War II and the first postwar decades and their impact on the further development of political culture of the above mentioned region were under the consideration. Social and psychological mechanisms of political oppression by party nomenclature and patterns of political behavior of the residents of western regions of the Soviet Ukraine were investigated. The features of the adaptive behavior of the population of Western Ukraine to the terms of Stalinist totalitarian regime were characterized. It is noted that the ideas of national political self-determination in political and cultural space of Carpathian Ukraine at the final stage of the World War II were used by the Soviet authorities to implement their own plans of joining Transcarpathian Ukraine to the Soviet Union by the mean of foreign simulate of the will of the masses.