REPRESENTATIVES OF THE INSTITUTE PARTICIPATED IN A CONFERENCE ON OVERCOMING THE SOVIET LEGACY

On February, 19, 2026, the V All-Ukrainian Research and Practice Conference “Sociocultural Transformations in Ukraine in the 20th–21st Centuries and Overcoming the Soviet Legacy in Education, Culture, and Mentality” was held at Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav. The event brought together scholars and educators from different regions of Ukraine to discuss long-term societal changes, the impact of the Soviet past on contemporary institutions, and approaches to overcoming this legacy in the educational, cultural, and political spheres. Particular attention was paid to sociocultural processes unfolding under wartime conditions, identity transformations, language policy, and institutional reforms.

Among the participants were Deputy Director of the Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Yurii Nikolaets, and Leading Research Fellow of the Department of Political Institutions and Processes, Candidate of Political Sciences Rostyslav Balaban.

In his presentation, Yurii Nikolaets analyzed the impact of the sociocultural environment on citizens’ behavior in the context of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. He noted that lifestyles, systems of values, social roles, and identity significantly shaped public attitudes toward organizing resistance to aggression. At the same time, existing differences in public assessments of political parties, top-level politicians, historical figures, economic development prospects, foreign policy orientation, or language policy did not lead to internal armed confrontation. According to him, the involvement of Ukrainian citizens in hostilities on opposite sides of the frontline resulted exclusively from the actions of the Russian Federation aimed at achieving its foreign policy objectives.

He also addressed the emergence of a new social status in Ukraine—internally displaced persons (IDPs). The relocation of citizens from eastern regions to central and western oblasts created certain preconditions for broader use of the Ukrainian language in everyday communication. At the same time, he pointed to challenges in implementing state language policy, the continued influence of the Russian sociocultural environment (including through social media and messaging platforms), and the “normalization” effect of prolonged war. These factors, in his view, contributed not only to the persistence of a relatively large number of Russian-speaking citizens in everyday life but also to a certain increase in this number, which became particularly noticeable in 2025.

In his presentation, Rostyslav Balaban focused on the factors that long hindered the overcoming of the Soviet political paradigm. Among them, he identified the nationalization of the economy, entrenched paternalistic attitudes, and the lack of market-economy experience among the vast majority of citizens. For a considerable period, public perceptions centered on ideas such as “fair distribution,” “people’s property,” “free services,” and the notion that “the state must provide.” Political campaigns of the 1990s, in his assessment, reinforced these attitudes through numerous promises of improved living standards, contributing to the consolidation of a model of passive political behavior.

He further noted that Ukraine did not undergo comprehensive political lustration, and a significant part of the Soviet партий elite remained in power for some time, seeking to preserve its positions. Elements of Soviet-style “democratic centralism,” characterized by strict hierarchical subordination and limited opportunities for administrative modernization, persisted for years. According to the speaker, meaningful changes began with the introduction of the decentralization reform.

The presentations were followed by an open discussion. As a result of the conference, participants formulated shared approaches to assessing current sociocultural transformations and the role of institutional reforms in overcoming the Soviet legacy.