https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3446-4631
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ABSTRACT
While citizenries' responses to sociopolitical events are often studied, how youth engage with such happenings remains unclear. This article therefore analyzes 45 texts written by individuals under the age of eighteen in three of Ukraine’s regions—Zakarpattia, Volyn, and Chernihiv—following the Euromaidan of 2013-14. The study reveals the ways young Ukrainians absorbed, upheld, and (re)inscribed national narratives and discourses in light of the demonstrations and subsequent war. Though it remains uncertain whether their feelings will be sustained into the future, the paper emphasizes the wide-reaching effects of sociopolitical happenings on a country’s entire population.
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge the International Institute for Education, Culture, and Connections with the Diaspora (MIOK) for their assistance with this project, and Bogdana Pidlisetska, Roman Slobodyan, and Veronika Tkachuk for their help and work on translations. Thank you also to the anonymous reviewers for their comments on various iterations of this paper, as well as to Dr. Olga Onuch, Dr. Nadya Foty-Oneschuk, Marissa Kemp, and Lars Dorren for their insight. Further credit is due to the participants from the 2019 International Workshop “Engaged or Enraged Citizens?: Political Participation in Post-Communist Europe” for their substantial feedback. Finally, the most important thanks is for the young people whose works are referenced here, as without them, there would be no project.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. As the definition of “youth” is contested, for the purpose of this paper, it is understood as individuals under the age of eighteen.
2. The Euromaidan was a series of demonstrations and civil unrest that began on November 21, 2013, on Independence Square in Kyiv in response to the Ukrainian government’s decision not to sign an association agreement with the European Union and instead pursue closer ties with Russia.
3. Many other studies have focused on Ukrainian “youth” as individuals above eighteen years of age (see, for example, Diuk Citation2013; Fournier Citation2012, Citation2015, Citation2018; Krawatzek Citation2017; Nikolayenko Citation2011; Onuch Citation2014; Topalova Citation2006).
4. For more, see Kulyk (Citation2014, Citation2016); Kuzio (Citation2015a, Citation2015b); Onuch (Citation2014, Citation2015); Onuch and Sasse (Citation2016).
5. As the competition was conducted under the joint auspices of the Ukrainian and Norwegian governments, it is unlikely that the authors were encouraged to express certain narratives or take specific positions, such as “pro-West,” “pro-Europe,” or “anti-Russia.” However, it must be recognized that the sponsoring organizations, and the perceptions people hold of them, could prove influential, and thus, a contest supported by only the Ukrainian or the Norwegian government might receive a different set of entries.
6. The instructions on MIOK’s website encouraged submissions of prose works, poetic works, drawings, and photography. It is not known to the author how each school or teacher presented the competition to the young people and their parents.
7. Several roundtables and presentations with government officials and specialists were held in Ukraine and Norway in 2015. Although youth are not often included in social science analyses, these actions by policymakers and grassroots organizations indicate that the socio-political importance of young people is recognized in non-academic spheres.
8. For more on MIOK, see: http://miok.lviv.ua/.
9. Consent to use the texts was granted through correspondences with MIOK, as they received full rights to participants’ works. Future projects may consider other media, or submissions from the diaspora, but these are beyond the scope of this paper.
10. The texts were chosen independently of the adjudicators’ assessments. While this project, in some ways, is limited to literate youth, this is not to suggest that others have not also been impacted by the Euromaidan. To ensure the most accurate interpretation of the texts, including subtle nuances, two Ukrainian citizens assisted with the translations.
11. The average age of the authors is 12.6 years. Unfortunately, neither ethnicity nor socio-economic status can be determined.
12. MIOK’s own analyses also focused on the works from the conflict zones and Ukraine’s easternmost regions.
13. Although not explored further in this paper, it is noteworthy that the regions bordering Russia received significantly fewer submissions than in other parts of Ukraine. The submissions from Volyn and Zakarpattia made up 4.9 percent and 7.0 percent of the total, respectively.
14. NVivo is a qualitative data analysis computer software used to organize, analyze, and explore unstructured or qualitative data. It allows the user to identify trends and cross-examine information in a multitude of ways. NVivo is used in academia, government, and the nonprofit and commercial sectors, as well as across diverse fields, such as the humanities, social sciences, and business.
15. The other larger aggregated themes include “childhood,” “religion,” and “nature.” Notably, many codes overlapped across themes.
16. The “enemy” was described at different times as Muscovites, Viktor Yanukovych’s (previous) government, the Berkut, and any others who injured and/or killed protesters during the Euromaidan.
17. The Cossacks were a group of self-governing, semi-military communities who defended Ukraine’s population during various invasions from the fifteenth century until World War II. They have become a Ukrainian national symbol as fearless and courageous warriors.
18. It is noteworthy that Ukraine’s coat of arms symbol, the tryzub (trident), was not cited in any texts.
19. The “Heavenly Hundred” is the colloquial name of the first one hundred people killed during the Euromaidan by the Berkut (Ukrainian Special Forces) and government snipers. “ATO soldiers” refers to the soldiers involved in Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), which was launched in 2014 by the Ukrainian Security Service against separatist and terrorist movements in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Both Ukrainian military personnel and volunteer battalions have participated in the operation.
20. This slogan is a reference to the OUN/UPA era. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) was a radical far-right Ukrainian political organization founded in 1929 for the establishment of an independent Ukrainian state. The OUN split into two fractions in 1938: more moderate, OUN-M, and more radical, OUN-B. The OUN-B later created the Ukrainian Insurgence Arm (UPA). Although the phrase “Slava Ukrayini” (Glory to Ukraine) first appeared in military formations during the Ukrainian War of Independence (1917–1921), the modern response “Heroyam Slava” (Glory to the Heroes) was used by members of the OUN and UPA in the 1930s as a sign of respect for all who died protecting Ukraine. The slogan became a common patriotic slogan after Ukraine’s independence in 1991. While the slogan was cited in the texts, there were no mentions of these groups, despite the fact that they also participated in the Euromaidan.
21. The “West” was never defined, but illustrated as someone (or something) that helped and supported Ukraine (Z14). Conversely, Russia was described as Ukraine’s only unfriendly neighbor (Z6), the “enemy” (Z3), and an “assailant” (V12, Z10). Interestingly, Russia was only mentioned in Zakarpattia and Volyn—regions that do not share a border with Russia—while the “West” was only mentioned once in Zakarpattia, a region that borders four European Union countries.
22. Further research could thus consider the significance of these variables, especially the differences based on age.