Anna GLEW, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom
I examine how ordinary people in the Poltava oblast commemorate the Russia-Ukraine conflict (2014–ongoing). My analysis of the visual language used by ordinary people in commemorative objects dedicated to the Russia-Ukraine conflict demonstrates that the dominant commemorative narratives are those of grief and trauma, delivered through emotive inscriptions and religious symbols. This confirms the expectations of academic literature, which states that ordinary people use the visual language of grief and trauma in the commemoration of violent events to process personal traumatic experiences. However, my analysis also shows that in most of the analysed memorials, a visual language delivering overarching narratives of grief and trauma is used as a foundation on which to add other commemorative narratives, which expand beyond private memories and enter the area of public meaning-making.
Thus, ordinary people seek to find meaning in the commemorated violent event, and for this purpose they use a visual language that makes references to other periods of Ukraine’s history, especially the Cossack era (the semi-autonomous polity of the Zaporozhian Sich, and the Cossack state of Hetmanate), and sometimes the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). With this approach, the meaning of the contemporary violent event is established by placing it in a plotline of Ukraine’s centuries-long struggle for sovereignty and self-determination. When adding the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the plotline of Ukraine’s history, ordinary people in Central Ukraine actively draw on official narratives glorifying Ukraine’s historical struggles, especially from narratives presenting Cossacks as brave, freedom-loving and noble warriors. When creating plotlines of Ukraine’s history, ordinary people reinforce the image of Ukraine as a nation constantly under attack from outside forces. However, ordinary people commonly present Ukrainians as agents ready to defend their country, rather than as victims.
Mots clés : Russia-Ukraine conflict|ordinary people|Cossack past|commemorative narratives|plotlines
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