OPPOSITION OR COEXISTENCE: UKRAINIAN-JEWISH RELATIONS IN VOLYN IN THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

Based on the analysis of the scientific works of leading Ukrainian and foreign historians, as well as thanks to the involvement of archival sources, an author's attempt to review the situation of Jewish residents and the Ukrainian population of Volyn during the 19th – early 20th centuries was made. in the context of relations between these two peoples. It was established that the strip of Jewish settlement, which was created in the region by the Russian autocratic government, aggravated the socio-economic situation in the region. Discriminatory imperial legislation forced Jews to concentrate their communities in Volyn towns, causing overcrowding along with fierce competition between them for professional employment. However, the situation created by the authorities allowed the local Jewish traditional communities to preserve their own religion, language and cultural identity. At the same time, it is noted that Ukrainians, as an Orthodox Slavic ethnic group, were subject to a strict assimilation policy. Russian government officials banned the Ukrainian language in education and journalism. It is claimed that within the rural area of Volyn, there was a gradual interpenetration of cultures between Jews and Ukrainians, which was accompanied by the appearance of new words, expressions, and stereotypical models of understanding the behavior of their neighbors. However, the local Orthodox Russian clergy, who instilled anti-Semitic views in Ukrainians, had a significant influence on the Volyn peasantry. It was established that in the socio-economic relations between Ukrainians and Jews there was undisguised competition, which was accompanied by hostility towards each other. Often, the perception of Jews and Ukrainians towards each other was influenced by domestic conflict situations, in particular during trade transactions at local fairs. It is mentioned that Ukrainians and Jews were involved in the modernization processes carried out by Russian government officials in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. At this time, both nations were involved in the development of their own political projects.