Abstract (på engelska)
“Voices of Defiance: Cultural Resistance through Literary Translation in Soviet Ukraine”
The phenomenon of cultural resistance in Soviet Ukraine arose in response to centuries-long cultural and political pressures from the Russian and Soviet Empires. Recognizing the pivotal role of culture in nation-building, both sides engaged in a significant ideological battle, with literary translation serving as a key battleground for intersecting influences. The Soviet regime strategically viewed literary translation as a potent tool for consolidating its colonial power and maintaining the diverse structure of the multinational Soviet Union.
Despite assertions of cultural exchange, a discernible expansion of Russian culture and the promotion of Russian literature occurred in the colonized republics. Furthermore, Russian translations set standards, fostering indirect translations into Ukrainian through bowdlerized Russian intermediaries. This practice contributed to language pollution and introduced unnatural linguistic features.
The aggressive Russian cultural expansion, aimed at diminishing the prestige of Ukrainian translations and weakening the Ukrainian language, encountered staunch resistance from Ukrainian translators. This paper explores the activism and translation practices of three prominent figures – Mykola Lukash (1919–1988), Vasyl' Stus (1938–1985), and Ivan Svitlychnyi (1929–1992) – shedding light on their unique and personal forms of opposition to the oppressive totalitarian regime. Their stories contribute to the intricate tapestry of cultural resistance in Ukraine, unfolding not only within the confines of the “small” zone of the Gulag but also beyond it, in the vast expanse of the “big” zone.
Bio note
Valentyna Savchyn is an Associate Professor in Ukrainian Studies at Lund University. Her research encompasses various aspects of the Ukrainian language, with a particular focus on dictionaries and literary translation within the historical context of Soviet Ukraine. Her work also delves into the strategies employed by translators and lexicographers to resist Russification. She is the author of a monograph titled Mykola Lukash As a Pillar of Ukrainian Literary Translation (Litopys, 2014; in Ukrainian) and over a hundred articles and book chapters that provide a nuanced perspective on the historical contextualization of literary translation during the era of Soviet Ukraine.
