The Role of Forced Mobilisation in the Processes of Russification in the Ukrainian Lands in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

The article aims to analyse the mechanisms of Russification of Ukrainian lands in the context of imperial and Soviet policy, focusing on the role of military structures and mobilisation mechanisms as instruments of assimilation. The study aims to identify the main patterns of influence of these instruments on the national identity of Ukrainians and to determine their place in the overall system of assimilation policy.

The paper uses the historical and comparative method to analyse Russification policy in different periods - from the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union. The systematic approach allowed the study of mobilisation mechanisms as part of a comprehensive assimilation policy. Sociological and cultural analysis was used to identify the influence of military structures, which provided a deeper understanding of the relationship between military service, language processes and cultural integration.

The analysis showed that the Russification of Ukrainian lands in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union was a deliberate policy aimed at displacing the Ukrainian language and culture.Military structures played a key role in this process, performing the function of social and cultural integration of Ukrainians into the dominant imperial space. Mobilisation mechanisms proved to effectively isolate Ukrainians from their national environment and impose new identities. In the Soviet Union, the Russification policy became more comprehensive, integrating mobilisation mechanisms with the general ideology of the ‘Soviet man’.

The study found that mobilisation mechanisms were important in the Russification policy system. Their use ensured not only linguistic and cultural assimilation but also the transformation of the Ukrainian population's identity, aimed at its unification in accordance with imperial or Soviet ideals. The article's conclusions emphasise the long-term impact of such mechanisms on the development of Ukrainian identity and the relevance of these processes in the context of contemporary socio-cultural analysis.