Taras Shevchenko in Lugansk: Places of Memory and Traditions of Interpretation

The paper analyzes the traditions of interpreting Taras Shevchenko’s place in modern Russian culture in the paradigm of symbolic politics. The article examines the Ukrainian national tradition and Russian imperial and Soviet international traditions. The author shows that Shevchenko as topos is present in all three traditions that give different meanings to his personality: in the Ukrainian national tradition he is a Prophet and father of the nation, inspiring the armed struggle for Ukrainian statehood; in the Russian imperial tradition he is the bearer of regional Russian identity and cultural identity of the region; in the Soviet internationalist tradition he is a revolutionary, an opponent of Russian tsarism. In the independent Ukraine the interpretation of Shevchenko as a hero of the national pantheon has become the uncontested basis of the country’s state policy. Since Shevchenko is also present in the Soviet tradition, the places of his memory are perceived by the residents of Lugansk and Russia as places of harmony, and the nationalist reinterpretation of his figure is completely ignored. Inconsistent symbolic policy towards the symbols of Ukrainian statehood is especially dangerous during the war with the nation-state of Ukraine. The experience of Luhansk can be used to solve this problem, including placing Shevchenko in the context of the Christian tradition as an anti-Christian fighter for Ukrainian nationalism. Keyword