Resistance to the Soviet Centralization (or Takeover) of Ukrainian Cinema 1920s–1930s

Abstract This article is situated within the framework of new historical studies on the former Soviet republics and their successor states, adopting a perspective from these states rather than the traditional approach of “Soviet studies,” which treated the USSR as a centralized entity that could be understood from centre. To this end, it combines institutional and individual perspectives and focuses on the transitional period of the 1920s and 1930s, during which the Ukrainian film industry was integrated into a Moscow-led centralized system, before brutal repression muted protests. By drawing on recent scholarship, the author accesses archival sources. Yet instead of considering resistance as a local manifestation of opposition to central authorities, the article regards it as a process. The first section traces the gradual transformation of the independent VUFKU into Ukrainfilm, followed by its subordination and centralization, highlighting techniques of institutional resistance that occurred on several levels. The second section examines the trajectories of Ukrainian film directors, revealing individual forms of resistance – whether through stylistic or thematic choices, or as mere survival strategies. The article underscores the analytical potential of this period, aiming to open a field long caught in a “double blind spot” between the (post-)Soviet and European studies.