МУЗЕЇ ІЗМАЇЛЬСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ ЯК ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ФОРМУВАННЯ Й ПОШИРЕННЯ РАДЯНСЬКОЇ ОФІЦІЙНОЇ ПАМ’ЯТІ В ПОВОЄННИЙ ПЕРІОД
THE IZMAIL REGION’S MUSEUMS AS INSTRUMENTS FOR SHAPING AND SPREADING SOVIET OFFICIAL MEMORY IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD

Summary/Abstract: Based on the use of a wide range of archival sources, the creation and activity of museum institutions in the territory of the Izmail region in the post-war period (1945–1953) were revealed. The research relevance is determining the role of museums in the Soviet politics of memory towards the newly annexed Ukrainian territories, particularly Southern Bessarabia. The article characterized the conditions of functioning the museums of the Ukrainian SSR during the ideological campaigns of the late 1940s and early 1950s, as well as their influence on the museum expositions’ content, which was supposed to reflect official Soviet narratives. By considering museums as «sites of memory», the author described the creation of the Izmail Regional Museum of Local Lore in Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky and the Izmail Museum of O. V. Suvorov, the specifics of activities following the museums’ profiles and their role in the constructing and spreading the Soviet version of the Southern Bessarabia’s past. It was explored that due to increasing ideological pressure, museums updated their expositions and intensified mass-political work with the community, acting as instruments of the Soviet politics of memory. Museum narratives not only propagated the Soviet way of life but also shaped a new historical memory based on the myth of Russian military glory and the cult of Suvorov’s memory. The ideological component of museums’ activity was traced in the themes of exhibitions, lectures and other events, which allowed the authorities to use museums in agitation and propaganda work. At the same time, as evidenced by archival materials, insufficient attention was paid to unique collections and monuments of local significance, particularly the Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky fortress. Permanent control measures by the Soviet authorities were aimed at checking the compliance of museum exhibits with official Soviet mythologemes and identifying shortcomings in portraying the Soviet period of the region’s history.

• Details
• Contents