Burden of Dreams: History and Identity in Post-Soviet Ukraine (Post-Communist Cultural Studies)

This text examines daily life in Soviet and post-Soviet Ukraine, showing why Ukrainian nationalism and its programme of "Ukrainization" have appealed to the largest Russian diaspora and to millions of Russified Ukrainians. Focusing on schools, festivals, commemorative ceremonies and monuments, Catherine Wanner shows how Soviet-created narratives have been recast to reflect a post-Soviet Ukrainocentric perspective. In the process, the book aims to show how new histories are understood and acted upon. This reveals regional cleavages and the resilience of cultural differences produced by the Soviet regime. For some people, the system they criticized yesterday is the one they long for today.