University of Alberta The Myth of Volodymyr Ivasiuk During the Perestroika Era by Stefan Sokolowski © A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Department of History and Classics Edmonton, Alberta Fall 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46985-9 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46985-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada ABSTRACT During his lifetime, the Soviet Ukrainian popular composer Volodymyr Ivasiuk (1949-79) was denied official recognition on several occasions and his music was rarely performed in the years after he died under suspicious circumstances. Commemorations of Ivasiuk occurred in Lviv from 1979 onward and during the perestroika period several individuals began efforts to memorialize Ivasiuk and restore his reputation. The popular myth of Ivasiuk, as represented in the press, music festivals and various commemorative activities, was diverse and evolved between 1987 and 1991. Most initial public efforts to commemorate the composer were apolitical, later growing more critical of the Soviet regime. The myth of Ivasiuk probably reached the peak of its prominence in 1989, a transitional period when the attention of the public in Ukraine was shifting from cultural to political issues. By 1990-91, the myth of Ivasiuk became less prominent but more nationalistic, reflecting the growing popular focus on politics. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Many individuals contributed to the completion of this thesis, although any errors remain my own. My supervisor, John-Paul Himka, suggested the topic and provided invaluable guidance. Bohdan Klid gave me access to essential sources which I could not have obtained otherwise. Nadya Foty, David Marples, and William Risch were also helpful with sources. I also wish to extend my thanks to the individuals who shared their recollections of Ukraine during the last few decades of the Soviet regime, thereby enriching this thesis to a significant degree. I am also grateful to the staff of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies for accommodating my research in the Stasiuk Programme Archives. Peter Larson and Peter Rolland provided assistance with Russian-language sources and John Sokolowski was helpful with Ukrainian-language translations. Research for this thesis was supported by a Marusia and Michael Dorosh Master's Fellowship from CIUS. Most of all, I thank Melodie Tower for her support over the course of the last several years. For my parents, Karen Grove and John Sokolowski. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Ukrainian Culture and Dissent under Brezhnev 6 The Crackdown of the 1970s 9 Dissent in Ukraine from Brezhnev to the Early Gorbachev Period 10 Stagnation and Repression Continue 12 Political and Cultural Developments in the Early Gorbachev Years, 1985-87 12 Chapter I: The Rise, Fall and Commemoration of a Pop Culture Icon, 1949-88 17 Ivasiuk's Early Life and Career 18 Ivasiuk's Music Achieves Mass Popularity 21 Ivasiuk the Icon: 1971-79 24 Death and Aftermath 28 Public Reaction in Lviv to Ivasiuk's Death 31 Commemorations of Ivasiuk from 1979-86 and the Political Consequences of His Death 34 Efforts to "Rehabilitate " Ivasiuk, 1987-88 35 Perestroika and the Politics of Culture in Ukraine, 1987-88 36 "To ie chystaia voda": Rehabilitation Begins 38 Literaturna Ukraina and the Shevchenko Prize 41 Komsomolskoe znamia Examines Ivasiuk 46 The Posthumous Ostrovskyi Prize 47 Chapter II: 1989—the Year oflvasiuk 49 Political and Cultural Developments in 1989 51 History and Culture in Political Discourse 55 The Lion Society: A Case of the Shift from Culture to Politics 58 The Myth of Ivasiuk Develops 58 Commemorations of Volodymyr Ivasiuk in 1989 60 Commemorative Events in Lviv and Kyiv 61 The First Chervona Ruta Festival 65 Critical Reaction to Ivasiuk's Place in the Festival 71 Portrayals of Volodymyr Ivasiuk in the Press 73 Ivasiuk as a National Symbol 76 Conclusion 77 Chapter III: The Myth oflvasiuk in the Age of Hard Politics, 1990-91 79 Ukrainian Society in 1990-91 80 Political Developments 81 Cultural and Historical Issues 84 Commemorative Activities in Lviv 88 The Second Chervona Ruta Festival Inspires More Debate 93 Debate Over Ivasiuk's Place in the Festival 95 The Myth oflvasiuk on the Eve of Independence 99 Conclusion 104 CONCLUSION 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY 112 INTRODUCTION This thesis will examine portrayals of the Ukrainian composer and singer Volodymyr Ivasiuk (1949-1979) in the media and in popular commemorative activities devoted to the composer in the years between his death and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, with a particular focus on the 1987-91 period. Volodymyr Ivasiuk was revered by many Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians both during his career and after his death. Many people held Ivasiuk in high regard simply because of his artistic achievements. However, for at least some Ukrainians (in particular, nationally conscious individuals in Lviv, other parts of western Ukraine and to some degree Kyiv), Ivasiuk was not merely a "pop culture icon." For this group, the composer was also a national and political symbol. Ivasiuk had symbolic value even during his life. The success of Ivasiuk's Ukrainian- language songs throughout the USSR and the world gave hope to many Ukrainians during the "period of stagnation" of the 1970s, when Ukrainian culture was moribund as a result of official repression. The myth of Ivasiuk thus had its roots in the 1970s, although it would grow and change after his death. When Ivasiuk died in mysterious circumstances at the age of 30, a myth of Ivasiuk as a martyr and a victim of the Soviet regime began to develop in Lviv. Many Lvivites believed that the composer had been killed by the KGB, and Ivasiuk's death and funeral became flashpoints for political discontent in the city. Ivasiuk was commemorated on a regular basis in Lviv in the years after 1979. According to some prominent supporters of Ivasiuk's commemoration, certain Soviet bureaucrats attempted to discredit the composer and suppress his music in the years after his death. Whatever the truth of these claims, it was only in 1987 and 1988, as the Ukrainian press became somewhat freer, that Ivasiuk began to receive more attention in the media. A few individuals began to publicly express their support for the restoration of Ivasiuk's reputation and his commemoration through various means, most notably a music festival. The 1 early proposals for Ivasiuk's "rehabilitation" were often quite tentative, avoiding the topic of his death and not portraying Ivasiuk as a political symbol. Nonetheless, some of these early accounts denounced the limits placed on Ukrainian culture during the Brezhnev period or criticized the bureaucrats who supposedly slandered Ivasiuk and attempted to suppress his music. The Ivasiuk who emerges from many of the accounts of 1987-89 is an ambiguous figure—a nationally conscious Ukrainian and talented artist, a credit to his people, but not necessarily a symbol of Ukrainian nationalism or opposition to the Soviet state. Some observers even stressed Ivasiuk's loyalty to socialist principles or his music's pan-Soviet appeal. For more radical Ukrainians, however, Ivasiuk was clearly associated with demands for significant political reform or even independence. In Lviv, commemorations on his grave were accompanied by expressions of nationalist political dissent as early as 1979. In later years, gatherings at Ivasiuk's grave continued to be forums for political protest, a practice which probably reached its peak in 1989. A commemorative ceremony for the composer which took place in Chernivtsi during the 1989 Chervona Ruta music festival also featured suppressed Ukrainian national symbols. Ivasiuk remained an ambiguous symbol in 1989, however, one whose usefulness was not limited to one particular ideological tendency. In one case, the composer's legacy was even used to oppose the nationalism of some performers at the 1989 Chervona Ruta festival. Ivasiuk was particularly prominent in the official and unofficial press in 1989. This prominence was in part a reflection of the transitional nature of this moment in Ukrainian history.