Короткий опис(реферат):
The paper deals with visions of Kyiv in the writings of Russian and Ukrainian émigré
writers during the interwar period. The city became a focal point of intensive intellectual
debate whose participants regarded Kyiv not only as a place of a recent battleground
but also as a sacral place and a highly symbolic image. Within the methodological
framework of ethnic symbolism, this study attempts to explain how this physical/symbolic dichotomy was used to reinforce continuing claims for historical origin and
cultural heritage, thus serving the contemporary purpose of national identity and
political legitimacy. It also deploys the concept of displacement as a complex process
of negotiation between homeland and hostland within an émigré community - whose
sense of loss and identity crisis creates additional impetus, though in different forms,
for exploiting historical narratives.
