Historical Basis of the Local Identity of the Residents of the City of Bila Tserkva

Author

Diedush Oleksii

a Ph.D. in History, a research fellow at the Archival Scientific Funds of Manuscripts and Audio-Recordings Department of M. Rylskyi Institute of Art Studies, Folkloristics and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1040-2241

Historical Basis of the Local Identity of the Residents of the City of Bila Tserkva

Abstract

This article is an attempt of a comprehensive reconstruction of the local identity of the residents of Bila Tserkva, shaped by a series of historical events of varying magnitudes. The author examines the city as a frontier – ranging from the Old Rus outpost of Yuriiv and a Cossack stronghold to the modern «shield» of the capital – arguing that this defensive function has fostered a distinct militarized character and resilience among the local population. The study is aimed at the re-evaluating the established imperial and Soviet narratives: the researcher deconstructs myths regarding the multicultural idyll of Bila Tserkva’s residents across various eras, exposing instead the harsh mechanisms of Russification, the ruralization of urban space, the colonial pressure exerted by the Branicki family, and the frequently artificial alterations to the ethnic landscape. Significant attention is devoted to the city’s social and economic metamorphoses, tracing its transformation from a powerful industrial giant and the “tire capital” through the painful processes of deindustrialization and the search for new meanings during the Independence era. A central theme running through the study is the continuity of the tradition of resistance, which has vividly manifested in recent times through Bila Tserkva’s transformation into a powerful volunteer hub and the home base of the heroic 72nd Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Keywords

local identity, communities of the Kyiv Region, Bila Tserkva, history of Bila Tserkva, Russification in Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian war.

References

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