The Volyn tragedy in Ukraine and Poland's public discourse

Abstract

Summary. The purpose of the article is to reveal the significant changes in the public discourse on the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation in the Second World War, to identify differences in the functioning of collective memory about those events in Ukrainian and Polish societies. The research methodology was the classical principles of historicism, structure, science, verification, author’s objectivity and the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special historical (historical-genetic, historical-systemic, historical-typological) methods. The research novelty of the article is a holistic awareness of the Volyn discourse features over the last decade and disclosure of the influencing mechanisms on the memory about the teasing pages of the past. Conclusions. Contemporary stereotypical perceptions and dominant discursive practices around the Volyn tragedy that have taken root in Ukrainian and Polish societies over the last decade are an ideological construct that undergoes changes driven by the influences of politicians, public figures, professional historians and publicists. It is important to form a coherent vision of the events of the mid-20th century in Poland, which have become an important element of historical memory. An important component of understanding the topic is its use in modern domestic (especially in Poland) and foreign (in the Ukrainian-Russian war) policy.