INTERETHNIC RELATIONS OF UKRAINIANS IN THE CONDITIONS OF WAR

Abstract

The article presents the results of a psychosemantic study of the interethnic perception of Ukrainians in wartime. The starting point is that war, as a large-scale social cataclysm, transforms the structure of ethnic consciousness and intensifies the processes of collective identification. Based on the social distance methodology of E. Bogardus, the level of readiness of Ukrainians for various forms of interaction with representatives of eleven ethno-national groups was determined, including Ukrainians, Poles, Germans, Americans, Belarusians, Moldovans, Romanians, Turks, Kazakhs, Chinese and Russians. The results showed a clear polarization of consciousness according to the “friends – strangers” model. The lowest level of social distance was found for Ukrainians (1.1 points), which indicates increased national consolidation in wartime. Close groups also include Poles, Germans, and Americans, who are attributed socially desirable traits associated with support for Ukraine and the personification of European and transatlantic values. The average level of distance is characteristic of Belarusians, Moldovans, Romanians, and Turks, which indicates ambivalence of perception – a combination of historical and geographical proximity with political and cultural barriers. At the same time, increased social distance is recorded for Kazakhs and especially Chinese, who are associated with the post-Soviet space or with support for the russian federation. The maximum alienation is manifested in relation to Russians (6.8 points), which is a direct consequence of the war and aggressive policy. The study proves that the modern structure of interethnic perception of Ukrainians is determined not only by historical and cultural stereotypes, but primarily by the current political context. War stimulates the rethinking of ethnic images, strengthens national identity, and forms a new system of ideas in which allies are integrated into the circle of “their own”, and aggressors and their partners are categorized as “alien”. Thus, ethnic consciousness in modern Ukraine appears as a dynamic phenomenon that performs the functions of collective mobilization, psychological security, and civilizational choice.