Authors

Discussion

This project investigates the evolving phenomenon of Russophone literature in Ukraine within the broader framework of decolonial transformation. It focuses on the cultural and linguistic shifts that have occurred since the fullscale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. While Russophone literature has a long history in Ukraine—particularly in the multicultural context of cities like Odesa—it has long taken a liminal, ambiguous position, caught between imperial cultural traditions and national Ukrainian identity. The project's goal is to examine how the linguistic transitions, thematic shifts, and cultural adaptations in the works of originally Russophone Ukrainian writers (Ludmila and Boris Khersonsky, Yessoya, Ija Kiwa, Sasha Denisova, Natalia Vorozhbit, Anastasia Afanasieva, Aleksandr Averbuhk, Stanislav Belsky, Igor Mitrov, Pavlo Vishebaba, etc.) after 2022 reflect broader processes of decolonial identity reconfiguration and epistemic disobedience, focusing on their linguistic transitions, thematic shifts, and modes of cultural adaptation. Such a goal may be interconnected by a series of research questions: How have originally Russophone Ukrainian writers responded to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in terms of linguistic choice, narrative form, and literary identity? To what extent can the shift from Russian to Ukrainian (or to literary silence) be interpreted as an act of cultural resistance or decolonial agency? What structural, symbolic, and emotional patterns emerge in the literary texts produced by Russophone Ukrainian writers post-2022, and how do these patterns reflect broader sociopolitical transformations? How do Russophone Ukrainian writers articulate their cultural and national belonging in a postcolonial framework, and what theoretical tools best capture their transitional status? In what ways does Russophone Ukrainian literature challenge or reinforce existing literary canons within both Ukraine and Russia? How do Russophone Ukrainian authors use intertextuality and references to imperial or Soviet cultural heritage to comment on postcolonial realities?