Mykhailo Kostiv

The aim of this project is to reveal and analyze the principles of communist propaganda in the central and local newspapers of the Ukrainian SSR in the 1920s and 1930s.

The primary function of newspapers in the USSR was not to inform the population about recent events but to disseminate propaganda. The press evoked hatred toward domestic and foreign “enemies” of the communist regime. Moreover, newspapers even became instruments of repression, especially during the Holodomor of 1932–1933. In particular, the editors’ offices collected reports about people of “doubtful loyalty”, while correspondents sometimes participated in the brigades which confiscated the food products from people’s houses.
In the context of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, this research shows the heredity of the Kremlin’s informational war strategies and methods (hate speech, enemy image, misinformation, etc.).