Haberdashery History of the Ukrainian Army

Abstract

The book reviewed in this article is a popular scholarly publication dedicated to the history of the Ukrainian army from the Paleolithic period to the events in the East Ukraine in 2014–2015. The publication is the result of the work of the civil educational project “LIKBEZ. Historical front”. “LIKBEZ” is an independent non-profit association of Ukrainian historians whose main aim is the defense of their country at the ideological battlefields. The article perceives the book as a source on the history of the ideological confrontation between Russia and Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR. The author analyzes propagandistic techniques and clichés used by modern ideologists to construct a new Ukrainian identity. According to the reviewer, the book provides a good overview of the facts on the material side of military life (uniform, badges of rank, elements of clothing décor). At the same time, the concept of development of the Ukrainian armed forces is completely inferior to the needs of propaganda, and does not have solid academic grounding. There are several major criticisms of the book: 1) the beginning of the history of the Ukrainian army cannot be related to the Paleolithic time. It is impossible to trace authentically cultural and genetic connection of the population of modern Ukraine to its Paleolithic inhabitants; 2) the military art of Ancient Rus’ should be studied not only on the basis of artifacts from the territory “over the Dnieper”, but also on the materials from the North of Russia and Novgorod; 3) the book exaggerates the influence of the European military culture of modern times on the Ukrainian army; 4) the authors neglect the decisive role of the Red Army in the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis. The allies of the Nazis, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and R. Shukhevych, are claimed to be the greatest heroes of the Ukrainian people in the book. Such an approach seems to be one-sided. The Ukrainians constituted about 20% of combatants taking part in the warfare within the Soviet army. 2,5 millions of Ukrainians were awarded military decorations, more than two thousands of whom were given the Hero of the Soviet Union awards. To neglect the military feats of the Ukrainians who fought in the Red Army and liberated the World from the Nazi threat is absolutely inappropriate.