Olha Zubko
PhD, Senior Lecturer of
Department of History and Archaeology
Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University,
Vynnytsia, Ukraine
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7052-1472
DOI: 10.17721/2522-4611.2025.51.8
EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE OF UKRAINIAN EMIGRANTS IN INTERWAR CZECHOSLOVAKIA:
LESSONS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS (1921–1939)
The departure abroad due to the russian-ukrainian war of the «fifth wave» of Ukrainian refugees made it possible to draw parallels with Ukrainian immigrants of the «second wave». Emigrants of these two waves are united by war realities, and therefore by compulsion. Currently, more than 5 million Ukrainians are abroad, in particular in the Czech Republic – 370 thousand. While in the 1920s and 1930s, 20,000 Ukrainians ended up in the interwar Czechoslovakia. An analysis of their everyday life makes it possible to answer the question: how were these people able to survive and preserve their dignity in difficult life realities
The aim of the study is to compare the everyday life of Ukrainian immigrants of the «second» and «fifth» waves. The methodological basis is the principles of historicism and objectivity. The scientific novelty is due to the relevance of understanding Ukrainian emigration and its needs in the realities of the russian-ukrainian war.
Conclusions. In August 2023, specialists from the Center for Economic Strategy prepared an analytical note on refugees from Ukraine, in particular, their cluster analysis was conducted and their portrait was outlined. Thus, all Ukrainian immigrants of the «fifth wave» were divided into four groups. The first group is classic refugees: mainly middle-aged women with children who left for Poland. The second group is quasi-labor migrants who left abroad not only because of the war, but also for work. The third group is professionals, people who more often than other groups work in their specialty and are less willing to work outside it. The fourth group is people from the combat zone: these are Ukrainians who suffered the most from the war. In addition to the cluster analysis, specialists from the Center for Economic Strategy also recorded that Ukrainians of the «fifth wave» have better social and labor adaptation abroad than «second wave» immigrants due to their high educational level and qualifications. Therefore, the everyday experience of Ukrainian emigrants of the interwar period is an expression of the indomitable spirit of Ukrainians and faith in life, despite all world and life circumstances and factors.
Key words: Ukrainian emigration, refugees, interwar Czechoslovakia, russian-ukrainian war, everyday life.
Received by the editorial board: 28.03.2025.
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