IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN-BOLSHOWIST COLONIAL GOVERNMENT REGARDING NATIONAL MINORITIES IN THE YEARS OF NEP (1921–1928) (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE PODILLIA)

Abstract

The article comprehensively analyzes the activities of the party and Soviet bodies of the Podilsk province in the implementation of the policy of the Russian-Bolshevik colonial power towards national minorities during the NEP period. It was found out that provincial, district, and after the holding in 1923 were created to work with national minorities in the region. zoning, district and district Jewish and Polish subdivisions in the relevant committees of the Communist Party of Ukraine and councils, and in the departments of public education – a similar section. It was noted that with the beginning of Ukrainization, a provincial commission for nationalities was created to coordinate work with national minorities, including representatives from the Jewish, Polish, and Moldovan communities. She recommended that district committees appoint a member of the presidium who speaks the native language of a certain national minority. It has been investigated that in order to reduce the demographic overpopulation of the region and reduce the tension of inter-ethnic relations, starting from 1923, a national program of resettlement, mainly of Jews, to the free lands of southern Ukraine and Crimea was implemented in Podilly. It was found out that in 1924–1928, in order to better take into account the specifics of work in towns and villages where the majority or a significant part of the residents were ethnic minorities. Jewish Polish, Russian and German councils were established. It was emphasized that business in the national rural councils was mostly conducted in Ukrainian, since there were not enough active speakers of German, Polish, or Yiddish. Therefore, on the initiative of these councils, schools and technical schools were opened with teaching in the relevant national languages. It was emphasized that the authorities considered the provision of access to representatives of national minorities to participate in court sessions in their native language a major achievement. However, all these achievements were only a screen for establishing the colonial status of Ukraine as part of the Russian- Bolshevik empire. That is why already in the 1930s they were liquidated, and active participants in the development of the structures of national minorities were repressed.