Ukrainian musical culture of the XX century through the prism of soviet repressions (1919-1991)

Abstract

Radical social and political turmoil thoroughly shaped the development of Ukraine’s musical heritage throughout the twentieth century. Moreover, it was the Soviet regime’s merciless drive for control that left the deepest mark. For decades, from the 1920s to 1991, writing music was not exclusively an art; it was a high-stakes negotiation with power. With agencies like the NKVD and KGB keeping a close watch, the soviet state doctrine penetrated every corner of a musician’s world. The permanent scrutiny created a culture of fear, actively deciding which musical doors to open and which to keep shut, which composers could write, what music was deemed acceptable, and even the survival of the institutions that supported them.