The Problem of Employment of Western Ukrainian Settlers in the Odessa Region of 1944-1946 Cover Image

Проблема Працевлаштування Українців Переселенців На Одещині 1944-1946 Рр.
The Problem of Employment of Western Ukrainian Settlers in the Odessa Region of 1944-1946

Author(s): Stanislav Kovalchuk, Nataliya Petrova
Subject(s): Economic history, Local History / Microhistory, Political history, Economic development, Period(s) of Nation Building, Human Resources in Economy
Published by: Видавництво «Одеський національний університет І. І. Мечникова»
Keywords: settlers; deportation; Ukrainians; USSR; Poland; USSR;

Summary/Abstract: The proposed study examines measures taken by the Soviet authorities during the waves of Ukrainians moving from Western Ukraine in 1944-1946 to the Odessa region of the Ukrainian SSR. This problem relates to regional history and its research is necessary for the creation of historical and ethnographic picture of the region after the end of the tragic events of the Second World War. In the context of the formation of national history, consideration of this problem provides an opportunity to talk about the Odessa region as a Ukrainian and multinational region of modern and past Ukraine. In the context of the study of the history of the USSR, this study is a continuation of the consideration of the continuous resettlement process throughout the USSR, as an integral part of the brutal domestic policy of the CPSU (b) headed by Joseph Stalin. The urgency of this study is that the sources of consideration of resettlement processes are not only official documents but also letters to the authorities of the Ukrainian immigrants themselves. A large amount of materials are appeals and complaints of Ukrainian migrants to various levels of government. The subjects of the problems encountered by Ukrainian settlers in the new lands are quite broad. In addition, the proposed research topic was well developed by Western Ukrainian researchers for the last twenty years; for the southern regions, it [the topic] is relatively new and not fully explored. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to consider the letters of the Ukrainian immigrants to the authorities of the Odessa region, these are not official state documents, but they were added to the cases together with the reports of the government and provide an opportunity to more critically evaluate the state documents. The sources of the research are archival materials of the Odessa Archives of the Odessa region, fundamental works and articles of Ukrainian researchers on this problem. Outside of our study, unfortunately, documents and materials of the Polish government remain. Considering the problems of employment and housing provision in parallel, one can investigate the people whose occupations were relocated to the Odessa region. This is interesting because in the years 1944-1946 in Odesa Oblast a reconstruction process took place after the end of the Second World War and the region needed specialists from different specialties. Also, in the context of the consideration of this problem, it is impossible to avoid such consequences of resettlement as adaptation of settlers in the new socio-economic system, in new climatic conditions, the spread of new diseases among settlers, etc. Also, in comparison with the official reports of the authorities, one can investigate how the allocated funds, things, and property for the Ukrainian settlers were spent. One of the negative phenomena in this process will be the flowering of abuse by the rayon authorities, as evidenced by the complaints of the migrants themselves and the reports of the inspections of authorized persons. Attempts by the authorities to influence the settlers by ideological and repressive measures led to the departure of the latter to the western regions. This topic is important and relevant today, because unfortunately, due to military actions in the east of Ukraine, we have not completed the process of resettlement in our territories.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 28
  • Page Range: 33-45
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Ukrainian