Сhupanova Diana Olegovna

HISTORY OF UKRAIN

THE ISSUE OF STUDYING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERIODIC PRINTED PRESS IN UKRAINE (1954-1990)

Abstract. The article presents the history of periodic printed press in Ukraine, starting from 1954 to the present day. The publications that were popular at the time, and their impact on the consciousness of the reader are analyzed. The author turns his attention to the formation of the first dissertation researches, which deal with the impact of mass communication.

The paper analyzes the Party and Soviet press of late 80's of the XX century.

Key words: Periodicals, periodical press, publishing, media, Ukrainian periodicals.

I. Introduction. The problems of functioning and development of Ukrainian periodicals as well as its ability to influence public opinion was interesting for many Ukrainian writers, publishers, literary critics. In particular, the idea of the origin and development of Ukrainian press, its role, tasks and place in society have been repeatedly expressed in his works and letters of well-known Ukrainian cultural and literature figures. Unfortunately, the issue of periodic printed press from post-war years to the present time is not investigated, and that is the actuality of our work.

Thus, the aim of our work is the study of periodic printed press in Ukraine, starting from 1954 to the present time.

II. Formulation of the problem. Certain aspects of the research of formation and development of periodical print media were considered in the works of I. Halasm [2], A. Radionov [9], O. Muts [6], who paid attention primarily to role of the magazine «Pravda» and Galician periodicals.

However, the development of periodic printed press in Ukraine, starting from 1954 to the present time, and the analysis of the party and Soviet press of late 80's need further researches.

Methods: analysis method, comparative method, synthesis method, methods of observation and others.

III. Results. Scientific development of the history of the Party and Soviet press in Ukraine began only in the late 50's of the XX century. Soviet researchers thought that the party-Soviet periodicals of Ukraine must be studied from the time of appearance of Ukrainian labour periodicals (80-90’s of the XIX century.). One of the first who started to develop this topic was L. Suiarko. His pamphlet «Pre-dawn lights. The origin of the labour press in Ukraine» («Pre-dawn fire. The origin of the labour press in Ukraine») (1968) started the research on this topic [10, p. 31]. The Monograph of V. Velyhura «Bolshevik newspaper» «Donetsk Bell» (1962) is devoted to the study of Ukrainian periodicals during the first Russian revolution (1905-1907). [1, p. 83]. Publishing activity of Bolsheviks in Ukraine in the period from 1907 to 1910 is studied in the work of L. Aleksieiev «Ukrainian Bolshevik Printing during the reaction (1907-1910)» (1972 р.) [3, p. 406].

In the early 50's of the XX century the first dissertation research, which dealt with the impact of mass communication appeared in the Ukrainian SSR - among them: «The role of the newspaper «Pravda» in the struggle for organizational and economic strengthening of farms in the postwar period» (1953); «The communist press in the struggle for the organization of socialist competition in agriculture in the postwar period» (1953); «The struggle of the party press for the implementation of resolutions of the Central Committee on ideological issues in the 1946-1954» (1954); «The role of media in the fight of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the cultural revolution in Ukraine (1933-1937)» (1956); «The role of the newspaper «Pravda» in the fight of the Communist Party for the collectivization of agriculture in the First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932)» (1956) and so on [8, p. 69].

Of course, the methodological basis of all these theses were the classics of Marxism – Leninism, the decision of congresses and plenums the CPSU Central Committee, the Soviet government resolutions, speeches by leaders of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and newspaper articles.

The authors of dissertation researches formulated their tasks as follows: to show how newspaper «Pravda», using various forms of newspaper genre - editorials, reviews, correspondence, essays and so on brought to the attention of workers the significance of Lenin's cooperative plan and mobilized the masses in the struggle for its implementation; to define the role of the newspaper «Pravda» in organizing the peasant masses; to show that the press of Ukraine managed to fulfill its task in the field of cultural development [9].

Based on listed above titles of dissertation researches formally their authors had to study the impact of print media on the behavior and attitude of the working masses. Obviously, it was necessary to investigate the media audience, but in the Soviet Union (and therefore in the Ukrainian SSR) in the 50's of the XX century the impact of the media was not very interesting for researchers, and therefore the conclusions in the thesis devoted to studying media, looked basically like this: «The newspaper «Pravda» leads all the progressive printing. It fights tirelessly for peace, friendship and cooperation between peoples. Its voice is heard by the public of all countries of the world! Under the leadership of the CPSU Central Committee newspaper «Pravda» honorably performs its honorable mission!» [9].

In terms of global politicization of public life the development of theoretical research directions of journalism in the Ukrainian SSR could not fail to depend on the development of Marxist-Leninist heritage and implementation of recommendations of the classics of Marxism-Leninism on the construction of a «new type of journalism». In journalistic works it was constantly stressed that communist and bourgeois ideology advocated irreconcilable positions in views on journalism, interpretation of the essence, principles, methods. The main idea in the development of Marxist-Leninist theory and practice of journalism was the omnipotence of the mass printed word. Journalism was viewed primarily as a powerful means of ideological influence on the masses, sharp instrument of ideological struggle. The general theory of communist journalism that in system interconnection examined the subject, principles and functions of the entire complex of media and propaganda developed on this basis.

However, the opening of journalism departments in Ukrainian universities created the conditions for intensification of scientific work in the field of journalism, it became necessary to create an integrated special theory of journalism [8, p. 128].

In Mykolaiv at that time there were such periodicals: «Yuzhnaia Pravda» (1955), «Komsomol Iskra» (1959), involved in atheistic propaganda in the South of Ukraine.

In 1956 there was the XXs Congress of the CPSU, at which Khrushchev in his report denounced Stalin's personality cult, condemned the repression and other excesses in the party politics of the Stalinist era. This resulted in a change in the political life and in the work of the media. Printing, radio, TV began to cover the real situation in the country more reliably, although they remain party propaganda methods in the second half of the 50s of the XXs century.

Exposing Stalin's cult of personality in our journalism created a special period called the thaw of the sixties, and its members – the sixties. Many mass media of that period became less formal and more humane. It became possible to speak on topics that had been previously banned. The most notable phenomenon of culture and journalism of the time ˗ magazines, especially «New World» led by A. Twardowski. Significant works of the era by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, S. Dudyntsev, Twardowski and other writers were published in it. The era of «the thaw» ended in 1968, when by the decision of the Soviet military bloc Soviet troops were brought to Czechoslovakia. At the same time persecution for political reasons intensified in the Soviet Union [7, 39].

The contrast between the lives of two systems ˗ capitalist and socialist became a characteristic feature of journalism of the period of «cold war». Another significant theme - socialist competition and the implementation of five-year plans. An extensive campaign of preparation for the anniversaries of October, Education, USSR, Lenin was deployed on the pages of newspapers and magazines. Employment initiative, employment gifts for important dates - were regular topics in newspapers of all levels. Journalism of that time developed in terms of military and economic competition between the two systems - capitalism and socialism. The Soviet press created the image of «developed socialism» and promoted the achievements of Soviet citizens in labor, science and sport. At the same time such important events as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and such topics as the total deficit of consumer goods, drug abuse and corruption were ignored.

The main organs of the Party and the Soviet press until the late 80's were three national newspapers: «The Truth» – the organ of the CPSU Central Committee, «Izvestia» - the newspaper of Soviets of the USSR and the youth newspaper «Komsomolskaya Pravda» – the organ of the Central Committee of Komsomol. These newspapers had millions of copies and had a great educational value. However, at that time journalists joked: «In «Izvestia» there is no truth in «Pravda» there is no news». The newspaper «Izvestia» had less official news and publications style was different from the style of «Pravda», it focused on the interests of ordinary readers [9].

In the second half of the 50's - early 80's the journalists of «Izvestia» maintained and developed the tradition. The leading genre was an essay - the story of working people and their problems, written in a highly artistic style. The characteristic feature of journalism of that period was that essayists described the phenomena of life came not only as writers but primarily as scientists-economists. Among the well-known journalists of the time - Tetiana Tess, Valerii Ahranovskyi, Oleksandr Vasinskyi [4, p. 350].

In 1985 M. Gorbachev came to power. He called on party committees to take a course on reconstruction, democratization and transparency. The latter meant that for mass media there should be no closed topics [5, p. 668].

Mass media, which formally remained under party control began to write about the problems of economy, the social sphere, culture, crime and abuse of officials, including upper classes. Publicists began to reflect history in a new way, including the history of the party and its leaders. This has led to a sharp increase in the popularity of some editions and widespread increase of the credibility of the press. At the same time, newspapers and magazines for the first time in the history of the Soviet press worked with materials that were inconsistent with concepts such as ethics and morality. Simultaneously press became an arena of political struggle, a platform of politicians who were in opposition to Gorbachev, first and foremost, Boris Yeltsin [5, p. 669].

In 1987 in the country there were more than 7,5 thousand newspapers, including about a thousand central, national, provincial and regional ones, more than 2,5 thousand magazines. There were 114 publishers in the jurisdiction of the party committees. The circulation of «Pravda» was more than 11 million copies, of «Trud» - 18 million, of «Izvestia» - 8 million and of «Komsomolskaya Pravda» - 17 million copies [9].

Perestroika, which took place at the time, led to an increasingly growing credibility to the media. In 1989 the world of newspapers and magazines of the country counted 8,800 newspapers, single circulation of which was 230 million copies and 1629 magazines with circulation over 220 million [2, p. 36].

The policy of transparency not only opened to reporters and editors huge prospects, but for the first time created serious problems. In the late 80's many publications came to self-financing - the prototype of a market economic system. This meant the beginning of the competition among the enterprises of the press, the beginning of the struggle for readers and advertisers.

IV. Conclusions. So, in work we have studied the development of the periodic printed press in Ukraine, starting from 1954 to the present time. It should be noted that it was the time of appearing of first dissertation researches, which dealt with the impact of mass communication: «The communist press in the struggle for the organization of socialist competition in agriculture in the postwar period» (1953); «The struggle of the party press for the implementation of resolutions of the Central Committee on ideological issues in the 1946-1954». etc, The newspaper «Pravda», which occupied dominant position in establishing mass consciousness of the people gained great popularity [9].

Among important periodicals of Mykolaiv of that period we may call: «Southern Pravda» (1955), «Komsomolskaya Iskra» (1959), involved in atheistic propaganda in the South of Ukraine [4, p. 352].

Thus, the above leads to the conclusion that attempts to conceptualize journalism in Ukraine refer to the end of nineteenth century. They are well represented in the works of Ukrainian writers, publishers, literary critics and literary scholars of the time. However, the early Soviet period of development was characterized by the gradual phasing out of scientific researches and the prohibition of specific techniques, which in turn had a negative impact on the formation of methodological support in the study of the mass media.

Prospects for further scientific researches consist in thorough study of postwar press of Ukraine and describing its role in strengthening the independence of our country.

Literature

1. Verlyhura Y. M. (1962). Bolshevystskaia hazeta «Donetskyi kolokol» [Bolshevik Newspaper «Donetskyi kolokol»] – Luhansk.

2. Halas I. (2011) Periodychni ta prodovzhuvani vydannia (zhurnaly), vypushcheni na tereni Ukrainy v 1944–1949 rokakh [Periodic and prolonged publications (magazines), issued in Ukraine in 1944-1949]. Visnyk Knyzhkovoi palaty - Bulletin of the Book Chamber, №12, 34–40.

3. Holik O. (2009) Novitni tendentsii zhanroutvorennia v ukrainskii presi na pochatku ХХІ st. [Tekst] [The latest trends in the creation of genres in the Ukrainian press at the beginning of ХХІ century] Zbirnyk prats Naukovo–doslidnoho tsentru periodyky - Collection of works of the Research Center of Periodicals 1(17), (pp. 400–412) Lviv: National Academy Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv national Scientific library named after V. Stefanik.

4. Lernatovych V. (2009) Drukovani zasoby masovoi informatsii natsionalnyi aspekt [Tekst] [Printed Media National Aspect]. Zbirnyk prats Naukovo–doslidnoho tsentru periodyky - Collection of works of the Research Center of Periodicals, 1(17). (pp. 346–355). Lviv: National Academy Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv national Scientific library named after V. Stefanik.

5. Mykytyshyn V. Ranni istorychni ta presoznavchi rozvidky Ivana Krypiakevycha u halytskii periodytsi pochatku XX st. [Tekst] [Early historical and Press Researces of Ivan Krypyakevych in Galician periodicals in the early twentieth century] Ukrainska periodyka: istoriia i suchasnist: dopovidi ta povidoml. somoi Vseukr. nauk.–teoret. konferentsii - Ukrainian Periodicals: History and Modernity: reports of seven Ukrainian scientific - theoretical conference. (pp. 668–669). Lviv.

6. Muts O. (2009) Ukrainomovna periodyka Skhidnoi Halychyny: umovy isnuvannia ta chynnyky postupu v mizhvoiennyi period [Periodicals in Ukrainian of Eastern Galicia: the conditions of existence and factors of development during the interwar period]. Naukovi zapysky – Scientific Notes, 1, 67–72.

7. Orlyk O. (2009) Zhurnalni vydannia 20–30–kh rokiv XX stolittia yak dzherelo doslidzhennia vydavnychoi spravy v Ukraini [Magazines of 20-30s of the twentieth century as a source of research of publishing business in Ukraine]. Visnyk Knyzhkovoi palaty - Bulletin of the Book Chamber, 6, 37–40.

8. Ryzun V. V. (2005) Ocherk po ystoryy y teoryy ukraynskoho zhurnalystykovedenyia [Essay on the history and theory of Ukrainian journalism science]. Kyiv. national. University named after Taras Shevchenko.

9. Rodyonov A. D. (1953) Rol hazety «Pravda» v borbe za orhanizatsionno–khoziaistvennoe ukreplenye kolkhozov v poslevoennyi period [The role of the newspaper "Pravda" in the struggle for the organizational and economic strengthening of the collective farms in the postwar period]. Candidate’s thesis. Kyiv: – KNU named after. T. Shevchenko.

10. Suiarko L. O. (1968) Predrassvetnye ogni: Zarozhdenie rabochei pressy na Ukraine [Pre-dawn lights: The origin of the labor press in Ukraine] – Kyiv.