Values for the Sake of the (Post-Soviet) Nation. Patriotism(s) and the Search for the 'True' Self in Ukraine

The aim of this paper is to deeply rethink and better understand the different approaches to ‘value-based’ politics – and social subroupings’ reactions to it – in the post-Soviet area through the lens of the Ukrainian scene, by analysing both the political and cultural narratives which have emerged in the aftermath of the recent Ukrainian-Russian clash of discourses. An accurate tracking of the policies normativising the field of culture on the one hand, and of blurred cultural boundaries on the other, will help us to question the fixed constructs of national and cultural identity when looking at the everchanging post-Soviet social milieus. This could lead to a general reassessment of the dynamics of self-representation in the post-Soviet cultural and political scene.