Soviet Language Engineering: Intra‑ and Inter‑Republican Translation in Early Soviet Ukraine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46991/TSTP/2026.SI.3.051Keywords:
Korenizatsiia (indigenization), Soviet language engineering, intra- and inter-republican translation, Ukrainization, cultural mediationAbstract
This article examines the complex landscape of Soviet language engineering through translation policies in Ukraine during the 1920s and 1930s. Under the early Bolshevik policy of Korenizatsiia (indigenization), Ukraine served as a multi-ethnic testing ground where translation functioned as a tool to bolster the symbolic capital of the Ukrainian language. The study proffers a detailed historiography and explores intra-republican translation, including the reclamation of Russian-language works by Ukrainian authors and the vibrant bidirectional exchange between Yiddish and Ukrainian literatures. It also details inter-republican efforts that integrated Belarusian, Caucasian, and Central Asian literatures into the Ukrainian sphere through direct translation. However, the article highlights a pivotal shift in the 1930s toward linguistic Russification and state repression. During this period, direct interethnic cultural ties were curtailed in favor of Russian-mediated translation, which aimed to impose a centralized Soviet identity. Ultimately, the article demonstrates how translation served a dual role: while it initially enriched the Ukrainian literary tradition and fostered cultural autonomy, it was eventually co-opted as an instrument of ideological assimilation and Soviet control.
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