KYIV PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOL AND THE ORIGINS OF THE CRISIS OF MARXISM-LENINISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE UKRAINIAN SSR: THE EXPERIENCE OF KYIV STATE UNIVERSITY (LATE 1940S – MID 1960S)

Abstract

This article is the first of a series of publications about the place and role of the Kyiv Philosophical School of the second half of the 20th century in the process of the destruction of Marxism-Leninism in the philosophical education, science and culture of the Ukrainian SSR. This process, which began at the end of Stalin era, is explored in the illustrative example of the Faculty of Philosophy of Kyiv State University. The author has classified four main stages of this process, of which he studies the first and the second ones: 1. the initial one or the stage of the beginning of the critical revision of the Stalinist version of Marxism-Leninism (late 1940s – 1950s); 2. the stage of the beginning of a systematic critical revision of this version in the context of postmodern philosophy (late 1950s – mid 1960s). The main object of study is the memoirs of the creators of this school, primarily their interviews conducted as part of projects on the Oral history of philosophy. Their example is the conversation of Y. Golovakha with the Student Society for the Oral History of Philosophy of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The development and content of these two stages are studied on the basis of an analysis of a series of interviews by T. Chayka with graduates of this faculty and the creators of this school S. Krymskyi, M. Popovych, V. Horskyi in her author's project "Oral Histories of Philosophers". We also studied the memoirs of their university mates, colleagues at the school, such as A. Horak, V. Tabachkovskyi, V. Lisovyi and M. Bulatov. The ideological opposition of M. Zlotina together with the rehabilitated figure of the "philosophical front" of Ukraine in the 1920s – 1930s M. Yushmanov to the so-called "old guard" professors of philosophy at the Kyiv State University like Y. Bludov, F. Yenevich and etc. is considered. The significant reformatory contribution of the deans of this faculty P. Kopnin and V. Shynkaruk to its progress during the Khrushchev's thaw is outlined. The contribution of these two scholars, already as directors of the said institute, and their predecessor in this position D. Ostryanin and their colleagues at that university and institute, to the progress of neo-Marxist and post-Marxist foundations of Ukrainian philosophical education, science and culture is also highlighted.