ANTI-TOTALITARIAN ORIENTATION OF OLENA ZVYCHAYNA’S STORY “PEASANT SANATORIUMˮ

Abstract

The article deals with the anti-totalitarian discourse of Olena Zvychayna’s story “Peasant Sanatoriumˮ. On the study of the author's biographical facts, it is established that the main character Ulyanka has autobiographical features. The author's husband was a soldier in the army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, was repeatedly convicted in the 1930s, a miracle saved him from death in the concentration camps. The complex of socio-political problems of the story is considered. It is shown that the story reflects the theme of the Holodomor, dekulakization and repression of the 1930s. The main character Ulyanka was treated for tuberculosis at a rest home in Yalta. There she met an old revolutionary, party activist Olena Petrovna Bezridna. It is analyzed that this woman experienced a deep ideological crisis. Her father was a supporter of Petliura and the UPR, but she was devoted to the ideas of Lenin and Stalin. At first she was a fanatical communist. But during the dekulakization, Olena Bezridna realized that the entire totalitarian system was built on lies and bullying of peasants. She understood that she can't leave the system, but she doesn’t want to serve her anymore. Therefore Bezridna deliberately commits suicide. At the same time, Ulyanka orders to write a book about this all. Ulyanka’s private storyline is considered: the doctor who saved the girl becomes her husband, but he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for counter-revolution. He died in Kolyma. It is proved that the totalitarian system is based on insurance and lies: the sanatorium located in the Livadia Palace is called “peasant”, and in fact there rests the party elite from Moscow. The image of a representative of the punitive authorities, who heartlessly sends hundreds of innocent people to death for the counter-revolution, is considered. The story mentions real events and figures: lawsuit against the “Union for the Liberation of Ukraineˮ, Mykola Khvylovy. The main stylistic features of the story are analyzed: realistic basis, truthfulness of characters and details, depiction of the horrors of the Holodomor in Kharkiv and staying, life and work of convicts in concentration camps on Kolyma. There are methods of irony and sarcasm in Olena Bezridna’s journalistic monologues.