THE THEATRE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOVIET CULTURAL ENGINEERING : THE CASE OF THE KHARKIV STATE JEWISH THEATRE (1925–1934)

Abstract

The article aims to comprehensively analyze the transformations in Jewish theatrical life in Kharkiv in the late 1920 – early 1930 s within the context of Soviet policies of cultural unification and ideological control. The main objective is to examine how the Soviet authorities used the Kharkiv State Jewish Theatre as an instrument of cultural engineering to reshape Jewish identity, construct the image of the «new Soviet Jew», and promote ideologically approved cultural models during 1925–1934.
The research methodology is interdisciplinary and combines historical-cultural, sociocultural, and art studies analysis. Methods of historical reconstruction, comparative analysis, and discursive interpretation of sources have been applied. Archival materials, periodical reviews, and memoirs of cultural figures were used to reconstruct a holistic picture of the functioning of the Jewish theatre in Kharkiv during a period of growing political pressure on the cultural sphere.
The study's results demonstrate that by the late 1920 s, the Sovietization of the cultural space had significantly reduced the theatre’s creative autonomy. The repertoire underwent ideological revision, removing religious, national, and socially ambiguous motifs. The stage language was simplified, while artistic form increasingly adopted the features of socialist realism, which was only beginning to take shape. Nevertheless, artists sought to preserve elements of Jewish cultural tradition in music, acting, linguistic expression, and the choice of themes–creating a unique space of inner resistance. The theatre thus remained a field of intense interaction between creativity, national consciousness, and the political imperatives of the era.
The study's practical significance lies in broadening the understanding of cultural processes in Soviet Ukraine during the interwar period, particularly concerning the fate of national theatres within the framework of the korenizatsiya policy and its subsequent rollback. The findings may be used in developing university courses on cultural history, theatre studies, and Jewish studies, and in further interdisciplinary research focused on the interaction between art and power in totalitarian societies.