THE FIRST WAVE OF RETRANSLATIONS IN SOVIET UKRAINE (1930S–1950S): RUSSIFICATION AND IDEOLOGICAL CONTROL

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of retranslation in Soviet Ukraine during the 1930s–1950s, framing it as a tool of ideological control, cultural rewriting, and Russification under Stalinism. Drawing on historical and comparative analysis, it identifies the first wave of retranslations and revised editions as a response to shifts in Bolshevik national policy, particularly the 1933–1935 campaign against “nationalist sabotage” in translation. The study contrasts the approaches of the 1920s, which emphasized stylistic fidelity and cultural autonomy (“homologous translation” or “translation-stylization” as defined by Volodymyr Derzhavin), with the imposed literalness and ideological conformity of the Stalin era, which favored orientation toward the Soviet reader, Russian language norms, and Soviet ideology (“analogous translation”). Case studies include retranslations of Nikolai Gogol's Taras Bulba (Andriy Nikovsky's 1930 version vs. Antin Khutoryan's 1935/1948 Russified edition) and Ethel Lilian Voynich's The Gadfly (Maria Lysychenko's 1928 Ukrainianized translation vs. Maria Ryabova's 1935 standardized version). Using bibliographic data, theoretical works, and textual comparisons, the article reveals how retranslation and revised editions contributed to the ideologization of translation norms, the erasure of names of repressed translators, and linguistic unification. The conclusion emphasizes that retranslation reflected the evolution of Ukrainian national identity, serving both as an instrument of domination and resistance, and highlights post-Stalin efforts in the mid-1950s and 1960s to revive authentic Ukrainian translation practices.