The Younger Generation of National Minorities in Ukraine in the Context of Youth Policy of the Bolshevik-Soviet Government (Second Half of the 1920s – early 1930s)

The relevance of the problem under study is determined by the need to expand knowledge about the role and place of the younger generation of national minorities (Poles, Germans and Jews) in the processes of Sovietization of the Ukrainian village against the backdrop of socio-economic and political transformations of the second quarter of the 20th century. The aim of the study is to focus on the policy of the Bolshevik-Soviet authorities towards the Polish, German, and Jewish national minorities of Volyn’-Zhytomyr against the backdrop of the Sovietization of the Volhynian countryside in the mid-1920s and early 1930s; based on extensive source material, to reveal the methods and means of attracting local youth from national minorities to the ranks of the KSMU/LKSMU, and to characterize the anti-religious component of the Bolsheviks’ youth policy. The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, objectivity) and special historical methods (periodization, comparison, work with archival sources). The scientific research is based on the principle of historicism. Results. The article reveals the methods and means of implementing the youth policy of the Bolshevik authorities in relation to representatives of national minorities in Volyn’-Zhytomyr. The role of the Communist Party and the Komsomol in the process of re-educating young people is shown. Particular attention is paid to the anti-religious aspect of state policy towards the younger generation of Poles, Germans and Jews. Conclusions. During the period we have identified, rural youth of national minorities in Volyn’-Zhytomyr were the subject of close political interest on the part of the Bolshevik-Soviet authorities. The main principles of youth policy were developed by the CP(b)U, which also controlled the process of their implementation. The key organization responsible for educating the younger generation was the LKSMU. From the mid-1920s, the recruitment of representatives of national minorities into the ranks of the Komsomol was considered one of the most important tasks in the context of the Sovietization of the Volyn’ countryside. Anti-religious propaganda was an important component of youth policy. During the period under study, anti-church and anti-religious propaganda among representatives of national minorities did not have significant success.