SOURCES FOR STUDING THE HISTORY OF ZHOVKVA IN 1945–1991

Abstract

The systematic analysis of the available group of sources on the history of the development and formation of the urban space of Zhovkva in 1945–1991 is presented, their specifics and content are revealed. It is indicated that during the studied period, under the influence of political circumstances and socio-demographic changes, Zhovkva was renamed Nesterov in order to fit it into the Soviet narrative and erase the multinational history of the city.The main groups of sources of the investigated problem are highlighted: materials of the State Archive of Lviv Region, local archives, newspapers, censuses. Protocols and decisions of the city council, which outline its activities: from the adoption of the budget to the renaming of streets, as well as the reports of the commissions of the executive committee, materials of district election commissions, meetings of city residents are analyzed. The work of the district council, the prosecutor’s office, the police, and penal authorities, which directly or indirectly influenced the lives of residents, is partially illustrated.For the first time, the personal affairs of those accepted and excluded from the party from the local and visiting population of Zhovkva are highlighted. The materials of the local information space are singled out – the columns of which show the work of district and city authorities, organizations, party, educational congresses and conferences, historical newspaper «New Life» intelligence and narratives about Nesterov’s «new heroes», reports on current events, satirical stories and caricatures of «Nestorovsky pepper». It is noted that the census materials illustrate fragmentary data from the sphere of employment of the city’s population. It is emphasized that the official materials are the product of a clear selection of the material by its nature, which was created under the control of the party, and newspapers under the close supervision of the censorship, in which they tried to form a non-existent ideal image of Nesterov and the «residents of the country of the Soviets».It is claimed that it is necessary to selectively choose the information presented in the sources and critically treating it. It is asserted that the involvement of such a range of sources made it possible to construct the image of the city and its inhabitants in Soviet times.