ORAL HISTORY SOURCES ON THE EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY AND THE UNFOLDING OF AGGRESSION BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATIONAGAINST UKRAINE IN THE TERRITORY OF THE ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION (November 2013 – May 2014)

Abstract

Studying the Revolution of Dignity and the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine in the Zaporizhzhia region through the lens of oral history sources is important and relevant. The events of the Revolution of Dignity and the beginning of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, which took place between November 2013 and May 2014, became a turning point in the modern history of Ukraine. It was these changes that determined the further 

direction of the socio-political development of the state, the formation of civic identity and the affirmation of the European choice.

The historical context of the events of the Revolution of Dignity and the unfolding of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine in the Zapor-izhzhia region is both interesting and specific. On 21 November 2013, the Ukrainian government, led by former President Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, abandoned the course towards European inte-gration and the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU.

At the same time, these events are relatively recent, so the preservation and scientific analysis of the memories of their direct participants and eyewit-nesses is of particular importance. Oral historical sources allow us not only to reconstruct the course of events, including at the regional level, but also to recreate the emotional and psychological dimension of social processes, which is not always recorded in written or official documents.

In the context of hybrid warfare and information manipulation, it is partic-ularly important to preserve the authentic testimonies of citizens who were direct participants in the Revolution of Dignity, its components, Euromaidan and Antimaidan, and the subsequent unfolding of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, particularly in the Zaporizhzhia region. The in-terviews demonstrate, to a certain extent, the peculiarities of the course of events in the settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region.

Therefore, the systematisation, analysis and critical examination of oral tes-timonies contribute to the formation of a coherent national narrative, coun-teract the distortion of historical memory and are of great importance for the historiography of modern Ukraine. That is why the study of oral historical sources from this period is relevant.