ЛИТОВСЬКА СПАДЩИНА ЯК ЧИННИК ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОГО ВИБОРУ УКРАЇНИ

Abstract

The armed conflict in Donbass, as shown from its development during 2014–2017, compared to the frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus and Transnistria or post-communist wars in former Yugoslavia, is less ethnic and ideological by character, and is deeper axiological, value — civilizational character.
In a certain sense, it is related to contradictory dichotomic historical roots and cultural-civilizational dominants of the development of Eastern European space in institutional, socio-economic and geopolitical dimensions. In this context, the article considers examples of “axiological” wars for the
domination in the certain ethno-cultural space, the role of Lithuanian heritage in the historical genesis of the Ukrainian state and its impact on modern European choice of Ukraine. Particularly, during the XIV–XVI centuries, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania acted virtually as an equal rival of the Grand
Duchy of Moscow in the struggle for domination in the former Kyiv Rus lands. It is verified in specific examples, that commonality or similarity of cultural traditions and continuity of certain memorial and museum forms does not define the unity of behavior and aspirations of actors of the historical and political processes. The article determines directions and tools of preventing further fraction of dichotomy of ontological, moral, 15
political, geopolitical orientations inside Ukraine. Implementation of Ukraine’s European choice is seen by the author through a combination of social and liberal values with core cultural tradition of European Rus-Ukraine that permeates the entire array of national history, including common roots
of bookish language and culture, religion, folklore, powerful layer of joint history axiologically focused on Europe, able to provide a real national consensus.