PHALERISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE UKRAINIAN LIBERATION STRUGGLE (1917 – 1921) AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON MODERN PHALERISTICS

Abstract

The armed forces, as an important institution of the state, cannot exist without military traditions that rally and unite around the single common goal of protecting Motherland. Any army of the world always preserves military traditions of previous generations and cherishes glorious exploits of its ancestors, which is a guaranteed sign of various ranks military unit functioning.

The Ukrainian Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921 and its course caused the development of such a social and humanitarian component as encouragement of the Ukrainian soldiers for heroic deeds in the struggle for independent Ukraine. Name, design and decoration elements of that period awards inspired contemporary artist-researchers to incorporate them into modern phaleristics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For this purpose, during the specified period, certain steps were initiated to develop our own reward system, however, due to the military and political events during that period, it was not possible to implement all the efforts fully. The purpose of the research consists in the study of formation, development and functioning of the award system, which was formed during the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921, and its further influence on the formation of modern phaleristics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The methodological basis is the principles of historicism, systematicity and scientificity. In the course of the research, a historical and systemic approach, methods of macro-historical analysis have been used. The scientific novelty consists in the study actualization of awards issue initiation and development to honour soldiers and officers of the armed forces during the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921, identification of examples of borrowing elements, decoration projects of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921 and their use in the military awards design of the modern Armed Forces of Ukraine, implementation of legal succession of military and phaleristic traditions during modern phaleristics formation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, introduction of new sources into scientific circulation. The Conclusion. Despite a difficult military, political and economic situation, the ongoing armed struggle throughout the territory of Ukraine at that time, significant steps were taken to create and implement the Ukrainian award system during the Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921. It can be assumed that it was during the Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921 that the award system acquired characteristics of official state institutions, approved at the legislative level, which allowed the first awards formation examples to begin. Awards, as well as sketches of unrealized projects of awards from the time of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle of 1917 – 1921, became the prototypes of many Ukrainian awards, orders, medals and, in general, Ukrainian military phaleristics, which have been already embodied in our days and found their reflection in modern phaleristics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which in its turn confirms the observation of military traditions.

Key words: phaleristic heritage, legal succession of award issue, award issue, observation
of military traditions