NATIONAL COMMUNITIES OF ZHYTOMYR POLISSIA: A HISTORICAL AND CULTUROLOGICAL REVIEW OF INTERETHNIC INTERACTION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to conduct a historical and cultural review of interethnic interactions of national communities of the Zhytomyr region in the light of an ecosystem approach, which allows us to understand culture as a dynamic system of interdependent elements. Research results: this article examines the multicultural environment of Zhytomyr Polissia through the lens of an ecosystem approach to the analysis of traditional culture. Particular attention is paid to the forms of interethnic interaction, exemplified by the titular ethnos–Ukrainians–and the ethnic communities of Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Roma, Jews, and Germans. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the implementation of a comprehensive historical and cultural analysis of interethnic interaction in Zhytomyr Polissya through the prism of an ecosystem approach, which allows us to consider national communities as interconnected elements of a single cultural space. The work systematizes for the first time the manifestations of ethnocultural interaction (linguistic, musical, ritual, everyday) in the context of preserving regional identity and cultural sustainability of the Polissya environment. The author proposes interpreting these processes as elements of sustainable cultural coexistence and mutual enrichment within a multiethnic ecosystem. Conclusions. Zhytomyr Polissia is a unique region where national communities not only coexisted but also created a shared, polyphonic, flexible, and resilient multicultural ecosystem. Interethnic interaction was not an exception but rather a natural state of the regional culture, in which both diversity and mutual respect were maintained. The interethnic interaction among the national communities of Zhytomyr Polissia serves as an example of how culture can function as an interdependent and adaptive ecosystem. Preserving this ecosystem is a task for contemporary humanitarian policy, education, and cultural development, where it is important to perceive tradition not as a museum piece, but as a living organism that requires support, attentive listening, and renewal.