Civic resilience of ethnically polymorphic and heterogeneous Ukrainian society in the context of Russian aggression: origins and prospects

The results of population censuses and mass sociological surveys show the ethnolinguistic and, to a certain extent, ethnocultural polymorphism of Ukrainian citizens belonging to the ethnic Ukrainian majority and national minorities. Among the main signs of this polymorphism is the presence in all ethnic groups of a large proportion of people who say that their native language and preferred language of communication is Russian, not the language of their ethnic group. Many scholars and politicians have qualified this circumstance as a sign of the weakness of Ukrainian society and its social cohesion. For the Russian ruling class, this mischaracterisation created the illusion that Russia could easily conquer Ukraine and assimilate its citizens. The illusion has been dispelled by the growing social cohesion and civic resilience of Ukrainians of different ethnic and linguistic identities in the face of Russian aggression. The dominance of civic identity and civic values among members of Ukrainian society over ethnic and other social identities and values has become a major factor in the resilience of Ukraine and its community of citizens in the face of war.