OLHA BEZRUKOVA, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Вranch Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (4d / 510a, Acad. Hlushkova Ave., Kyiv, 03680)

o.bezrukova@knu.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4305-6218

OLEKSANDR ZUBCHENKO, PhD in Sociologу, Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Sociology, Mariupol State University (6, Preobrazhenska St., Kyiv, 03037)

o.zubchenko@mu.edu.ua

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6748-3981

The article presents an attempt at a comprehensive sociological understanding of the phenomenon of collaborationism in the context of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. Collaborationism is examined as a form of deviant social behavior that arises under conditions of external political domination and occupation, manifesting in the conscious cooperation of individuals or social groups with a hostile regime. The authors emphasize the need to expand the legal interpretation of collaborationism by incorporating sociological categories, which allows for consideration of a broad range of motivations, contexts, and forms of such behavior. Through the lens of sociological approaches, collaborationism is analyzed by type: military, political, economic, administrative, cultural-ideological, educational, and socio-domestic. Special attention is given to analyzing the factors contributing to the spread of collaborationist practices in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including humanitarian vulnerability, infrastructural collapse, political disorientation, post-Soviet cultural inertia, religious influence, and others. Using the example of the temporarily occupied territories in southern Ukraine, the article analyzes the social, cultural, and political formats through which collaborationist practices have spread. To underscore the relevance of the topic, the authors employ both qualitative and quantitative methods to support their theoretical conclusions. The importance of developing state policy based on a differentiated approach to the identification of forms and motivations of collaborationism is substantiated, with the aim of ensuring social cohesion in the context of post-war reintegration.

Keywords: collaborationism, social behavior, occupation, Russian-Ukrainian war

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Received 05.08.2025

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The nature and dimensions of contemporary collaborationism in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine: a sociological interpretation

stmm. 2025 (4): 51-82

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.04.051

Full text: https://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2025-4/5.pdf