The article deals with the problem of the life choices of the Ukrainian intelligentsia in the conditions of the defeat of the national revolution of 1917-1921 and establishment of the Soviet government; the analysis is carried out from the point of historical-anthropological and sociological approaches.Researching problems of intelligentsia as a social phenomenon are analyzed in the article. Іntelligentsia and its functions is considered in the structure of public activity. The author describes principal approaches and tries to uncover possibilities of philosophical study of this theme. The article describes the heteronomous and autonomous strategies of self-realization of the intellectuals, different types of ideological positioning and behavioral reactions in the conditions of loss of freedom and forming a totalitarian regime, the resources of resistance and revival were highlighted.