The Academic Stature and Achievement of the Historian A. H. Sliusarskyi in the Perception of His Colleagues and Students

Abstract

The article is concerned with contemporary appraisals of the academic influence and achievement of Anton Hryhorovych Sliusarskyi (1900(1901)–1980) – historian, doctor of historical sciences, professor, and dean of the Faculty of History of Kharkiv University from 1947 to 1962. Based on the materials of the scholar’s personal file, preserved in the archives of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, and other sources, the author considers the relationship between Sliusarskyi’s life path and his development as a scholar. After the end of World War II, Sliusarskyi served as dean of the Faculty of History of A. M. Gorky Kharkiv State University and took an active part in the post‑war reconstruction of the university and the faculty. The 20th Congress of the CPSU in 1956 marked the start of the period of de‑Stalinization and ‘thaw’, which spurred new trends in historical scholarship and education. In particular, the late 1950s and 1960s witnessed advances in the fields of special historical disciplines, archival studies, local history, and more. Sliusarskyi, whose main research focus was the history of Sloboda Ukraine, became a kind of ‘precursor’ of the local history movement in the Kharkiv region, and his activities as the head of the Kharkiv branch of the UTOPIK (Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture) helped bring to the fore the need to safeguard the region’s cultural heritage. Most memoirists positively evaluate Sliusarskyi’s performance as dean. A rare exception, likely related to a personal grudge, is found in the memoirs of doctor of historical sciences, professor I. K. Rybalko. Commentary on Sliusarskyi’s academic work and reviews of his publications began to appear in the scholar’s lifetime. At first, these were brief notes, remarks, and photos in newspapers; later came more detailed characterizations. Sliusarskyi’s name figures in encyclopedic and reference works, such as ‘Faculty of the Higher Schools of the Ukrainian SSR’ (1968) and others. It must be acknowledged, however, that a general appraisal of the scholar’s legacy remains a task for the future, since, with a few isolated exceptions, his name is found almost exclusively in the writings of researchers of Sloboda Ukraine, and even then with little attention to his overall academic contribution.