V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University Bulletin History of Ukraine. Ukrainian Studies: Historical and Philosophical Sciences

Apollon Matushynskyi vs Oleksandr Tverdokhliebov: family resemblance of two portraits and biographies.

Valentyna Bezdrabko — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose of the article. to carry out a comparative analysis of the biographies of A. M. Matushynskyi and O. D. Tverdokhliebov in order to identify the structural dimensions of their life experience; to outline the factors that shaped their personal and professional identity; to reveal how different social environments produced an inner affinity of their worldview orientations; and to determine the significance of the photographic portrait as a historical source for biographical studies.

Research methodology. The study applies methods of scholarly criticism of historical sources, including empirical-descriptive, comparative, analytical-synthetic, palaeographic, and textological approaches. The biographical method is used to identify individuals mentioned in the sources. The historical-geographical method is applied to localize toponyms.

Scientific novelty. A matrix of life‑experience dimensions of A. M. Matushynskyi and O. D. Tverdokhliebov has been applied, along with examples of shared meanings and symbols present in their biographies. Attention is drawn to the photographic portrait as a historical source, particularly its informational potential and its importance for biographical studies. The study offers the first systematic clarification of a number of biographical details about O. D. Tverdokhliebov that had long been reproduced in scholarly and reference literature without proper verification. In particular, it refutes the widespread claim that he had formal historical training and establishes that he did not graduate from the Historical‑Philological Faculty of Kharkiv University; it clarifies the status of his relations with the Kharkiv Historical‑Philological Society, showing that despite repeated appeals he was never admitted as a member; it corrects assumptions about his archival work, demonstrating that he was neither the first archivist of the Society’s archive nor the sole compiler of the Chernihiv archive; it questions the claims regarding his alleged 50‑year teaching career at the Okhtyrka District School; and it disproves the assertion that he received hereditary nobility, establishing instead that Tverdokhliebov held only personal nobility. The study also introduces evidence of at least eleven previously unknown works by him. Taken together, these clarifications form a new reconstruction of O. D. Tverdokhliebov’s life path, free from entrenched but inaccurate biographical narratives, and provide a foundation for further research into the activities and intellectual legacy of this Slobozhanshchyna local historian.

Conclusions. In the context of biographical studies, the application of a comprehensive approach becomes essential. Owing to its visual nature, the photographic portrait holds unique value as a historical source for biography research, as it not only captures a person’s appearance but also preserves information about the era, social status, emotional state, and life context. The biographies of A. M. Matushynskyi and O. D. Tverdokhliebov, seemingly different at first glance, reveal a striking closeness. Their familial portrait resemblance, which initially appears to be merely a biographical detail, acquires deeper meaning upon a careful reading of their life stories. Through the prism of their biographies, family histories, external social and intellectual environments, and personal creative practices, their portraits «speak» more – and in resonance. A matrix of multifaceted life dimensions – creative, cognitive, aesthetic, political, and social – forms the foundation of biographical inquiry and demonstrates their affinity not only through genealogical ties but also through an inner closeness between two individuals who lived and worked in different cultural environments yet perceived the world similarly and recognized their own mission within it. Prospects for further research include a detailed examination of their biographies, the compilation of bibliographic indexes, the archeographic preparation of manuscripts for publication, and the renewed focus on studying iconographic documents as a distinct type of source.

The emergence of business on football in Kyiv.

Dmytro Mykolenko — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the article is to study the process of the emergence of the first business projects related to football in Kyiv at the beginning of the 20th century.

Research methodology. The research problem is solved by applying the concept of commercialization of sports. The use of comparative analysis is important for the study.

The scientific novelty of the article lies in determining the chronological boundaries of the process of forming football business in Kyiv and its types, clarifying the socio-economic factors that contributed to the formation of entrepreneurial activity in this sport, as well as revealing typical Kyiv and Kharkiv and purely Kyiv phenomena and practices related to the sphere of football business.

Conclusions. Football business in Kyiv developed as a component of the process of urban modernization and the formation of an industrial society. It emerged at the intersection of cultural borrowing, urbanization, press development, and entrepreneurial initiative, laying the foundations for the further evolution of the commercialization of sport in Ukraine. The emergence of local football entrepreneurship dates back to 1907, when the first advertisements appeared in the press offering Kyiv residents methodological recommendations for the game. Over the following decade, such areas of entrepreneurial activity as the sale of football equipment, gear, and match tickets were formed, as well as the advertising of sporting goods in the urban press. At the beginning of the 20th century, a market for domestic and imported football equipment was formed in Kyiv, oriented toward an urban environment with medium and high-income levels.

Formation of a network of women’s health care facilities in Kharkiv at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century

Olga Nikolaienko, Natalia Oleshko — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

gynecological care to women in the city of Kharkiv in the late 19th – early 20th centuries.

Methodology: The study is based on the application of general scientific and historical methods. Statistical methods allow for the analysis of quantitative indicators of the activities of obstetric and gynecological hospitals in the city of Kharkiv. A comprehensive approach includes an analysis of the activities of individual doctors and societies that influenced the state and quality of women's health care in the city.

Scientific novelty: Analysis of the formation of a network of women's health care institutions, the specifics of their services, the professional composition of employees, and the social status and place of residence of patients allows us to identify the level of medical services provided to the female population of one of the largest cities in Ukraine, which influenced the quality of life in the city and province.

Relevance: Analysis of the network of medical institutions for women's health care allows us to identify the level of provision of obstetric and gynecological services to women, which directly affects the reproductive health and standard of living of women in large cities. The experience of cooperation between doctors, city authorities and grantors in the early 20th century, who laid the foundations for specialised obstetric and gynecological medicine, can be useful for understanding the success of the Soviet project to modernise women.

Conclusions: For example, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a network of women's health care facilities was established and expanded. The tradition of turning to midwives was gradually replaced by turning to specialists – certified midwives and later – professional institutions where pregnancy and childbirth were monitored. The active public stance of doctors, expressed in their advocacy for the expansion of the network of professional medical care facilities for women, became the basis for the allocation of funds by local authorities and grantors for the construction of hospitals and maternity wards. Thanks to municipal funding from the city budget and local councils, specialised hospitals were established in Kharkiv to provide women with professional medical services. The presence of a university with a medical faculty that trained specialists, as well as the active organisational activities of individual doctors, such as E. S. Drenteln, contributed to obstetric and gynecological services becoming more widespread and accessible.

Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kharkiv and Okhtyrka: on the question of his activities at the head of the diocese (second half of 1914 - first half of 1915).

Dmytro Chornyi — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research aim. The article examines the motivation, methods, and actions of the archbishop, the features of implementing Russification policies, gaining the support of the local community, propaganda skills, and the possibility of interpreting his activities in Ukraine through the lens of dual loyalty.

Methodology of the research. The methodology of the work is based on approaches of historical biographistics, in particular historical-critical, genealogical, typologization, reconstruction of facts and events from the life of a figure, reproduction of the social and intellectual portrait of a historical personality, namely mental boundaries, values, and motives of actions.

The scientific novelty. Archbishop Anthony managed to convince the local community that he would be maximally focused exclusively on diocese matters. He took every opportunity to be present in the public space while skillfully concealing his true intentions. Resorting to manipulations: asking not to be involved in matters in Saint Petersburg, he nevertheless traveled to the capital at the first opportunity to take part in meetings of the Holy Synod; denying current contacts with Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, he closely monitored the state of Ukrainian society in the occupied Ukrainian lands of Habsburg Empire; worked to implement the expansionist goals of the Russian government in the field of providing Ukrainian-speaking priests for Eastern Galicia and in the Russification of Ukrainian orphans.

Conclusions. An analysis of Archbishop Anthony's activities in the Kharkiv province allows us to speak of his skillful use of techniques from the arsenal of political technology and manipulative practices, cleverly presented under the guise of protecting the interests of the Orthodox Church and the local population. At the same time, he implemented measures adopted by the Holy Synod to elevate the status of priests, monks and exert emotional influence on the faithful persistently and expertly. He was and remained a person of right-conservative views, a supporter of the "Russian world." throughout his life. There is no reason to characterize Anthony's views and activities as a manifestation of dual loyalty.

The Kharkiv period in the activities of ukrainian ambassadors of the first convocation to the Second Polish Republic sejm.

Ruslana Davydiuk — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Aim of the study. The biography of a left-wing Ukrainian ambassadors group of the first convocation to the Parliament of the Second Polish Republic is traced, with emphasis on the preconditions and reasons for their departure to Soviet Ukraine and their activities during the Kharkiv period, which ended with their arrest and execution.

The research methodology is based on analytical and chronological methods, structuring, critical approaches in the analysis of historical documents.

Scientific novelty. The identification and verification of materials from archival criminal cases on a group of Ukrainian ambassadors to the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic of the first convocation made it possible to reconstruct the Kharkiv period of their activities and establish their fate after their departure to Soviet Ukraine.

Conclusions. In the Parliament of the Second Polish Republic in its first convocation (1922-1927), a group of Ukrainian ambassadors representing the western Ukrainian lands and holding radical left-wing positions was formed. Considering internal and external circumstances, they left the Ukrainian parliamentary representation, formed a social democratic faction, and later a communist faction. Active public figures, who were involved in the the First World War and the Ukrainian Revolution, got a mandate, organised embassy meetings, submitted individual interpellations, group deputy appeals, spoke from the Sejm tribune, trying to defend the rights of the Ukrainian population in Poland. Their dissemination of radical left-wing ideas led to difficult relations with the Polish authorities, resulting in detentions and short-term arrests. Five ambassadors, who had established contacts with the Soviet consulate, chose the Ukrainian SSR as their future home and venue for their activities. One of them died shortly after leaving, as a result of illness. The other four, after briefly collaborating with the communist regime, were accused of belonging to the mythical «Ukrainian Military Organisation» and sentenced. During the Great Terror, they were once again sentenced and shot on charges of collaborating with foreign intelligence services.

Civil, occupation administration in Transnistria, its structure and personnel collaboration (1941-1944).

Mykola Mykhailutsa — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the study is to summarize a wide range of existing knowledge, using a variety of source cases, and to propose a reliable structure of the administrative structure and personnel policy in municipal civil authorities, to determine the relationship between the collaboration of the local population with the Romanian occupation administration in the "Transnistria Governorate" during 1941–1944.

Research methodology. The work is based on the well-known principles of historicism, systematics, quantitative analysis, objectivity, analysis and synthesis, source novelty, and heuristics of historical data.

Scientific novelty. The research is based on primary Romanian-language documents of Romanian origin from a wide range of holdings of archival institutions in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine, which significantly strengthens the scientific product compared to existing research on this issue and provides answers to little-known questions regarding the essence and nature of the civil administration of the Romanian occupation authorities in the southwestern Ukrainian lands and the statistical analysis of the collaboration of the occupied population, in particular officials, employees, and specialists.

Conclusions. Based on a set of documentary materials and statistical data, it is concluded that the Romanian administration in Transnistria was civil in nature, structurally branched and tightly controlled vertically. The top of the administrative system was generated at the expense of Romanian functionaries sent from Romania and Bessarabia, but due to the lack of personnel and attempts to flirt with the occupied population, mainly offended by the communist regime in the pre-war years, the Romanians were forced to involve former Soviet administrators, engineering and technical workers, middle and lower-level officials in cooperation. The ratio of representatives of the local population and Romanian citizens who worked in the Romanian occupation administration system was approximately 4:1. The high level of cooperation of the local population with the occupying Romanian authorities is a characteristic and distinctive feature of the occupation regime in Transnistria, which, compared to the Nazi regime of the German Reich, was significantly more liberal in some respects (entrepreneurship, trade, education, religious and cultural life). It can be confidently stated that among those who collaborated with the Romanian administration, the exception was persons of Jewish and Roma nationality, who were not taken into service in the special services and local authorities, on the contrary – they were subjected to extermination and deportation. Their representatives were completely excluded from the socio-economic, socio-cultural and everyday life of Transnistria. Otherwise, the Romanian authorities did not practice overt ethnic discrimination when hiring local people for work in the state and economic structures of the Transnistrian governorate, although preferences were extended to ethnically related Moldovans and allies in the anti-communist bloc – local Germans. It is very difficult to quantitatively determine the ethnic and social composition of local and involved collaborators, which could become the subject of further research.

Microhistorical dimension of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war: individual experience of representatives of the Kharkiv diaspora.

Yaroslav Shkabura — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of the article is to analyze the individual experience of diaspora representatives located in Kharkiv in the conditions of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war through the application of a microhistorical approach, in particular, in identifying identity transformations, solidarity practices, and survival strategies in a situation of existential threat.

The research methodology is based on the principles of oral history, a microhistorical approach and interdisciplinarity. The source basis is interviews recorded in 2025 within the framework of the project “Those Who Remained: Stories of Residents of the Kharkiv Region”, implemented by the Center for Urban History of Central and Eastern Europe. The methods of narrative analysis, comparison and contextualization of personal testimonies with a broader socio-cultural background were applied. Special attention is paid to the ethical aspects of recording and using oral history materials in conditions of ongoing war.

The scientific novelty lies in the introduction of new oral historical sources into scientific circulation and in the interpretation of the experience of the Iranian, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Bulgarian communities of Kharkiv through the prism of conscious choice.

The conclusions show that the war actualized the moral dimension of belonging: to stay meant to preserve dignity, responsibility and solidarity with the city. Volunteering, professional activity and creativity became at the same time forms of psychological adaptation and civic participation. In the analyzed interviews, Kharkiv is reflected as a space of multinational resilience, in which the common experience of danger consolidates different groups around the idea of responsibility for the future of Ukraine. The study demonstrates that the preservation of ethno-cultural identity is combined with deep integration into Ukrainian society, which refutes Russian propaganda narratives about alleged discrimination of minorities.

Inventing Ivan Fedorov: Imperial Historical Imagination in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century.

Pavlo Yeremieiev — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose. The article examines how the image of Ivan Fedorov was constructed in the historiography of the Romanov Empire in the first half of the nineteenth century and what role this figure played in shaping the imperial vision of the past.

Methods. The methodological framework of the study draws on the principles of the Cambridge School of intellectual history, the approaches of the “new imperial history,” and Maurice Halbwachs’s concept of the social conditioning of collective memory.

Scientific novelty. The study demonstrates that the ideological mechanisms underlying the formation of Ivan Fedorov’s image in the historical thought of the first half of the nineteenth century have not yet been subjected to a comprehensive and systematic analysis.

Conclusions. The article shows that historians of the first half of the nineteenth century integrated Ivan Fedorov into the grand narratives of imperial history, endowing his biography with features of progressivism and statism. His activity was interpreted as a step toward overcoming the state’s “backwardness” in relation to Western Europe, while the emergence of printing in Moscow was closely linked to the figure of Ivan the Terrible, reflecting the overall state-centered character of the discourse. In the biographies of the first printer, Church and Enlightenment were symbolically combined, whereas opponents of printing were rhetorically distanced from Orthodox tradition. A significant role in these interpretations was played by the Romantic concept of the “national spirit.” Ivan Fedorov’s life was inscribed into a general scheme of imperial history in which the Fatherland was defined in religious, political, and ethnic terms. At the same time, notions of the boundaries of “Russianness” remained blurred, which influenced interpretations of Fedorov’s activities on Ukrainian lands. The convergence of the concepts of Slavdom and Russianness reflected the impact of Pan-Slavist ideas, and his activity in Ukraine was presented primarily within the context of confrontation with Catholicism.

Western and Eastern Ukrainian Romanticism through the Prism of Almanacs: «Rusalka Dnistrovaja» («Mermaid of the Dniester») and «Lastivka» («The Swallow»).

Tetiana Tkachenko — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research aim. To analyze the dominants of Ukrainian romanticism based on the material of two publications – «Rusalka Dnistrovaya» and «Lastivka».

Methodology of the research. The study used general scientific and special philological methods, namely: analysis and synthesis, historical-descriptive, biographical and philological methods.

The scientific novelty. Territorially divided Ukrainians developed common romantic tendencies in contemporary publications, which became a source of culture and enlightenment, opposed mental originality to chauvinism and the assimilation policy of the occupiers and united the people. The choice of publications was determined by the comprehensive vision of the compilers, the holistic structure and national-centric orientation of the almanacs. The «successors» tended towards eclecticism, inconsistency of editorial policy, and conformism.

The inertia of romanticism is noticeable in the art and literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. The introduction of romantic ideas on Ukrainian soil, primarily the actualization of folklore and historical memory, contributed to the restoration of ethno-identification and formed the main national concepts for the revival of independent Ukraine. Almanacs were a kind of encyclopedias-chrestomathies that acted as «spokesmen» of romanticism – an outpost of the renewal of the essence of Ukrainians.

Conclusions. Thanks to the publishing activities of public and cultural figures who identified romanticism as the leading one, Ukrainians regained the rights to their language, literature, history, science and education. «Rusalka Dnistrovaya» and «Lastivka» proved the uniqueness and separateness of Ukrainians in order to be an independent and equal subject, first in the humanitarian discourse, and later in the political one. The main achievement of Yevhen Hrebinka and the «Ruska Trinity» was the affirmation of the equality and value of the Ukrainian language (only Ukrainian-language texts!), which unites the people, is a treasury of feelings and thoughts, and preserves the experience of ancestors. The priority of romanticism in almanacs became the initial impetus for self-awareness of oneself as a nation and Ukraine as a single state.

Secular historiography of religious sectarianism in the Kharkiv province (pre-Soviet period).

Viacheslav Pototsky — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose. The article aims to examine the secular historiography of the phenomenon of religious sectarianism in the Russian Empire as a whole and in the Kharkiv province in particular. The chronological frames of this study cover the period from 1861 to 1917. This is the time of the greatest development of informal religious groups in the region.

Research methodology. The methodological basis of the article is the principles of historicism and objectivity, implemented using a number of methods: general logical (analysis and synthesis), as well as classification, comparative, and periodization methods.

Scientific novelty. The works of secular researchers are considered according to the chronological-problematic principle, which allows us to trace the political-ideological orientation of many authors. In the case of specialists from among government officials, we are also talking about professional bias. The article proposes to consider several directions that have formed in the historiography of Ukrainian sectarianism.

Conclusions. Authors belonging to the official (establishmental) direction defended the position that religious dissidence is harmful to the country and the people, the idea of foreign origin of many spiritual movements, as well as the immorality and superstition of domestic sects. It was argued that all sects without exception are politically dangerous, and their activities are illegal.

The unofficial (liberal-Narodnik) direction of historiography arose simultaneously with the official one. It was aimed at opposing the latter in the formation of public opinion regarding sectarianism. Liberals focused on the progressive significance of dissidents in Russian and Ukrainian folk life. Along with this, studies of this direction provide a detailed history of the persecution of sectarians by the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church. Liberals saw the origins of religious dissent in the natural development of popular thought.

Populist authors were the first to try to show a direct connection between the emergence and spread of sectarianism and the social situation of the population in the Russian Empire. They recognized and emphasized the existence of government and church pressure on sectarians in the country, but, at the same time, criticized religious dissidence for its amorphous political position.

The idea of Narodnik researchers was picked up by representatives of the Marxist direction of historiography and developed into a holistic "socio-economic" theory about the origin and development of religious sectarianism in the Russian Empire. At the same time, they involved a large number of new sources in their work. The disadvantage of the Marxist pre-Soviet school in the study of Russian and Ukrainian sectarianism was the complete ignoring of the psychological factor.

Memory about Holodomor in the context of memoirs about the Second World War.

Tetiana Boriak — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research aim. Еo identify the peculiarities of memory of the Holodomor in Ukrainian society in the context of the Second World War experience.

Methodology of the research. The research is grounded in the principles of historicism and objectivity, with the primary methodologies employed being periodization and source analysis.

The scientific novelty. The results of the analysis of historical sources are presented to confirm the conclusions of other researchers regarding the continuity of memory of the Holodomor, by situating the Holodomor experience within the context of the Second World War.

Conclusions. The preserved historical sources allow us to speak about the continuity of memories of the Holodomor and their comparability with the experience of the Second World War in the eyes of the famine victims and survivors, from the perspective of the traumatic experience of both the Holodomor and the war. Ultimately, the study supports V. Hrynevych's thesis that the memory of the Holodomor serves as a safeguard against the imposition of Soviet Russian-centered identity.

This project has received funding through the MSCA4Ukraine project, which is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the MSCA4Ukraine Consortium as a whole nor any individual member institutions of the MSCA4Ukraine Consortium can be held responsible for them.

Cloth as an attribute of the coffin in the funeral rituals of the Ukrainian Polissya region

Olena Boriak — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this publication is to examine the funeral handwoven linen – one of the key elements of funeral rites – specifically its use in preparing the coffin, placing it beneath the body (back) of the deceased, and the regulations and motivations behind this practice.

Research Methodology The analysis is based on methods of narrative analysis of verbal text. Supporting methods include participant observation, semantic-structural and conceptual analysis.

The scientific novelty of this study lies in its examination of a little-known aspect of the ethnocultural “field” of homemade linen – a basic item of everyday life and, at the same time, an element of intangible cultural heritage. Similar to bread (which is recognized as an element influencing the formation of Ukrainian identity), homespun cloth embodies corresponding functional, semantic, and ethical-aesthetic value markers. Therefore, it must be regarded as an element of the spiritual heritage of Ukrainians that affirms our identity.

Conclusions Homespun fabric, considered as an element of the intangible cultural heritage of the Ukrainian Polissya (primarily from areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster), has proven its significance in the construction of regional ethnic identity. The handmade cloth serves as a symbolic ritual object. Placed under the back of the deceased when preparing the deceased’s body, it demonstrates an extraordinary variety of meanings. These include ensuring the deceased’s guaranteed passage to the “other” world, a smooth journey along this path, support/sustenance/carrying the deceased into the afterlife, and providing protection (for both the living and the deceased). The study of the use of household textiles in ritual contexts, particularly in funerary contexts, opens up possibilities for reconstructing the mythological worldview of the ancient Slavs. Likewise, it contributes to an understanding of established worldview concepts – life, well-being, and a secure existence.

Votive offerings from the XVIII–XX centuries near the icons in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic (Ruthenian Catholic) churches: based on materials from Volhynia, Galicia, Zakarpattia, and Podillia.

Volodymyr Moroz — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research aim. To analyze the practices of implementation, public representation, and preservation of votive gifts (vows, votive offerings, consecration gifts, vow gifts) in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic (previously Ruthenian Catholic) Churches of the 18th–20th centuries. Based on materials from monasteries and parishes in Volhynia, Galicia, Zakarpattia, and Podillia. To highlight the importance of researching this segment of piety, which, supported by the church authorities for centuries, formed a significant layer of spiritual phenomena and material culture artifacts, but was repressed by the Russian secular and church authorities, as well as the communist authorities as part of the policy of destroying the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Research aim. To analyze the practices of implementation, representation, and preservation of votive gifts (votive offerings, votive gifts, ex-voto gifts) in the Ruthenian Catholic i.e., Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Church of the 18th–20th centuries. Based on materials from monasteries and parishes in Volhynia, Galicia, Zakarpattia, and Podillia.

Scientific novelty. In this study, the culture of votive offerings is examined as a holistic phenomenon, rich in symbolism and governed by internal principles. In contrast, previous research has predominantly focused on its individual aspects or exclusively on specific artifacts, such as miraculous icons and the gifts placed beside them.

Conclusions. Analysis of information from archival and published sources from the 18th to 20th centuries from Ruthenian Catholic i.e., Ukrainian Greek Catholic, pilgrimage centers confirms the presence of icons that had official miraculous status or simply a corresponding reputation among believers, as well as a large number of votive offerings associated with spiritual and physical healing. In the tradition of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, gifts symbolizing gratitude to God from individuals who have already been healed have been and continue to be the norm throughout the centuries. Vows of gratitude, as an advance payment to God for future healing, did not develop widely due to their potential connection with magic: attempts to influence higher powers, to bribe them. Warnings against the temptation to “bribe God,” recorded in some folklore stories, were intended to illustrate the punishment for such attempts. Ordinary jewelry, specially made “votive tablets,” and “votive offerings in forma” were recorded as votive offerings in churches. The latter, in the form of hands, feet, hearts, and other organs and body parts, visually explained the meaning of human gratitude. A separate form of votive offerings was crowns for icons. This phenomenon later took on the character of official church acts, such as the coronation of revered shrines, with the highest being papal crowns, consecrated by the Pope. However, the widespread presence of crowns on various icons testifies to the existence of a tradition of “popular” coronation alongside the official one. Over time, some pilgrimage centers accumulated so many gifts from pilgrims that the most valuable ones had to be kept in treasuries. First, the persecution of the UGCC by the Russian authorities during the tsarist era, and then communist persecution, led to the destruction of the culture of consecrated gifts along with the structures of the Church. Nevertheless, this culture has been preserved in the western Ukrainian lands and has been revived.

Scientific Work of Kornii Cervyak on the Folk Culture of the Petty Gentry of the Korosten Region.

Oleksandr Vasianovych — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

SCIENTIFIC WORK OF KORNII CERVYAK ON THE FOLK CULTURE OF THE PETTY GENTRY OF THE KOROSTEN REGION

Purpose of the study. To summarize the research on the folk culture of the petty gentry by Kornii Chervyak, a little-known ethnologist who was repressed in 1933. To trace the influence of the scientist's scientific achievements on further ethnological research during the period of Ukraine's independence.

Research methodology. The scientific research principles of historicism, systematicity, and objectivity were used. Descriptive, comparative-historical, and historical-critical methods were applied.

Scientific novelty. For the first time, a comprehensive analysis has been conducted on the scientific output of K. Chervyak regarding the material and spiritual culture of the petty gentry of the Korosten region, alongside its evaluation by contemporary reviewers. The source database includes printed and archival materials.

Conclusions. The scientific achievements of Kornii Chervyak covers various aspects of the material and spiritual culture of the petty gentry: housing, clothing, funeral rites, and partially the occupations of the population. Due to a superior economic and, formerly, socio-political standing, the gentry succeeded in enriching its lifestyle with certain features intended to distance itself from the surrounding peasantry. Specifically, in domestic architecture, emphasis was placed on the dimensions and layout of the house, the use of non-stationary furniture, and the decoration of interiors with carpets. Women’s clothing shifted toward the use of store-bought fabrics; notably, sleeve embroidery was absent, while hemlines were richly adorned and skirts decorated with ruffles and lace. The gentry also sought to maintain caste-like exclusivity by avoiding intermarriage with peasants. The scholar-ethnologist's life position was organically manifested in his academic studies; being a sincere supporter of the Soviet regime, he quite objectively did not conceal its shortcomings and miscalculations. Despite the fragmentary nature of some of K. Chervyak's studies, today they constitute a valuable source base and contribute to an objective coverage of various aspects of the folk culture of the petty gentry of the Korosten region.

«Religious to the point of mysticism, fanatical, and strongly connected to the сhurch»: Old Believers of the Izmail Region in the perception of Soviet power (1945).

Alla Fedorova — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Research aim. The purpose of this publication is to introduce a report on the Old Believers in the Izmail Region into scientific circulation. The document was prepared by O. Ostapenko, Representative of the Council for Religious Cult under the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR for the Izmail Region, dated December 10, 1945, and is stored in the Izmail Executive Committee fund of the State Archives of the Odesa Region.

Research methodology. The study is based on general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, the principles of historicism and objectivity.

The scientific novelty. The published document contains valuable data on the number of Old Believers and their social composition, provides a detailed picture of their way of life, cultural and everyday characteristics (external registration of Old Believers, the conduct of church services, the celebration of church holidays, etc.), describes the hierarchical structure of Old Belief in the Izmail Diocese, demonstrates the relations between religious communities and their leaders and the Soviet authorities, and analyses the political sentiments of the Old Believers in the region, which had been part of Romania for several decades. With the arrival of Soviet power in 1940, the religious centre of the Old Believers was moved from Bila Krynytsia to the town of Breila. In 1945, there was a reorientation from the Bila Krynytsia Metropolis to the Moscow Archdiocese.

Conclusions. The document presented is ideologically biased, reflecting the view of Old Belief held by an official representative of the Soviet authorities. Above all, it reveals a generally dismissive attitude towards them as ‘fanatics’, ‘mystics’, the uneducated, and ‘Romanophiles’ who opposed Soviet power and its laws. The report traces the complex process of registering religious communities, engaging them in patriotic activities through fundraising, and carrying out targeted work, particularly among young people, to overcome ‘religious fanaticism’. The report provides an insight into the integration of Old Believers into Soviet society and the suppression of their religious identity. The source comments provided in the text help to understand the terms, names, etc. mentioned.

The 11th All-Ukrainian Scientific Conference “Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Biographical Studies: The Romantic Era in a Personal Dimension (to the 220th Anniversary of the Birth of Levko Ivanovych Borovykovskyi)”

Natalia Aksyonova , Olga Vovk, Maryna Domanovska — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An overview of the annual All-Ukrainian Scientific Conference on the theory and practice of biographical studies is presented. In 2026, the event was dedicated to the 220th anniversary of the birth of the prominent Ukrainian Romantic poet and Kharkiv University alumnus, Levko Ivanovych Borovykovskyi (1808–1889). His jubilee was recognized in the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On Commemorating Memorable Dates and Anniversaries in 2026–2027”.

10th All-Ukrainian Scientific and Theoretical Seminar on the Cycle “Everyday Life: Visions and Meanings”

Olga Kolyastruk, Natalia Zhmud — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On April 16–17, 2026, the 10th All-Ukrainian Scientific and Theoretical Seminar from the cycle “Everyday Life: Visions and Meanings” was held online at the Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University at the Faculty of History and International Relations on the topic: “Our (post)colonial past / present in the perspective of everyday life”.