The «Ukrainian Question» in the activities of the Liberal Zemtsy in Chernigiv Province (60-80th of the ХІХ c.)

Анотація

Abstract. Introduction. Purpose. Among the numerous programmatic principles of the Zemstvo liberal movement in the north of the Left Bank of Ukraine (60-80s of the XIX century) - an extremely relevant but little-studied problem of Ukrainian historical science, one of the least studied is the ethno-confessional policy of liberal Zemstvos of northern Ukraine. question ‘‘ in the Russian Empire. Since the representatives of the opposition front of the Northern Left Bank did not leave the descendants of the printed work, which was specifically devoted to this topic, it is very difficult to talk about its holistic vision of the Zemstvo liberation movement in the Russian Empire. Thus, the article attempts to crystallize the basic contours of the vision of the members of the progressive party on the “Ukrainian question”, using the historical sources we have found.

Results. Conclusion. The article, based on little-known and little-studied sources, shows the vision of the Zemstvo liberals of northern Ukraine on the “Ukrainian question” in the Russian Empire in the 60-80s of the XIX century. The author’s detailed analysis of historical documents showed that members of the Zemstvo opposition of the Northern Left Bank had formed a position on this issue at the beginning of their ascetic work. Archival sources convincingly prove that the “Ukrainian question” took its rightful place in the system of values and guidelines of the Zemstvo Liberal Party of Northern Ukraine. And although economic and social problems were dominant in the programmatic principles of the opposition aristocratic front, the Ukrainian cause did not find itself outside the coordinate system of ethno-confessional policy and the integral humanitarian program of the studied liberation movement in the Russian Empire. Even in the context of the functioning of anti-Ukrainian legislation in the Russian Empire, the Zemstvo Liberal Party of Northern Ukraine, risking its political future, continued to work for the good of the Ukrainian cause. Using legal and legitimate legal principles, basic laws of pedagogy and linguistics, advanced achievements of statistical science, which were difficult to oppose, progressive Zemstvos managed to systematically ask for the needs of Ukrainian-language educational literature and the need for at least primary education in their native Russian language. despotism was undoubtedly a civic feat.