Study of the Okhmativ Battle (1655) in Polish historiography

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to study the features of the depiction of the battle between the Polish-Tatar and Cossack-Muscovite troops near Okhmativ in 1655 in the works of Polish historians of the second half of the 19th – early 21st centuries, to determine the evolution of its historiographic image. The methodological basis of the article is a comparative-historical analysis of historiographic facts, based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The work used general scientific methods, such as analysis and synthesis, comparison, systematization, classification and comparison, as well as special-historical research methodology, in particular the historical-genetic method and criticism of historical sources. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the reflection of the first in domestic historiographic studies of the specifics of the depiction of the events of the Battle of Okhmativ in the works of Polish historians. Conclusions. As a result, it is noted that the military campaign of the fall of 1654 – winter of 1655 and the Battle of Okhmativ, which were part of the national liberation war of the Ukrainian nation in the middle of the 17th century, were perhaps most deeply reflected in the works of Polish historians who worked from the second half of the 19th century to the present. In Polish historiography, the image of the Battle of Okhmativ in 1655 underwent a certain evolution from rather superficial mentions in more general studies of the history of Poland, which appeared in the works of the 19th century, to special studies of the events of the military campaign of the end of 1654 – the beginning of 1655 in the works of modern Polish scholars. The assessment of the results of the Battle of Okhmativ by historians has also undergone changes. Thus, in the conclusions of historians from the 19th century, it was seen as an unequivocal victory for the Polish side, but already at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. it was reassessed and researchers saw it as an armed clash that did not bring a decisive advantage to either side, but led to significant losses. Modern research reveals a departure from the uncritical repetition of the image of events, attested in Polish sources of the 17th century, and various biased anti-Ukrainian stereotypes, which often took place in the works of Polish historians of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, and a transition to a detailed analytical study of the topic, depicting it from the positions of both sides of the conflict.