Рукописна та книжкова спадщина України (Jan 2024)
"Springtime of the Peoples" of 1848- 1849 and its reflection in documentary heritage of Naddniprianska Ukraine (based on archival materials of Kyiv, Podillia and Volyn provinces)
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to reveal important manifestations of the pan-European revolutionary process of 1848-1849 in the archival documents of the Kyiv, Podillia, and Volyn Governorates against the background of a generalised picture of the leading trends in its development. The research methodology is based on the principle of historicism, systemic and civilisational approaches, historical-genetic and comparative-historical methods, which makes it possible to apply the method of critical analysis and interpretation of sources in the historical and cultural context. Scientific novelty. The article, based on documents, including those first introduced into scientific circulation, of the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Kyiv and the Institute of Manuscript of the V.I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine, high lights important manifestations of public sentiment and reaction to the events of the "Spring time of the Peoples" in Europe in the territories of the Kyiv, Podillia and Volyn Governorates in the broader context of conceptual understanding of the significance of the revolutionary process of 1848-1849 for the formation of European political and legal culture. Conclusions. Despite the defeat of the "Springtime of the Peoples" of 1848-1849, the complex of cultural and ideological concepts, socio-political processes, national liberation movements, and international relations associated with it largely determined the ways of further development of European civilisation. The events of this historical era laid the foundations for future large-scale modernisation processes, transformations and reforms that had a profound impact on the formation of Europe’s modern political culture with its basic concepts of civil society and the rule of law. The national and cultural upsurge also encompassed the Ukrainian lands that were part of the Habsburg monarchy, while in the territory of the Naddniprianska Ukraine the tsarist government took measures to counteract the spread of information about revolutionary events in Europe. The analysis of documents from the office of the governor general of Kyiv, Podillia, and Volyn, the office of the trustee of the Kyiv educational district, and personal sources allows us to reconstruct important aspects of the mood of the local public through the prism of the supervisory and repressive activities of the state authorities of the Russian Empire. In particular, they recorded the facts of the dissemination of information about revolutions in Europe, the improvement of the situation of peasants in Galicia, and found banned literature and anti-government works that condemned the tsarist foreign policy.
