Volodymyr Hnatiuk in ShevchenkoScientific Society: Chronicle of Events and Fate

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to understand the role of the Shevchenko Scientific Society and its leading figure – Academician Volodymyr Hnatiuk in the development of the Ukrainian national and cultural space at the "turn of the century". This is facilitated by the analysis of the little-known work of the scholar "Scientific Society named after Shevchenko in Lviv. Historical essay of the first 50th anniversary 1873 – 1923)". At the same time, the historical context in which Ukrainian scientific thought, literature and art developed during the periods when the Galician lands were part of Austria-Hungary, under the Moscow occupation during the First World War and under Polish rule is outlined. Documentary testimonies of eyewitnesses, especially of such a significant figure as V. Hnatiuk, appear not only as an eloquent example of factual literature,
but also as a significant factor for understanding the contemporary conditions of the development of philological science, humanitarianism in general, as well as the literary process, the integrity of Ukrainian development in the conditions of various political power.

The research was carried out with the involvement of analytical, historical-
chronological, historical-comparative methods, as well as a hermeneutic approach, which makes it possible to consider literary phenomena in broad extratextual contexts, taking into account a number of factors. The researched materials appear in a new light and contain valuable conclusions regarding the modern view of the cultural and historical processes that
took place in Galicia at the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th century in general, and the development of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in particular during this period.

On the one hand, the conclusions relate to the Shevchenko Scientific Society as a significant page in the history of the development of Ukrainian science, culture, society as a whole and its role in the formation of the Ukrainian nation with its own self-identity and individuality; on the other hand, the role of Academician V. Hnatiuk in this process and the importance of his Historical Essay on the Shevchenko Scientific Society. It is emphasized that without this Essay it is impossible to understand the trajectory of the Society's development, its principles and foundations, which were laid in the past for the ability to stand and develop in the future. Thanks to this Historical Essay, the new Ukrainian generation will be able to understand what problems Ukrainian writers, scientists and cultural figures of the past lived with, and what ideas for the future revival they passed on to representatives of the present.
This will contribute to a holistic view of the cultural, literary, scientific, social development, historical processes that took place in Galicia at the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th century.