Pavlo Skoropadsky: Life Through Own Ego-Sources (Letters, Diaries, Memoirs)

The purpose of the work is to attempt a comprehensive analysis of sources of personal origin created by Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky (1873–1945) during his life, first as an imperial officer, a participant in two wars in the beginning of the 20th century, then as Hetman of All Ukraine and Cossack troops (1918), and on emigration (1919–1945). Such ego-sources present a different, sometimes even an alternative picture of Hetman’s activities, ideas and aspirations as one of the prominent political figures of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921, later as the leader and standard of the Ukrainian monarchist movement in emigration. The methodology of the article is based on general scientifi c principles of historical research, comprehensive analysis and synthesis of the source base, cross-comparison of scientific criticism of ego-sources. The scientific novelty consists in carrying out a complex analysis of sources of personal origin created by P. Skoropadsky, a cross-comparison of the informational value, potential and significance of his correspondence, diaries, memoirs. Based on this, widespread negative views of Hetman are refuted. Conclusions. The epistolary, diary and memoir heritage left by P. Skoropadsky should be recognized as the largest one in comparison with similar sources of M. Hrushevsky and V. Vynnychenko. The research carried out allows us to draw conclusions about the extraordinary importance of Hetman’s ego-documents for elucidating his very figure. They reveal not only his life circumstances, but also his thoughts, aspirations, plans and motives for actions. The information reflected there can disprove widespread myths about his conservatism, reactionary, pro-Russian attitude. All three types of ego-sources are genetically interconnected. Their complex analysis allows us to talk about the different level of frankness of P. Skoropadsky – from the greatest in his letters to his wife Oleksandra, to the least in his diaries. As for memoirs addressed to a wide readership, there we find self-censorship, inaccurate presentation of circumstances or characteristics of the persons mentioned. Therefore, the only way to investigate ego-sources is to crosscomparison them. References: 1. Hyrych, I. (Comp.) (2017). Skoropadskyi Pavlo. Spohady. Kinets 1917 – hruden 1918 [Pavlo Skoropadsky. Memoirs. The end of 1917 – December 1918] (E. Honcharyk, Trans.). Kyiv: Nash format. [in Ukrainian].2. Skoropadskyi Pavlo. Spomyny [Pavlo Skoropadsky. Memories] (1992). Kyiv: Ukraina. [in Ukrainian].3. Osaulenko, L. & Zasiekin, V. (2003). Hetman Ukrainy Pavlo Skoropadskyi: 29 kvitnia 1918 r. – 14 hrudnia 1918 r. [Hetman of Ukraine Pavlo Skoropadsky: April 29, 1918 – December 14, 1918]. Vol. 1. Lutsk. [in Ukrainian].4. Papakin, H. (2001). Shchodennyky Pavla ta Oleksandry Skoropadskykh 1904–1917 rr.: istoriia vedennia, zberihannia, znyknennia; sproba rekonstruktsii [Diaries of Pavel and Oleksandra Skoropadsky 1904–1917: history of keeping, storage, disappearance; an attempt at reconstruction]. Arkhivoznavstvo. Arkheohrafiia. Dzhereloznavstvo: mizhvidomchyi zb. nauk. prats, 3, 433–446. Kyiv. [in Ukrainian].5. Papakin, H. (2002). Lysty z 1917 roku (Korespondentsiia Pavla Skoropadskoho chasiv Liutnevoi revoliutsii v Rosii) [Letters from 1917 (Correspondence of Pavel Skoropadsky during the February Revolution in Russia)]. Arkhivy Ukrainy, 1–3, 81–112. [in Ukrainian].6. Papakin, H. (2006). Nevidomyi shchodennyk Pavla Skoropadskoho periodu rosiisko-yaponskoi viiny 1904–1905 rokiv [The unknown diary of Pavel Skoropadsky during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905]. Arkhivy Ukrainy, 1–6, 412–418. [in Ukrainian].7. Pelenskyi, Ya. (Ed.) (1995). Skoropadskyi Pavlo. Spohady. Hruden 1917 – hruden 1918 [Pavlo Skoropadsky. Memoirs. December 1917 – December 1918]. Filadelfiia. [in Ukrainian].8. Pelenskyi, Ya. (Ed.), Hyrych, I. (Comp.) (2016). Skoropadskyi Pavlo. Spohady. Kinets 1917 – hruden 1918.[ Pavlo Skoropadsky. Memoirs. The end of 1917 – December 1918]. Kyiv: Nash format. [in Ukrainian].9. Skoropadskyi Pavel. Vospomynanyia. Konets 1917 h. – dekabr 1918 h. [Skoropadsky Pavel. Memories. Late 1917 – December 1918] (2020). Kharkiv: Folio. [in Russian].10. Skoropadskyi, P. (1936). Ukrainska kulturna pratsia za Hetmanshchyny 1918 r. [Ukrainian cultural work during the Hetmanate in 1918]. Nasha kultura, 4, 243–247. Varshava. [in Ukrainian].11. Tereshchenko, Yu. (Ed.) (2019). Skoropadskyi Pavlo. Spomyny. Kinets 1917 – hruden 1918 [Pavlo Skoropadsky. Memories. The end of 1917 – December]. (N. Svitlychna, Trans.). Kyiv, Tempora. [in Ukrainian].12. Uryvok zi «Spomyniv» hetmana Pavla Skoropadskoho: 1-y Ukrainskyi korpus [Excerpt from «Memoirs» of Hetman Pavel Skoropadsky: 1st Ukrainian Corps] (1922/1923). Khliborobska Ukraina, 4(7/8), 3–40. Viden. [in Ukrainian].13. Uryvok zi «Spomyniv» hetmana Pavla Skoropadskoho: vid pochatku 1918 r. do proholoshennia hetmanstva [Excerpt from the «Memoirs» of Hetman Pavel Skoropadsky: from the beginning of 1918 to the proclamation of the Hetmanship]. (1924/1925). Khliborobska Ukraina, 5, 31–92. Viden. [in Ukrainian].14. Vynnychenko, V. K. & Kostiuk, H. (Ed.) (1983). Shchodennyk. [Diary]. (1921–1925). (Vol. 2). Edmonton–Niu-York: Kanadskyi instytut ukrainskykh studii. [in Ukrainian].

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