THE HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS IS THE PINNACLE OF LOCAL HISTORY RESEARCH: THE EXPERIENCE AND LESSONS OF PREDECESSORS

Abstract

Abstract. The article analyzes the experience of predecessors – creators of the history of settlements with a projection on the activities of modern researchers in the preparation, writing and publication of the history of cities and villages of Ukraine. In 1990, the head of the main editorial board of the 26-volume «History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR» in his report at the founding congress of the All-Ukrainian Union of Local Historians identified among the priority tasks the preparation of a new historiographic edition of the history of settlements of Ukraine. After all, half a century has passed since the publication of the last volume of the «History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR». One of the reasons is the high level of ideological bias of previous projects, which led to the distortion of facts, the silencing of important historical events and figures. This, in turn, caused significant gaps in the factual material and an obvious falsification of history. Purpose: to analyze the experience of predecessors in researching the history of cities and villages to draw valuable lessons from it that will be useful to modern researchers. Methods: comparative historical method, systems analysis, chronological approach and method of historical reconstruction. Scientific novelty. The article studies for the first time the experience and lessons of writing the «History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR». Results. The publication of the history of cities and villages of the Ukrainian SSR became possible only under the conditions of the gradual weakening of the cult of personality of J. Stalin, overcoming the resistance of his supporters, completing the post-war reconstruction of the country, strengthening the economy, and improving the standard of living of the population. Particular difficulties arose during the formation of the source base, since the main libraries of the capital and regional centers, as well as archives and museums, had repositories with banned literature, documents and materials. In addition, there was no clear concept of the publication, algorithm of work and interaction of editorial departments with libraries, archives and museums. Additional difficulties were created by administrative and territorial changes characteristic of the Khrushchev era. Conclusions. It has been established that today Ukraine has the achievements of two previous generations of historians and local historians, who have become a model of cooperation and interaction between all interested parties. This opened up access not only to previously banned books, documents, and materials from domestic libraries, archives, and museums, but also to the sources of the Ukrainian diaspora in the West. The achievements of modern scholars and local historians of the independence era include thorough research: dissertations, monographs, historical and local history essays, articles in scientific journals and collections of scientific works. These opportunities and resources can play an important role in publishing a new history of Ukrainian settlements.