Actualization of the National Narrative in Guidebooks of the 19th and 20th Centuries: Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv

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The article addresses the issue of shaping the historical memory of the general public in Kyiv, including both residents and visitors, namely Ukrainians, during the Soviet era and the early years of Ukraine’s independence. The author analyzed the content of guidebooks on Kyiv’s city center, specifically focusing on Volodymyrska Street. The conclusion was drawn that Kyiv’s cultural and local history narratives were dominated by colonial and postcolonial Russian discourse, emphasizing figures and events that reinforced Russian-Communist authority in Ukraine’s capital. This dominance has not yet been fully overcome. The article proposes a significant shift in the narrative concerning the historical significance of Kyiv’s cultural landscape. It suggests reorienting the urban space to highlight events and individuals particularly significant to Ukrainian history and culture. For example, the author argues that building 28 in Volodymyrska Street is still primarily identified as the residence of Viktor Vasnetsov, a proponent of the Russian national style in painting. However, this building also housed the Ukrainian Scientific Society, led by Mykhailo Hrushevsky, which served as a precursor to the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences before the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921. Notably, there is still no commemorative plaque on the building honouring this Society. Volodymyrska Street itself reflects the life of Mykhailo Hrushevsky. It was home to St. Vladimir University, where he studied, the Historical Section of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (1924–1931), which he chaired, the Ukrainian Club, where he delivered public lectures, and the parliament of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, where he served as chairman. The author’s examination of how current guidebooks depict the buildings on Volodymyrska Street led to the conclusion that a fundamental reevaluation of the socio-cultural priorities in discussions about Kyiv’s historical heritage is necessary. Such a reevaluation would modernize commemoration practices used in urban cultural studies and local history.