IVAN PULIUI AS A UKRAINIAN PATRIOT, POLITICIAN, AND STATESMAN

Abstract

Ivan Puliui - an outstanding, world-class, Ukrainian physicist and electrical engineer, the discoverer of x-rays. The article concentrates on his socio-political activity, particularly his journalistic works on Ukraine's socio-political problems. He early became interested in Ukrainian public life, which revealed itself in the founding of illegal student organizations as schools for the Ukrainian national elite's education. Realizing the fundamental importance of the mother tongue in the nation's life, the scientist translated religious books into the Ukrainian language and brought them into religious practice to raise the Ukrainians' national consciousness and further develop the national liberation movement. The active participation and persistence of I. Puliui and other science and culture personalities of Halychyna in demanding the opening of a Ukrainian university in Lviv despite opposition from Polish politicians supported by the Austrian central government are noted. I. Puliui had a negative attitude to the Polish administration's insidious actions in Halychyna against Ukrainians at the beginning of World War I, its desire to use Moscophilism to destroy Ukrainians. The scientist's cooperation with the Austrian authorities is emphasized not as a goal but as a tactical tool in resolving the Ukrainian cause in specific historical conditions to realize the Ukrainian national idea, as well as his confidence in liberating Ukraine from Russian oppression. The scientist understood that the geopolitical significance of independent Ukraine was a basis for lasting peace on the European continent and creating a new Europe. Keywords: Ivan Puliui, Ukraine, Europe, mother tongue, state idea, independence.