Professor of History Vitaliy Stetskevich : notes to intellectual portrait

Abstract

The aim of the article is to characterize the key fragments of life and career of the famous military historian of contemporary Ukraine proffessor V. V. Stetskevych. Research methods: chronological, historical-genetic, historical-biographical. Sources: archival documents of special origin, unpublished epistolary materials and memorials of the scholar, current historiography. Main results. The most distinctive biographical dates, events, facts of V. V. Stetskevych’s life from his birth till nowadays are identified and briefly characterized; his formation as a scientist and an educator at Dnipropetrovsk classical university are specified; the progress of his further career development in the leading technical higher educational institution of Kryvyi Rig (KMU–KTU), which became an integral part of his almost half-century professional activity, is investigated. An attempt is made to discover and outline the factors which determined his choice of the scientific research strategies, at first within the framework of special historical reproduction of Ukrainian life at the final stage of the war of 1941–1945, and then, historiographical understanding of historical science in its most difficult first period. The overall creative heritage of the scientist is preliminary summed up (initiated and implemented scientific projects, published works, defended dissertations, organized conferences etc.).Conclusions. V. V. Stetskevych left a noticeable mark in the professional environment of Dnipro region and Ukraine of the late 20th – first quarter of the 21st century as an authoritative scholar in the field of national history of the Second World War. He went through a difficult path of professional self-improvement, theoretical and methodological transformation, the so-called “paradigm shift”, thanks to which he was able to create intellectual products corresponding to the modern era. Practical value. The material of the article can be used in research projects devoted to the history of war, in the educational process of history departments of universities. Scientific novelty. Some traits of the intellectual portrait of the distinctive historian are foregrounded and defined for the first time. Type of the article: research.