The Cossacks Chronicles of Eyewitness, H. Hrabianka’s and S. Velychko’s in studies in Soviet historiography

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the Cossack chronicles of Samovydets, H. Hrabianka’s, and S. Velychko’s in historical research during 1917–1991. Research methods: comparative, system-structural, historical-typological, historical-genetiс. The problem of studying Ukrainian chronicles of the XVI–XVIII centuries of the Soviet historiography has been studied relatively little. In most cases, the chronicles of military chancellerists are considered in the general context of study of the chronicles, and the chronology of historiographic reviews is limited to the mid-1960s. Main results. The article deals with the works of Soviet researchers who studied the phenomenon of Cossack chronicles. The main subjects for the studies on the literature of the Chancellery are revealed, in particular: dating, place of creation and identity of the authors of the texts; the factual accuracy of the messages, the features of the source base used by the Chancellerists, the study of the lists and editions of the chronicles and their comparison among themselves, as well as the peculiarities of the authors’ outlook, their assessment of historical events and figures. The peculiarities of the studies of Soviet scholars under the influence of Marxist ideology are investigated. In a number of cases, researchers have been forced not to touch political and ideological aspects that contradicted official dogmas and interpret historical events in the discourse of class struggle. However, some of the workings of Soviet historians are still relevant today, including the study of the lists and editions of the Cossack chronicles and the features of their source base. Practical meaning: recommended for use in historiography studies and history of Ukraine. Originality. Generalized scientific work of Soviet scholars on the literature of Chancellerist. Scientific novelty. For the first time the works of scientists of 1917–1991 were systematized, in which the Cossack chronicles of Samovydets, G. Hrabianka and S. Velichko were studied. Type of the article: descriptive.