The Ethnocultural Dimension of Mykhailo Sikorskyi’s Scientific Work

Abstract

The article analyzes the ethnocultural dimension of Mykhailo Sikorskyi’s scientific work. It is disclosed that ethnocultural problems in archaeology are primarily related to the definition of the ethnic origin of archaeological cultures – material complexes of antiquities that belong to a certain period of time, have local features, and are found in specifically defined restricted areas. In the totalitarian era, for the vast majority of researchers, the key priority was the study of material culture. Therefore, the main ideological discourse consisted in revealing the laws of the basic concepts of Marxism-Leninism classics in the study of class struggle, the analysis of social revolutions, and so on. It is proved that in the then totalitarian discourse, M. Sikorskyi was forced to work within the existing ideological frameworks and to embody some dogmatic concepts and constructs in his writings and affairs; otherwise, the command-administrative system would deprive him of the ability to apply his own achievements and fulfil his dreams. It has been shown that, even under those difficult circumstances, M. Sikorskyi never crossed the line separating the true scientist from the Communist propagandist, especially regarding the scientific problems that, for whatever reason, were combined with the political ideologies, as in case, for example, with the so called “Old Rus people”. Despite considerable ideological pressure, M. Sikorskyi tried to minimize mentioning and propagating in his writings of this ideologized ancient Russian concept. Only with the destruction of the USSR and the restoration of the sovereign Ukrainian state, ethnocultural processes began gradually gaining positive dynamics, and domestic scientists, liberated from ideological grips, were able to adequately analyze and comprehend them. These fundamental changes allowed M. Sikorskyi to eventually publish his own views on the origin and development of the Ukrainian people and their language, as well as their importance in the ethnogenetic and ethnocultural processes of Pereiaslav and Pereiaslav district.