Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Research Articles

Kharkiv Modernism

In 2022, Docomomo International launched a call for papers on Modern Movement in Ukraine together with Docomomo Ukraine. More than 20 proposals were received, most of them from authors based in Ukraine itself—despite the difficult circumstances. The Docomomo Journal 67 presented a first selection of those articles to display regional and architectural particularities and current challenges of archiving, documenting, protecting, and preserving the modern heritage. Nearly 100 examples of Ukrainian modern buildings were presented in a graphical overview. The modern Ukranian architecture was dominated by Constructivism from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s, with Kharkiv as the epicenter of production, while Socialist Realism with the Stalin Empire emerged from 1932, lasting until 1955, with Kyiv as the capital of Ukraine. From December 1919 to January 1934, Kharkiv was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the cultural, economic, and educational center of the new Ukrainian Republic. The status as new capital led to prestigious master plans and construction projects, among them the world-famous Derzhprom building at Freedom Square–as a symbol of Constructivism–or the Kharkiv Tractor Factory–as a symbol of the industrialization of agriculture. The leading role of Kharkiv as a forerunner and capital of Constructivism is often expressed by the famous State Industry House (Derzhprom) built from 1925 to 1928. Being the only modern ensemble in Ukraine nominated as UNESCO World Heritage, it became and still is the focus of identification and pride—despite the many controversial reflections and discussions about the conservation efforts and changes carried out since the original construction in the 1950s and after the year 2000. This explains the many articles dealing with Freedom Square and Dherzprom as a reaction to the call for papers in 2022 and also Docomomo International’s commitment to dedicate this special issue of the Docomomo Journal to Kharkiv under the title From Constructivism to Modernism in Kharkiv.

ПЕРСОНІФІКОВАНИЙ ПІДХІД ДО ВИВЧЕННЯ ПРОБЛЕМИ ОСВІТНЬО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНОГО ПРОГНОЗУВАННЯ В УКРАЇНСЬКІЙ СОЦІАЛІСТИЧНІЙ РАДЯНСЬКІЙ РЕСПУБЛІЦІ (1930 – 1940 рр.)

The article highlights a personalized approach to the study of the problem of educational and pedagogical prognostication in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the period 1930 – 1940. The author emphasizes that the analysis of the theory and practice of education and upbringing in the conditions of various socio-economic formations from the point of view of a personalized approach contributes to the deepening and expansion of the worldview, provides full information about important concepts and education systems of the past. In the context of the research problem, the author singles out the experience of the following educators S. Kh. Chavdarov, S. A. Lytvynov, P. P. Blonskyi, Ya. A. Mamontov, O. S. Zaluzhnyi, S. A. Ananin. S. Kh. Chavdarov developed the general questions of the methodology of teaching the Ukrainian language, the methodology of teaching phonetics and grammar, the teaching of spelling, punctuation, and the methodology of students' speech development in Ukrainian language lessons. The study of the theoretical heritage of the scientist-educator S. A. Lytvynov allows us to understand the past experience from the standpoint of modernity, to reveal its place in the general gradual process of development of domestic pedagogical science. The basic pedagogical principles of mass incomplete secondary education on the basis of polytechnicism and the connection of education with labour as factors of social development of the individual were formulated by P. P. Blonskyi. The educator Ya. A. Mamontov gave special importance to the problems of aesthetic education, the goal of which he believed was the development of a person's aesthetic perception of the world. Ukrainian educator, reflexologist, pedologist O. S. Zaluzhnyi mainly researched children's teams, issues of children's interests, school success, labour training in children's groups. Ukrainian educator and psychologist S. A. Ananin gave the main place to labour education, considering it an important factor in the country's economic development and an effective means of forming a person.

Wybrane przejawy sowietyzacji Ukraińskiej Socjalistycznej Republiki Radzieckiej na początku lat trzydziestych XX wieku w rozpoznaniu Oddziału II Sztabu Głównego Wojska Polskiego i władz politycznych II RP — część II

The aim of this article is to expand upon the considerations initiated in the first part of the article on the manifestations of the progressive sovietization of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1930s. The article addresses a thesis according to which the sovietization of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the years in question prevented the implementation of Ukrainian national liberation slogans. It was also an unfavorable direction in the broader context of Poland’s security in regard to the policy pursued by Moscow as well as the proximity of the Second Polish Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The presented arguments have led to the conclusion that the sovietization of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1930s nullified the chance for implementing Ukrainian national liberation slogans. The policy pursued by the Soviet Union led to full integration of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the structures of the Soviet state. The sovietization methods limited the right to self-determination of the Ukrainian people. The diversity of methods and spheres covered by the phenomenon of sovietization in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the most important determinants of the effectiveness of this process in the early 1930s.

Bishop Sofron Mudryi and the Ukrainian Department of Vatican Radio: Based on Interviews and Memoirs (1965-1994)

This article considers activities of Bishop Sophron the Wise in the Ukrainian department of Vatican Radio. His achievements and contribution to the development of the Ukrainian edition of Vatican Radio, the contribution of novelty to radio broadcasting, style, genre and the expansion of the time interval of radio broadcasts for Ukrainians in the diaspora and in ethnic lands. The role of "Vatican" radio in the formation and preservation of Ukrainian identity as a mouthpiece of the Christian world in the communist Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The specifics of the broadcasting of the Ukrainian edition were considered.

Reader`s face of the special fonds of the Central scientific library of the Academy of sciences of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the late 1960s and 1970s

Reader`s face of the special fonds of the Central scientific library of the Academy of sciences of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the late 1960s and 1970s

Историческая память и современность: Башкортостан и Донбасс в годы Великой Отечественной войны

This article turns to the relationship between the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) to demonstrate the solidarity of Soviet peoples and regions during the Great Patriotic War. This period was a gruelling test of strength and unity for the fraternal peoples of the USSR. Special attention in the study is given to the role of the workers of the Bashkir ASSR in the restoration of the national economy of the Donbass, liberated from the Fascist occupation. Little-studied archival documents are introduced here, covering the extent of the aid, including social assistance, provided by the people of the Bashkir ASSR to the affected territories (machinery and building materials, industrial equipment, livestock, food and consumer goods). It is noted that during the harsh war years, the best qualities of Soviet peoples were drawn forth, which have enduring significance and stay relevant today: solidarity, cooperation and selfless mutual aid, which made an important contribution to the victory. In addition, it is argued that the aid to the liberated regions strengthened the economic and political unity of Soviet society and laid the foundations for the country’s successful post-war reconstruction. The research is based on documents from the National Archives of the Republic of Bashkortostan, which keeps an extensive body of invaluable sources on the history of the relationship between the peoples during the Great Patriotic War (materials on the evacuation of factories and scientific and cultural institutions as well as the population of the Ukrainian SSR, on launching the evacuated industrial plants in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, on the cooperation between Ukrainian and Bashkir scientists, writers and cultural figures, as well as on the aid of Bashkir workers to the liberated territories of the Ukrainian SSR).

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ГРОМАДСЬКИХ ПОВІДОМЛЕНЬ У КДБ УРСР ПЕРШОЇ ПОЛОВИНИ 80-Х РР. ХХ СТ.

The following scholarly exposition aims to comprehensively elucidate and provide a thorough examination of the numerical abundance, multifarious content, and unique defining characteristics that are intrinsic to both the reports authored by individuals and the anonymized submissions forwarded by the citizens of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to the state security authorities. Moreover, it seeks to delve into the intricate web of legal consequences that invariably followed such submissions. This empirical exploration is underpinned by a meticulous factographic approach, which is grounded in the scrupulous analysis and systematic processing of hitherto undisclosed and highly consequential archival materials originating from the State Security Committee (KGB) of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. These archival materials came into the possession of this academic undertaking during the inaugural half of the 1980s, a temporal epoch, herein referred to as the "Andropov" era, which is distinguished by its relatively uncharted and ephemeral nature. This "Andropov" era stands as a critical precursor to the advent of the "perebydova" era, which constitutes the ultimate and culminating phase in the intricate and protracted narrative of the Soviet Union's organic disintegration.

СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНЕ СТАНОВИЩЕ ЖИТЕЛІВ ВОЛИНСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ УРСР НА ЗЛАМІ 80–90-Х РР. ХХ СТ.

The examination of Soviet statistical materials has revealed an intriguing and significant revelation regarding the Volhynia region, which was located within the boundaries of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR). This revelation points to the Volhynia region's rather prominent standing, often attributed to it as securing the “second place”, when considering a provisional rating of production potentials among the seven regions that comprised the Western Ukrainian region. It is crucial to underscore that the Volhynia region was second only to the Lviv region in this assessment, which lends importance to our inquiry. The primary objective of this scholarly article is to provide an in-depth understanding of the root causes, the intricate course, and the far-reaching consequences associated with the rapid deepening of various crisis-related phenomena within the economic complex of the Volhynia region. This phenomenon was particularly salient during a timeframe that is commonly pinpointed at the juncture of the 1980s and 1990s. This historical epoch witnessed significant transformations, both within the Soviet Union and on the global stage. One of the central focal points of this study revolves around the examination of the natural progression of the collapse of the Russian-Soviet planned economy. This process of disintegration is illuminated as a logical consequence of the comprehensive nationalization of economic structures within the Soviet Union. This nationalization represented a distinctive feature of the Soviet economic system, and its impact on the Volhynia region and the Ukrainian SSR more broadly merits a meticulous analysis. This feature, while offering certain advantages, notably in terms of equal distribution and access to resources, carried inherent limitations that manifested in the form of a persistently low material standard of living experienced by the citizens of the USSR. In particular, the late 20th century changes, marked by “perebudova” or restructuring policies, witnessed the intensification of socio-economic challenges within the Volhynia region and the broader context of the Soviet Union. This restructuring sought to introduce elements of market-oriented reforms, but it was faced with several hurdles and limitations that ultimately impacted the region's socio-economic landscape. This academic endeavor aspires to provide a multifaceted understanding of the complex interplay of factors, events, and policies that converged to shape the trajectory of the Volhynia region within the larger framework of the Ukrainian SSR during this critical juncture in history. The findings of this study hold relevance not only for historians and economists but also for those interested in the socio-economic evolution of regions within planned economies and the intricacies of managing such extensive nationalized systems.

Pedagogical Discourse on the Reform of General Secondary Education in Soviet Ukraine through the Prism of Child Protection in the 1920s: the Struggle against Unification

The article reveals the leading ideas of Ukrainian teachers and civil leaders (V. Arnautov, Ya. Chepiha, T. Harbuz, H. Ivanytsia, Ya. Riappo, M. Skrypnyk, O. Zaluzhnyi, etc.) on reforming school education for the sake of development and protection of a child in the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR) in the 1920s. It has been proven that after the defeat of the Ukrainian Revolution (1917–1921) and the capture of the territory of Ukraine by the Bolsheviks, the pedagogical discourse focused on the idea of creating a new labour school. It should be based on the following principles: labour, active, social education to protect the child, communist, the principle of Ukrainization and at the same time the imposition of Russification, etc. Ukrainian educators, looking for active methods of teaching children in a labour school, turned mainly to European and world pedagogical science (A. Binet, J. Dewey, F. Freeman, G. Kerschensteiner, E. Meumann, P. Natorp, F. Seidel, Ch. Spearman, W. Stern, L. Terman, E. Thorndike etc.). Pedagogical discourse was aimed at opposing the unification of school education according to the Russian model. The policy of Ukrainization was effective, so the all-Union authorities intensified ideological pressure, seeking to curtail this process. The struggle for the Ukrainian school ended tragically for Ukrainian teachers. This eloquently testifies to how the Soviet ideology during the reform used the ideas of social protection of the child, Ukrainization of the educational process to establish its own ideological and socio-political goals of the totalitarian society.

Human Losses of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Great Patriotic War

Human Losses of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Great Patriotic War

Сравнительный анализ политики украинизации в 1920–1930-е годы на территории юго-восточных округов УССР и Кубанского округа Северо-Кавказского края РСФСР

The nationality policy that was implemented in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) in the 1920s and 1930s led to major changes in the field of culture and education. However, this policy had not always been successful in the Ukrainian SSR and some other regions of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), e.g. in the south-eastern areas of the Ukrainian SSR and in the Kuban Area of the North Caucasus Territory of the RSFSR. In this regard, the purpose of thе article was to perform a comparative analysis of the content, directions and results of the policy of Ukrainization in the south-eastern areas of the Ukrainian SSR and in the Kuban Area of the North Caucasus Territory. In the course of the research, the author studied the historiography of Ukrainization in general: articles, monographs of modern Russian and Ukrainian scholars, as well as the periodical press published in the Ukrainian SSR between 1925 and 1933. Based on the data obtained, the author concludes that, in spite of the rapid and successful Ukrainization in these regions, it was implemented through administrative pressure, which formed a negative attitude towards this kind of ethno-cultural transformations on the ground, in particular, in some south-eastern areas of the Ukrainian SSR and in the Kuban Area of the North Caucasus Territory of the RSFSR, whose population differed significantly from the Ukrainian ethnic group in terms of language and self-consciousness. In the Kuban Area, neither the local population nor local authorities were interested in this policy, which slowed the process of Ukrainization and made the mechanisms for its implementation rather ineffective, even compared to the south-east of the Ukrainian SSR. As a result, the population in the south of the RSFSR became part of the Russian nation.

Waste for the Soviet Economy: Recycling of Rags in Ukraine in the 1920s

This article, based on previously unexplored archival documents, examines the recycling of rags in the early Soviet Union, using the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) as a case study. Within the context of the early Soviet waste regime, the characteristics of the Ukrainian rag market, its key participants, the challenges they encountered, and the strategies they devised in a republic with limited textile waste are investigated. The article asserts that in the Ukrainian SSR during the 1920s, the paper industry emerged as the primary consumer of rags. Consequently, the secondary utilization of rags in this sector should be regarded as the authorities’ endeavor to extensively utilize substitutes in light of the limited reserves of cellulose and timber in the republic. Rags were also an important export resource, driven more by ideological reasons than purely economic ones. The article demonstrates the specificities of waste management policies during the New Economic Policy period, characterized by the authorities’ directive methods of regulating the market, attributable to the strategic significance of this type of raw material for Soviet enterprises. It contends that the transition to a centralized waste collection model in the early 1930s was a natural outcome of the implementation of the planned economy. However, intense competition for various waste materials, particularly rags, contributed to this transition.

Wybrane przejawy sowietyzacji Ukraińskiej Socjalistycznej Republiki Radzieckiej na początku lat trzydziestych XX wieku w rozpoznaniu Oddziału II Sztabu Głównego Wojska Polskiego i władz politycznych II RP — część I

The aim of this article is to present selected facts and tendencies proving the increasing sovietization of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1930s. The analysis is based on archival material collected in the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America and current scientific literature. A thesis was put forward that the sovietization phenomenon of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic appeared in various forms and proved harmful to the implementation of Ukrainian national slogans in the early 1930s. The presented arguments allow to conclude that at the turn of the 1920s and the 1930s sovietization replaced the earlier policy of Ukrainization in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The sovietization tendencies were reflected in economic reforms (especially in agriculture and industry), political and administrative transformation, or changes in the spirit of socialist society. The sovietization of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as an important postulate implemented by the communist authorities, was one of the forms of opposition to nationalist slogans that indicated the need for reconstruction of Ukraine independent of the Soviet Union.

Scientific and legal principles of determining the territorial boundaries of cathedral Ukraine in the light of revolutionary practice (1917–1920)

Formulation of the problem. Recently, issues related to the history of the implementation of the idea of Ukrainian unity have become extremely acute in ideological life. Along with statements about the absence of the phenomenon of the Ukrainian nation, denials of the fact of the existence of a full-fledged statehood of Ukraine, Russian politicians and some scientists are promoting misleading statements that the current Ukraine was the result of unfortunate mistakes of the leaders of the previous stages of social development, turned out to be a conglomerate of artificially "glued together" in the information space. a territory with an ethnically heterogeneous,or even simply predominantly non-Ukrainian, population. The purpose of the article is to highlight the chronologically first attempt at scientific and practical-political determination of the natural boundaries of territories with the predominance of the Ukrainian ethnographic element as an objective, fair, convincing criterion for their regular composition into a single national-state space. Using the methods of scientific objectivity, concrete-historical and analytical comparative research, the processes of ideological-theoretical and legal substantiation of the concepts of achieving Ukrainian unity in the times of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the times of the Central Council and the Directory, the Hetman's Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1917-1920) are reproduced yr.). On the basis of the available documents and real facts, the picture of the implementation of interconnected concepts of the Ukrainian national-democratic revolution and the unification of the branches of Ukrainianism, which had been dispersed until then, is being reconstructed. A convincing conclusion is made that the observance of clear, principled guidelines for the ethnographic principle, as an unshakable legal basis for the formation of an independent cathedral state, brought undeniable practical results, while neglecting this principle, replacing it with other,mostly opportunistic approaches, ended without results. Key words: Ukrainian revolution, national unity, ethnographic principle, national territorial autonomy, independence, regionalism, separatism, Act of Zluka.

Operational Groups of the NKGB and a Reconstruction of the Soviet Security Apparatus in Axis Occupied Ukraine, 1943–44

This article elucidates the reconstruction of the Soviet security apparatus during World War II in what today is western Ukraine. In late 1943 to early 1944, six operational groups of the People’s Commissariat of State Security of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic headed to the Axis occupied territories with orders to re-establish contacts with Soviet secret agents and create a support infrastructure for the deployment of other operational groups, special purposes units, and individual agents, as well as to infiltrate organizations of Polish and Ukrainian nationalists. The essay examines Soviet special operations within the context of state efforts to project power into the Axis occupied territories. It sheds light on the objectives of Soviet security agencies and on the activities of individual units in the field.

UNIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL AND PEDAGOGICAL FORECASTING IN THE UKRAINIAN SOCIALIST SOVIET REPUBLIC OF THE PERIOD 1930-1940

The article is devoted to the problem of the unification of educational and pedagogical forecasting in the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic of the period 1930-1940. The author emphasizes that the unification of educational and pedagogical forecasting in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the period 1930-1940 hid the threat of a social explosion, led to the strengthening of the national course to build a communist society. All this affected the invariant component of the content of educational and pedagogical forecasting in the context of dominant socio-economic (industrialization, collectivization) and political (monopolization, curtailment of Ukrainization) factors. During the studied period, we focus on the spread of state institutions of higher pedagogical education, in particular, industrial-pedagogical institutes, institutes of social education, pedagogical technical schools, which determined new conditions for staffing higher schools. We also emphasize the search for the optimal model of the functioning of the education system and the development of numerous teacher training projects.

Restoration of Ukraine’s foreign policy activities in the context of the founding of the United Nations

The relevance of the subject matter is conditioned primarily by the desire to achieve the national interests of Ukraine and the need to fight russian military aggression for the right to pursue an independent foreign policy. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to reveal the issue of the restoration of Ukraine’s activities in the political sphere as a result of the establishment of the United Nations. The main methods of research of this problem are: analysis, induction, deduction, and synthesis, which allow describing and highlighting the most important aspects of the development of Ukraine’s foreign policy, as well as diagnostic, comparative, system and structural methods. The paper examines the process of resumption of Ukraine’s foreign policy after the establishment of the United Nations. The role of Ukraine in the founding of the United Nations is considered, and its activities in the organisation are evaluated. The prerequisites and historical traditions of Ukrainian diplomacy are revealed. The activities of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and independent Ukraine in the United Nations bodies are investigated. The main modern achievements of Ukraine’s foreign policy are considered. It is determined that one of the main goals of Ukraine’s work in the UN Security Council was to inform council members and the international community about any attempts to escalate the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea and Eastern Ukraine by russia. The main ways of the modern foreign policy of Ukraine were described, namely: preserving the supremacy of the state on its territory, independence in international relations, territorial integrity, and Euro-Atlantic integration. The materials of the study are of practical and theoretical value for political scientists, historians, other representatives of the scientific community, and researchers of the topic of restoring Ukraine’s foreign policy, who are interested in the features and aspects of this state activity, and study the role of Ukraine in the process of founding the United Nations

Polski Teatr Ludowy we Lwowie – fenomen radzieckich czasów

The Polish People's Theater in Lviv is an extraordinary stage in many respects. It was founded in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1958 by a retired Polish language teacher, Piotr Hausvater. He gathered around him a group of enthusiasts, amateurs who over the years managed to create a team that played not only in the Soviet Union, but also outside its borders. There were no professionals among the actors, but the Theater reached a fully professional level and won numerous awards, presenting plays in Polish in the difficult conditions of a totalitarian state. Pupils, students, workers, engineers, teachers and intellectuals - all devoted their private time to create art for charity. The effect of their work was for many Poles in the USSR the only contact with their native language. It was also a way to become acquainted with the cultural heritage of the country with which they still felt a bond. Interestingly, the band was made up not only of people with Polish roots, but also Ukrainians and Russians. It was the Russian artist Valery Bortyakov who managed the Theater after its director, Zbigniew Chrzanowski, had to leave the Soviet Union due to repressions for laying flowers at the monument to Adam Mickiewicz in Lviv. The theater managed to survive the communist repressions and successfully operates to this day, in free Ukraine.

ПРОБЛЕМНІ ПИТАННЯ ВСТАНОВЛЕННЯ (ЗМІНИ) МЕЖ ОБЛАСТЕЙ

The article is devoted to study of doctrinal and regulatory sources on procedure for establishing and changing boundaries of region. To this end, the existing doctrinal provisions on the history of legal regulation of this issue and the constitutional and legal status of region were analyzed, as well as the normative-legal acts of Soviet legislation and Ukraine in this subject of legal regulation were elaborated. It was stated that in practice the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic regional boundaries were never established, but only changed by the relocation of territories of other administrative and territorial units located on the outskirts of the region. It is considered that the Basic Law of Ukraine does not provide for the procedure for formation and elimination of regions, their name and renaming, as well as the establishment (changes) of their boundaries, which limits the legal personality of the region as a subject of constitutional and legal relations. It is argued that the existing procedure for determining the borders of region by establishing (changing) boundaries of other, located on its outskirts, administrative-territorial units and territories of territorial communities leads to the coincidence of their boundaries, which have different legal status and functions. Proposals for amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, the Land Code of Ukraine and other normative legal acts in the part of the introduction of the order of establishing (changes) of boundaries of the region are formulated.

„Rękopisy kozackie”. Z dziejów zasobu rękopiśmiennego Biblioteki Naukowej PAU i PAN w Krakowie

“Manusripts of the Cossacks”. The history of the manuscripts collection of the Scientific Library of the PAAS and the PAS in Cracow The article discusses an unknown episode from the history of our library, related to the donation of several dozen 17th and 18th c. documents on Cossacks done in 1954 by the Polish Academy of Sciences on the request of the Ministry of Culture and Arts of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. These were the proclamations by Bogdan Chmielnicki and his son Jerzy (Jurek) as well as priviliges bestowed to Cossacks by empress Anna and empress Elisabeth. The original documents were included in manuscripts no. 270, 1678 and 1679. The first one was donated in 1866, the other two in the years 1906–1912. The manuscript no. 270 was donated in 1866 to the then existing Cracow Scientific Society. It was provided by Stanisław Filip Krzyżanowski (1841–1881), the owner of an estate in the former Bracław voivodeship, collector of paintings, old coins, manuscripts and old prints, a historian and publisher of writings, a member of the Cracow Scientific Society. The group of scriptures donated by him contained 49 manuscripts and 20 parchment diplomas. Its valuable and homogeneous part are the so-called Manuscripts of the Cossacks, including among others 17th-19th proclamations issued by subsequent Cossack hetmans, court files and numerous documents on the political, economic, social and church history of eastern Poland – the Podolian, Volhynian and Bracław voivodeships. The entire donation was described in the catalogue of manuscripts issued in 1906 by Jan Czubek, the Academy librarian, and has been present in scientific literature since then. The manuscripts with shelf marks 1678 and 1679 were donated to the Academy after the publication of the catalogue, therefore they were described in the second volume published in 1912. Unfortunately, their descriptions do not contain the provenance or the donor’s name. They include 25 and 34 original ukases of the Russian empresses addressed to the Hetmans of Zaporizhian Cossacks: Danylo Apostol (from the years 1730– 1733) and Kyrylo Razumovsky (from the year 1751–1753). After the second volume of Czubek’s catalogue was published, they also became widely known to the historians. In 1947, in new political circumstances, the Polish–Soviet Friendship Society on behalf of the Academy of Sciences of the UkrSSR requested the Polish Academy of Art and Science to take photographs of Chmielnicki’s proclamations. The PAAS management gave its consent. A few years later, the PAAS assets and collections were taken over by the newly created Polish Academy of Sciences, which was recognised as a politically correct unit by the Communist authorities. In 1954, the PAS Printing Houses and Libraries Office in Warsaw, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Art, took the original documents from the above mentioned manuscripts away from the Library (then the PAS Library in Cracow). They were donated to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The only trace of this forced “donation to the fraternal nation” to be found in sources is the correspondence related to the handover of the photocopies of taken documents by the PAS Printing Houses and Libraries Office that is included in the Library archives. It took place in December 1954 and the photocopies (of good quality) are still kept in the Library collection. However, the order to hand over the originals is absent. According to the library oral tradition, a message about the order was issued on the phone. The exact date, author of the idea, the names of political principals or Polish implementers of these notorious endeavour remain unknown. A detailed query in the archives of the Ministry of Culture and Art and the chief authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party may possibly give an answer to these questions.