Western Ukraine Research Articles

Species distribution modelling of the yellow-necked mouse, Sylvaemus tauricus, with special reference to Ukraine

Rodents are essential components of many terrestrial ecosystems and have several beneficial activities in nature, such as soil aeration and insect control, however, rodents are also sources of zoonotic pathogens. As pests they are known to be reservoirs of tick-borne zoonotic infections of viral, bacterial and protozoan origin, and are important hosts of the immature stages of Ixodes ticks. Recent studies in Europe have demonstrated the role of rodents, especially Sylvaemus mice and Myodes voles, in the epidemiology of tick-borne bacterial zoonoses, such as Lyme borreliosis and anaplasmosis. In particular, the yellow-necked mouse, Sylvaemus tauricus (Pallas, 1811; syn.: Apodemus flavicollis (Melchior, 1834)), supports the transmission of the most important pathogens carried by the castor bean tick, Ixodes ricinus. Using a species distribution modelling approach, an assessment was carried out of the probability of presence of the yellow-necked mouse in different parts of Ukraine and a search accomplished to find effective environmental factors that play roles in its distribution. We considered this task important given the ecological and epidemiological significance of this particular rodent species and the urgency of the problem exacerbated by Russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine. Results showed a broad potential for the distribution of the species in the western and central parts of Ukraine, and in the Crimea. Areas predominantly in western and central Ukraine, and in the Crimea, are highly favourable for the mouse, whereas in the south and, to a smaller scale, in the easternmost part of the country they are the least favourable. Amongst the bioclimatic environmental factors that play roles in shaping the species’ niche are the ones that are fully or mostly temperature-related (for instance, annual mean temperature, continentality, etc.). Other factors in a declining order of their roles are associated with soil and land cover features, cloud frequency and standardised human impact. A moderate, though statistically significant, correlation has been found between the distribution of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. and predicted habitat suitability values for S. tauricus.

Ukrainian Territory A Artistic Agency: a Synthesis of Ukrainian Folklore and Popular Music Art in Sound Recording

The basic principles of the development and synthesis of Ukrainian popular and folk (folklore) art of the late 20th – early 21st centuries are investigated in the article. Peculiar attention is paid to the work of the Territory-A artistic agency (ideologist and project masters are producer Oleksandr Bryhynets, presenter – Honored Artist of Ukraine Anzhelika Rudnytska), which managed to find the methods and forms of introducing Ukrainian culture into radio and television spaces, to replenish the creative fund with sound recordings of Ukrainian origin, to distribute popular song in modern arrangements in the mass-media spaces and to popularize Ukrainian folk traditions among young people by initiating festivals called EthnoWinter, EthnoSpring, EthnoSummer and EthnoAutumn. The main analysis of the synthesis of Ukrainian popular music and folklore is dedicated to the theme of revival of archetypal tunes of Western Ukraine, the creation of new compositions based on them and their popularization among the audience, the promotion of ethnic music on television and its importance for national culture in general. Also noteworthy is the first Ukrainian large-format Territory-A hit parade on ICTV channel, which has broadcasted domestically produced videos three times a week for five years (1995–2000), on the revealing new names of young performers as a leading prototype for subsequent art projects such as Star Factory, X-Factor, The Voice of the Country, etc. Besides, attention is focused on the issue of the Musical Week newspaper, which has improved eventually the style of magazine published works. The Territory-A artistic agency is known as the publisher and order performer, famous for its hit parades of video- and audiography among Ukrainian popular music artists on the ICTV All-Ukrainian TV channel. It is emphasized in the conclusions on the necessity of such artistic ideas in the future. This, in turn, positions the revival of national culture and symbolism in the sphere of self-identification of Ukrainian art among the people of other cultures.

The first record of the trace fossils Cochlichnus from the Pennsylvanian continental and marine deposits in the Donets Basin, Ukraine

Sinusoidal trace fossils Cochlichnus anguineus are described for the first time from marine and continental siltstones and sandstones of the Mospyne and Smolyanynivka formations (late Bashkirian, Early Pennsylvanian) in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine (central Donets Basin). Previously, in Ukraine, Cochlichnus anguineus was recorded in the early Bashkirian Buzhanka Formation of the Lviv Paleozoic Trough. Cochlichnus isp. is known from the Ediacaran of western Ukraine. The studied ichnofossils come from four localities representing sedimentary sequences of shallow marine, lagoonal, and lacustrine terrigenous rocks. The ichnogenus Cochlichnus Hitchcock, 1858 is known from the Precambrian to Holocene and were generally distributed in non-marine environments in the Carboniferous, although it has been recorded in a wide range of environments, from lacustrine (Mermia Ichnofacies) to marine (Cruziana Ichnofacies). In the Pennsylvanian deposits of eastern Ukraine, these trace fossils are predominantly found in lacustrine black shales, but also in lagoonal siltstones and shallow marine sandstones and siltstones. Cochlichnus has been interpreted as traces of grazing, feeding, and locomotion, and it is suggested that traces, depending on the environmental conditions and potential producers, may be combinations of all these ethological categories. Potential producers of Cochlichnus include worms sensu lato, as well as nematodes, annelids, insect larvae, or cyclostomates. In modern freshwater basins, traces morphologically similar to Cochlichnus are produced by nematodes and dipteran larvae. It seems that nematodes and/or annelids are the most likely producers of the studied Cochlichnus, since representatives of Diptera are not known in the Carboniferous. In the Donets Basin, Cochlichnus anguineus usually co-occurs with the trace fossils Lockeia, Planolites, and Palaeophycus. Sometimes these ichnofossils are found on the layer surfaces bearing microbially induced sedimentary structures together with Taphrhelminthopsis and Aulichnites.

Василь Ткачук — виразник етнонаціональної ідентичності

Ethno-national identity is a complex phenomenon, rich in both its structure and content. In this form of identity, both ethnic and national factors are deeply interlinked and influence each other. Vasyl Tkachuk (1916–1944) was a little-studied Ukrainian novelist, born and raised in Pokuttia and Hutsulshtchina in the first half of the 20th century. An unruly “Hutsulyk” who knew and loved his native land from an early age, made it famous in his works, and spontaneously resisted the sudden Sovietization of Western Ukraine, which cost him his life. It is therefore possible to ascertain that, based on his literary legacy, this talented novelist can be counted among the exponents of ethnonational identity. Writing as a Hutsul about the Hutsul people, their joys, sorrows, ethnic distinctiveness, and national unity, Tkachuk automatically defended both their and his own identities. This way, he confirmed his deeply rooted sense of the “little homeland” and the Ukrainian nation. To conduct the research, the hermeneutical and biographical methods were used.

Seeking Refuge in the Ciscarpathian Region: Identification Self-Reflections of Internally Displaced Persons

The difficult life circumstances faced by IDPs in 2014–2022 according to eyewitnesses’ stories, when they have been searching for temporary housing in Ciscarpathian region under the military threat, are considered in the article. Situations and cases from the lives of the interviewees are analysed, when they first have arrived to the host communities of the western Ukrainian region to escape mortal danger. The mutual worldview stereotypes of the inhabitants from the East and West of Ukraine, originating from the past and often imposed from the outside in the 20th century have been outlined. It is emphasized that such bias is not conducive to interpersonal relationships and communication, leaving universal values and moral priorities in the shadow of manipulative attitudes and personal rejection. Through the lens of the lived experience of forced resettlers, their living conditions are compared. They are caused partly by the physical, geographical, and administrative specific character of the area. A special attention is paid to the fact that availability of affordable and safe housing is often the key factor that encourages displaced persons to choose a particular settlement for their life, and is also a prerequisite for their successful social integration. The presence of acquaintances, which helps apparently to calm anxiety and make them feel more confident, is another factor that encourages war refugees to settle in a particular community. Leaving one’s own home, and for some, losing it all together, is an invisible social and psychological trauma that the narrators try to overcome in their life stories. It is emphasized that in the worldview priorities of forced resettlers, which the author has identified during the content analysis of the collected narratives, the sensitive and empathetic behaviour of representatives of host communities is an important factor in the adaptive entry of new comers into an unknown socio-cultural space.

HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL OF SOLOTVYN ROCK SALT DEPOSIT

Rock salt development brings risks of harmful impact on water resources, in particular the Tysa River, posing a threat of cross-border spread of saline pollution on the border between Ukraine and Romania (Solotvyn rock salt deposit, Transcarpathia, western Ukraine). The impact of technogenic load (underground mining of rock salt) within the deposit led to deformation of the structure and nature of water exchange, intensification of suffusion and karst processes, ground surface deformations, catastrophic inflows of groundwater into mines, and, as a result, to the cessation of development of this deposit in 2010. However, the suspension of salt mining did not stop the development of the above-mentioned hazardous geological processes caused by both natural and man-made factors. In order to justify measures for prevention pollution of the Tysa River basin, a hydrogeological model of the Solotvyna rock salt deposit and surrounding areas was created, which allowed to predict the direction and flow rate of fresh and saline groundwater. The model was developed using new data on the geological structure and hydrogeological conditions of the study area (groundwater monitoring data). The modernised hydrodynamic model includes five layers (main aquifers and confining layers). As a result of modelling, maps of the velocity vectors and head contours for two aquifers (Quaternary and Tortonian) were obtained. Based on the results of solving a number of inverse problems, the functional correspondence of the model to natural and anthropogenic conditions was proved. According to the preliminary calculations of the actual groundwater filtration velocity and the path lines of the inert pollutant spreading, it was found that the time of its migration from the salt contour to the Tysa River is approximately 2–3 years. The developed groundwater flow model will be used to substantiate the network of hydrological and hydrogeological observation points in order to optimise the monitoring of water pollution processes.

Western Ukrainian Diaspora and Ukraine: Periodization, Educational, Scientific and International Relations

Western Ukrainian Diaspora and Ukraine: Periodization, Educational, Scientific and International Relations

Діяльність українських громадських організацій Дрогобиччини в умовах відродження української державності (1918–1919): за матеріалами газети «Дрогобицький Листок»

The purpose of the article is to reveal the activities of public organizations in Drohobych region in November 1919 – May 1919, based on the analysis of the materials of the newspaper «Drohobych Leaf». The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity, objectivity, as well as the frontal-heuristic method of processing press publications and methods of internal criticism of historical sources. The scientific novelty is that for the first time the public life of the Ukrainian population of the Drohobych District of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic has been revealed. Conclusions. The newspaper «Drohobych Leaf» contains rich, sometimes unique information about the events in Drohobych District during the years of the construction of Ukrainian statehood. It is from her that we learn about the activities of public organizations in the Drohobych District: «Prosvita», «Silskyi Hospodar», «Women's Community», «Society for the Guardianship of the Ukrainian Soldier», «General Trade Workers’ Union» and others. These Ukrainian organizations supported state authorities and closely cooperated with them. Leading figures of Ukrainian public organizations (Hryhoriy Kuziv, Volodymyr Dydynskyi, Rudolph Skibinskyi, Ivan Lishchynskyi, etc.) were members of various levels of government. Therefore, a certain synergy was formed in the activities of the Ukrainian authorities and the public, which was caused, on the one hand, by the need of the authorities to rely on the Ukrainian public (especially in Drohobych and Boryslav, where a significant percentage of the population consisted of Poles and Jews), on the other hand, by the natural process of attracting active personnel from public organizations to government institutions, especially at the initial stage of state building. Unfortunately, the newspaper «Drohobych Leaf» does not have information about other public organizations of the county, the existence of which we learn from other sources (for example, about the local branch of the Society «Mutual Help of Galician and Bukovyna Teachers»).

Khortytsia Island is a Place Of Memory

In the article, using the example of Khortytska Sich, the evolution of views on the question of Sich genesis is considered in the context of the prevailing ideological conditions in different periods. The basis of research approaches is the theory of the place of memory of the French historian Pierre Nore, as well as the conclusions of the American philosopher Thomas Kuhn about the variability of scientific paradigms due to scientific revolutions and the impossibility of resolving their conflict with the help of evidence. At the everyday level of public consciousness, the concept of 'Khortytska Sich' was formed from the first half to the middle of the 17th century. It entered the scientific field in the second half of the 18th century. together with other centers of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks in the lower Dnieper. However, Khortytska Sich did not fit into the system of official scientific views. The justification of the empire's 'rights' to the so-called Western Russia (Lithuanian, Belarusian and Western Ukrainian lands) required consideration of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks as a pro-Moscow and anti-Polish force. Emphasis was placed on the era of wars against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which since the end of the 16th century. led by the Zaporozhians. Cossack centers that arose before this period did not fall under the sich status. As a result, in the 19th century a tradition arose, the echo of which exists in modern Ukrainian historiography, to call Khortytsia not the place of Sich, but 'the place of gathering', 'protosich', etc. For the same reasons, Khortytska Sich did not fit into the class model of social development. In this way, the history of Sich found itself in the context of Russian history, and the issues of the activities of the Ukrainian people in the development of the southern territories and the creation of centers of self-government back in the days of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania receded into the background. Only with the restoration of Ukrainian independence in 1991 did the conditions for understanding the phenomenon of Khortytska Sich emerge. The new scientific paradigm allows us to consider the Ukrainian-centric models of the first Sich, its role in the development of southern lands, resistance to Ottoman-Tatar aggression, and the formation of the Cossack state. This actualizes the direction of further research into the historical authenticity of Khortytska Sich as the basis of the notion of a place of memory of the Ukrainian people.

MOLECULAR GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF UKRAINIAN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMPLEX SPECIES ACONITUM ANTHORA BASED ON THE ITS1-5.8S- ITS2 REGION OF THE NUCLEAR GENOME

Problem. The question of determining the boundaries of a species, in addition to the fundamental aspects, is of practical importance for nature conservation activities. One of the taxonomically problematic groups is the complex species A. anthora s. l. In the flora of Ukraine, four taxa with controversial status are distinguished within its borders, A. anthora L., A. eulophum Rchb., A. jacquinii Rchb. and A. pseudanthora Błocki ex Pacz. The last two species are included in the Red Book of Ukraine and the IUCN list. Determining the taxonomic position of these closely related forms requires the use of molecular genetic approaches. The ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of 35S rDNA is considered the most popular and informative marker for plant taxonomy and barcoding. Aim. To clarify the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of representatives of A. anthora s. l. using the molecular marker ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 of 35S rDNA. Methods. Herbarium specimens of four representatives of the group A. anthora s. l. were collected on the territory of Western Ukraine. DNA was isolated by a modified CTAB method and then used for PCR amplification of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region. PCR products were purified and Sanger sequenced. The sequences obtained were aligned with the sequences deposited in the GenBank database for representatives of two subgenera of the genus Aconitum, i.e. the nominative subgenus and the subgenus Lycoctonum. The resulting matrix was used for principal component analysis (PCA) and phylogenetic analysis using the Maximum Likelihood method. Main results. The sequences of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 that we obtained for A. anthora, A. eulophum, A. jacquinii, and A. pseudanthora samples were found to be almost identical. They differed from each other in only five of the 641 alignment positions. Among them, four out of five positions appeared to be polymorphic even within individual genomes. According to the results of PCA analysis, all four samples of A. anthora s. l. formed a dense cluster separated by significant distances from the clusters formed by representatives of the subgenera Aconitum and Lycoctonum. In the generated phylogenetic tree, three main monophyletic clades are present, which correspond to the subgenera Aconitum and Lycoctonum and the A. anthora s. l. group. The Lycoctonum clade was sister to other members of the genus, and the Aconitum and A. anthora s. l. clades were sister to each other. Conclusions. The use of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of 35S rDNA for phylogenetic analysis confirms the need to grant the A. anthora s. l. group the status of a separate subgenus within the genus Aconitum. The high genetic affinity between samples of A. anthora s. l. from the territory of Ukraine indicates that the species names A. eulophum, A. jacquinii, and A. pseudanthora should be considered synonyms of A. anthora.

Accounting as an information basis for reflecting the social component of the company: modern problems and past experience of building accounting in the system of Western Ukrainian cooperation during the times of Austria-Hungary and interwar Poland

The importance and existing problems of recording information about the social component in the enterprise’s activities by the accounting system are discussed. The views of scientists on the disposition of «social accounting» as a self-contained type or an accentuated component of the accounting system are analyzed.
 The author has formulated the position that the introduction into practice of the basic provisions of socially responsible business and new requirements from civil society to the activities of companies require a reliable formalized information base, which can be formed in the general accounting system by highlighting financial and economic operations related to social and public criteria.
 The existing practice of reporting (public presentation of information) by domestic enterprises about the financial and economic operations of a social nature carried out by them is presented and critically evaluated. It has been proven that the publicly presented non-financial and integrated reporting of Ukrainian enterprises with its information array only reveals facts about social expenses and income, but does not contain information about the formation of social capital (acquiring a higher image position by corporate entities).
 The expediency of turning to the experience of the past has been argued and certain aspects of taking into account the social component in the construction of accounting practice within the framework of the association of Ukrainian cooperatives, which can provide solutions to some aspects of modern problems, have been revealed. Based on the application of a new historical-institutional methodological approach for profile research and the method of historical-retrospective analysis, an analysis of approaches to the reflection of the social component in the accounting system for the needs of managing the integral institutional complex of Ukrainian cooperation in Galicia in the period of the second half of the 19th and up to the middle of the 20th century was carried out.
 The formulated proposals mostly relate to the expected organization in the post-war period of economic entities within the framework of professional associations, industry associations or unions, which will require coordination and interaction among themselves in the implementation of processes of a social nature.

Peculiarities of the formation and development of Ukrainian political and legal thought in Galicia after March 14, 1923

The development of Ukrainian political and legal thought in the western Ukrainian lands after March 14, 1923 is considered. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of formation, the contribution of thinkers and politicians to its content is analyzed. It is emphasized that the activities of such scientists as K. Levytskyi, S. Dnistryanskyi, V. Starosolskyi, S. Tomashivskyi, V. Kuchabskyi, S. Rudnytskyi and others are decisive for the legal opinion of the Ukrainian people, whose scientific works were fundamental for its development from in view of the fact that they formed legal awareness and political culture in Western Ukrainian society, awakened Ukrainians to an active political life, and, therefore, influenced the national development of Galicia in its daily dimension.
 It is noted that after the fall of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic and the introduction of Polish administration in Galicia, significant changes took place in Ukrainian political and legal thought, which on the one hand led to the formation of new right-wing organizations, and on the other - to the spread of communist ideology. It is argued that the most massive and organized was the national- democratic direction, whose representatives in their scientific works formulated the concepts of the Ukrainian national state based on the idea of unconditional recognition of the right of state self-determination of Ukrainians on their ethnic territory on the basis of national democratic traditions and the theory of the right of peoples to self-determination .
 It is emphasized that the theoretical works of Ukrainian thinkers were the methodological base on which Ukrainian political and legal thought developed in Galicia during the period under study. According to Academician S. Dnistryanskyi, the dominant factor in the process of national creation should be the formation of the national consciousness of the Ukrainian people in the way of creating effective public institutions, and only then - the logical and natural acquisition of state independence. It was a legal and most realistic plan of the struggle for the restoration of Ukrainian statehood, because the legislation of the Second Commonwealth did not prohibit the activities of public structures.
 In view of this, the article highlights the role of scientific, cultural and educational, pedagogical, sports, cooperative societies and unions, the clergy and socio-political organizations as leaders of the national state and law-making in Galicia, which de facto replaced the functions of national state bodies and helped Ukrainians to feel like nationally conscious citizens and to choose the right to their own statehood.

Lviv Under the Soviets (1939-1941): Students, Refugees and Deportees

The Soviet aggression against Poland at the outbreak of the Second World War resulted in the annexation of more than 50% of the pre-war Polish territory to the Soviet Union, with the rest occupied by Germany. With a focus on western Ukraine, the initial period of Soviet rule is reviewed in the context of the German-Soviet geopolitical alliance, the troubled history of inter-ethnic relations, and the changes imposed by the regime. The situation at Lviv University illustrates the shift from Polish to Soviet sovereignty. In the autumn of 1939, with the earlier antisemitic policies lifted, many Jews applied for admission to the university under Soviet control. The university files show how the political changes were perceived at the time. They also highlight the influx of refugees escaping the German occupation in the rest of Poland. On a broader level, Soviet policies introduced contradictions that had a negative impact on all ethnic groups within the annexed territory. Even though the Soviets granted the right to citizenship to Polish citizens under their control, the regime unleashed systematic repressions. Removed from key positions, Poles were targeted by Soviet propaganda and the security apparatus. Despite a façade of Ukrainization, local Ukrainians were distrusted and their pre-war leaders persecuted. Jews were generally relieved that they had escaped falling under the Nazis. While some of them gained access to higher education and positions in the civil administration, many others were arrested and deported to labour camps, because of their pre-war political affiliations, ‘undesirable’ class distinctions, and refugee status.

MORAL AND ETHICAL COMPONENT OF SCIENCE IN TIMES OF WAR

MORAL AND ETHICAL COMPONENT OF SCIENCE IN TIMES OF WAR

Odstępstwa od normy w zakresie fleksji imiennej w języku polskim młodzieży w Ukrainie Zachodniej na tle dyferencjalnych cech fleksyjnych polszczyzny wileńskiej

The author of the article makes an attempt to compare the types of deviations from the general Polish inflectional norm in the Polish language of young people of Polish descent from three regions of Western Ukraine (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil) and the Vilnius Polish language. Based on thorough statistical research on the inflectional features of the Polish language of school youth in Ukraine, it is determined on the analysis of studies by researchers of the Vilnius Polish language, what is the range of differential common features in variants of Polish in Ukraine and Lithuania against the background of general Polish norm. The realisation of nominal (category of gender, case and number) grammatical categories is considered as well. In the analysis of inflectional phenomena, approaches to the interpretation of their genesis in the Polish language used in Ukraine and Lithuania have been taken into account.

THE CHARACTER, VIEWS, IDEAS AND SCIENTIFIC WORK OF IVAN LYSYAK-RUDNYTSKY FROM A HISTORICAL RETROSPECT: BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Аbstract
 The purpose of the study is a biographical and historiographical review of the figure, views, ideas and scientific work of the Ukrainian diasporic scholar-historian and public figure Ivan Lysiak-Rudnytskyi. The key task is to determine the influence of the researcher and his theoretical and methodological generalizations on his contemporary and especially post-Soviet Ukrainian historical science. The methodological basis of the research was primarily the methods of historiographical analysis and source criticism. Thanks to the analysis of I. Lysyak-Rudnytskyi's scientific output and the research dedicated to him, it was possible to comprehensively characterize his contribution to Ukrainian and world historical science and determine the relevance of his research even in our time. The scientific novelty is the coverage of I. Lysiak-Rudnytskyi's participation in the work of the International Congresses of Historians, especially the 13th Congress of Historians, which took place in 1970 in Moscow. Also a supplement to the currently available description was the detailing of his work on the idea of establishing contacts and cooperation between the Ukrainian Soviet and Ukrainian-American diaspora communities of historians, to which the trip of I. Lysiak-Rudnytskyi to Kyiv at the end of August 1970 was dedicated. impressions of the scientist, which he noted in his diary. Conclusions. The unique place of I. Lysiak-Rudnytskyi in the scientific and intellectual life of the Western Ukrainian diaspora in the 1950s - 1980s is determined. Despite his not entirely successful academic career and insignificant "publishing activity", the researcher received recognition and authority in the scientific and public sphere segments of the North American establishment.

Homeland on Foreign Maps: Toponymy of Western Ukraine on Austrian, Interwar-Polish, and Soviet Topographic Maps with Special Focus on Toponymy of the Carpathian Mountains

The goal of this research was to examine the linguistic properties of Western Ukraine’s toponymy as presented on Austrian, interwar-Polish, and Soviet topographic maps from the late 18th century to the 1980s. The research question was, “To what extent does this toponymy include languages other than Ukrainian?” As this article demonstrates, the changing toponymy corresponds with general language policies implemented in Western Ukraine by foreign states. The analysis in this work comprises 1,741 toponymic forms that refer to 207 geographical features on nine multi-sheet topographic maps. The toponyms examined are mainly oikonyms. The data collection was limited to the districts of eastern Galicia where Ukrainian speakers outnumbered Polish speakers by at least three to one. Given that linguistic context, it comes as no surprise that examples of non-vernacular “polonized” toponym forms were found to be especially prevalent in this examination. The general finding of this research is that the toponymies of Austrian and Polish maps comprise a mixture of Ukrainian and Polish/Polonized forms. The toponymic “polonization” was quite inconsistent and may reflect the diverse periods and forms of Polish policies.

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.

Building resilience of municipalities and regions innovative management to smart specialization

ObjectivesAdaptations to digitalization and climate change of all aspects of society are important issues of innovation management at the local and regional levels. The paper demonstrates: 1) the components of smart specialization in order to achieve municipalities and regions strategy goals; 2) the use of the mechanism of smart specialization to realize the entrepreneurial potential of the regional economy; 3) the introduction of smart specialization for the innovative development of the Ukrainian municipalities based on the European experience; 4) the indicators of building resilience of municipalities and regions innovative management to smart specialization.Material and methodsCombination of dialectical approach to the knowledge of the components of smart specialisation and the methods of induction, deduction for the realisation of the entrepreneurial potential of the regional economy based on cross-industry clustering became the basis for the development of recommendations for municipalitiesResultsExtending the sustainability of innovative municipal and regional governance to smart specialisation is to take into account the importance of using the main postulates of the smart specialisation mechanism to realise the innovation potential of the regional economy.ConclusionsThe priority directions of the agro-energy cluster model should be the establishment of a cluster model of "Government-Business-Science-Education" interaction. In order to achieve this goal, scientists from the Western Ukrainian National University justified and developed the Programme for Supporting Innovation in Areas of Smart Specialisation in the Ternopil Region for 2020-2023, which aims to implement innovative approaches to capacity building of the regional economy within the framework of smart, sustainable and comprehensive development.

Variability of Sunshine Duration in Western Ukraine

The duration of sunshine is a crucial radiation characteristic of climate, serving as an indicator for both regional atmospheric circulation and surface atmospheric pollution variability. Ground observations using a heliograph, spanning a long duration, enable the detection of changes in the impact of climate-forming factors on modern warming. Since the 1980s, more precise, high-resolution CMSAF satellite data has allowed for the determination of spatial variability in sunshine duration over recent decades. From 1371 to 1934 hours of sunshine per year were observed in Western Ukraine during 1961–1990, with the southwestern regions of the Transcarpathian lowland being the sunniest. Some years exceeded 2000 hours, indicative of a Mediterranean climate. Typical latitudinal changes were not found, but instead, a noticeable development of continentality, expressed in an increase in annual sunshine duration from west to east was found. Over the year in 1961–1990, significant differences in sunshine duration exist. Generally, the highest values occur in July, exceeding 250 hours in the southeast, southwest, and even in the northwest. The northwest and other western weather stations show high sunlight variability in June and July, linked to North Atlantic cyclones and increased cloudiness. The lowest seasonally determined total duration of sunshine during 1961–1990 occurred in December (<50 hours), with low values and a high number of days without sunshine (up to 20 days) typical for low-mountain valleys of the Carpathians and the northwest (27–38 hours). The most complex distribution is in autumn and spring, with a well-expressed latitudinal distribution from north to south: an increase in autumn and a decrease in spring due to transformation of seasonal circulation processes. In the last thirty years, changes in sunshine duration in Western Ukraine correspond to pan-European trends associated with global brightening. These changes are generally insignificant throughout the year, except for January and the western part of the region. In July, a slight statistically significant increase in the duration of sunshine was detected only in the west and in the foothills during 1961–2020. We associate these features with the higher frequency of anticyclonic types of weather and therefore with fewer cloudy days. These changes are noticeable in the Prut-Dniester highland and the eastern Podilska highland. The spatial distribution of sunlight duration indicates variability near the Carpathian Mountain system and above the highlands. The manifestation of the barrier function of mountains is manifested in an increase in values in winter due to altitudinal differentiation and a decrease in summer. Disctinctive changes east from the influence of the Carpathians are observed in the summer period. Similar peculiarities on a smaller scale were found over the Khotyn and Podilska highlands. The seasonal distribution of sunshine duration in Chernivtsi from 1991–2020 shows significant variability in spring and autumn. In the first decade of this period, low values corresponded to the low solar activity of the 22nd solar cycle. The last two decades, with significant fluctuations, especially in May, August, and September, and extremely high values in separate years, did not coincide with the least active recent solar cycles. Instead, they indicate the variability of circulation systems, especially in the west of the region. Identifying the impact of this factor, along with the growing atmospheric pollution in recent years, constitutes the perspective of our research. Keywords: sunshine duration, climate variability, regional atmospheric circulation, atmospheric pollution, satellite data.