MYRON KORDUBA AS A POPULARIZER OF HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE (BUKOVYNA PERIOD)

The purpose of the study is to generalize multifaceted popular science works of M. Korduba in the diversity of its thematic manifestations and taking into account the peculiarities of the Bukovyna period scientist’s work. The methodology of the study is based on the tradition of historiographic work combining the principles (ones of historicism and objectivity) and methods (general and specific historical ones) of scientific work. The scientific novelty of the article is an attempt to comprehensively reconstruct the work of Korduba-populariser in the early twentieth century. The Conclusions. According to the design of M. Korduba, his popular works created among the broad circles of the Ukrainian community a sense of community, national awareness and dignity, taught to know and love their past, called to honour heroes and plan for a common future. The works of the Korduba-populariser are marked by respect for its reader, manifested in the refusal from popular retelling of mythological stories as the most «suitable» for the peasant community. Having been

Myron Korduba as a popularizer of historical knowledge (Bukovina period) responsible, the scientist deliberately broadcast to the readers a purely scientific knowledge of the past, however complicated it might have been. In addition, the historian spoke to his readers in a language they understood, while at the same time not indulging in an instructive tone and vulgar didacticism. All this made his popular science studios extremely popular among the general public, as evidenced by their considerable circulation and approving professional reception.
The Problem Statement. The issue of popularization of knowledge about the native past among the general public has always been the focus of attention of Ukrainian historians, who had to live and work in the turbulent times of the late 19th -first third of the 20th centuries. That period was marked by the rapid growth of modern national communities across the vast terrain of Central and Eastern Europe, the most striking manifestation of which was the emergence of, sometimes short-lived, nation-states on the territory of the former empires of the Romanovs, Habsburgs and Hohenzollerns. At that era, historians had a special missionto «awaken» a sense of belonging to their nation in their fellow citizens and to convince them in the priority of the national interest over a personal or local one.
This was the most difficult task for the Ukrainian intellectuals, since the long stateless existence and division between the borders of the empires led to the emergence of several national names (the Ruthenians, the Little Russians and the Ukrainians), as well as to the deepening differences in linguistic and religious practices, which might have led us to the problems the Croatians and the Serbians have now. This situation worsened due to the ruthless repressions against the activists of the Ukrainian movement by the punitive bodies of the Russian tsar, which markedly dimmed the national life in the Dnipro Ukraine. Therefore, the crucial goals of national progress were taken over by the Galician public figures, who were given a considerable financial and intellectual support by their colleagues from another bank of the Zbruch. The most powerful manifestation of the latter was the delegation by the Kyiv community of its distinguished student, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, to the Department of Ukrainian History of Lviv University, opened in 1894. The author of the «History of Ukraine-Rus» and representatives of the scientific school he created were the first to put the cause of popularization of their native past on a solid professional and methodological soil (Telvak, Pedych, 2016, pp. 195-379).
Among the Lviv students of M. Hrushevsky, Myron Korduba has, perhaps, the most diverse and considerable popularization works. Given the fact that the scientist spent his almost entire life in teaching, his scientific popularization works were a synthesis of two passages of his life -teaching and research. As a result, he issued a considerable number of diverse studies (the articles and the books), which were addressed to the Ukrainians with different educational backgrounds. Unfortunately, to this day, this important aspect of M. Korduba's intellectual biography has never been highlighted, which confirms the reason for the relevance of our research.
The Analysis of Sources and Recent Research. The source of the research is the numerous popular scientific works of M. Korduba (e.g. the articles and brochures), which appeared during the Bukovyna period of the scientist's life and activity (1900 -1918). The historiography of Korduba's activity, despite its extent and diversity, does not contain any general research on the popularization work of a prominent representative of the Lviv School of Ukrainian Studies. V. Pedych (Pedycz, 2005), Y. Polishchuk ) and T. Batiuk (Batiuk, 2018) have to some extent addressed this topic in their texts.
The Publication's Purpose. The purpose of the article is an attempt to summarize comprehensively M. Korduba's versatile scientific and popular work in the diversity of its thematic manifestations and taking into account the peculiarities of the Bukovyna period of the scientist's work.
The Statement of the Basic Material. The beginnings of M. Korduba's interest in science popularization coincide in time with his migration from Vienna to Chernivtsi in 1900 and the first steps in the pedagogical field at the local bilingual gymnasium. Once he started his activity in the midst of the local Ukrainians, the young historian noted such an extremely threatening phenomenon for a national existence, such as Bukovyna particularism. Its spokesmen tried to highlight in any way the differences of the lifestyle and spiritual practices of the local Ukrainian population and their compatriots from Galicia and the Dnipro Ukraine. In identifying the cause of such a dangerous phenomenon, M. Korduba rightly recognized the low national awareness level not only of the majority of the population, but also of public activists. In their minds, the scientist noted, a local self-presentation of pre-modern communities dominated over the understanding an exceptional value of their national self. The historian fully shared the belief of his teacher M. Hrushevsky that fostering a sense of unity in the broad circles of the Ukrainians is the most important task for the intelligentsia on both sides of the Zbruch (Telvak, 2017).
Responding to this threatening situation for the Ukrainians at that time, M. Korduba postponed his scientific projects and focused on the development of popular scientific works. The first studio of such kind was his «A Brief History of Bukovyna», which was printed part by part in the «Illustrated Bukovyna Orthodox Calendar» during 1905. This work contained a concise, written in the language adapted for the average reader, the essay on the past Bukovyna region. At the same time, throughout the whole narrative, the author constantly emphasized on the close ties between the Ukrainian Bukovynians and their Galician and Dnieper brothers from princely times to the times of a national revival (Korduba, 1904). It should be noted that such a semantic accent became traditional for the popular science works by Korduba. The mentioned studio of M. Korduba was published just on time, as testified by its unprecedented popularity among the broad sections of readers, who in a short time completely bought up the edition of the «Illustrated Bukovyna Orthodox Calendar». Therefore, there was a need for a new similar work, taking into account the wishes of readers and fellow historians. Responding to this situation, Korduba prepared a more complete illustrated edition about the past of Bukovyna region that considered the peculiarities of the perception of the scientific text by an unprepared reader. As early as 1906, the first popular science book by M. Korduba, «The Illustrated History of Bukovyna», was published.
The «Foreword» of M. Korduba's book emphasized on the importance of historical knowledge for humanity: «Every educated man must know the past of his native land, his native people. Nature itself calls for our curiosity to learn something about the past of our relatives, our village and the surrounding areas» (Korduba, 1906, p. III). However, according to the author, as human memory has understandable temporal limitations, the information about the past was recorded by few literate people. Over the time, such records became quite numerous, so historians were able to create synthetic essays on the past of their communities.
Despite the popular nature of the book, M. Korduba briefly describes the main sources for the history of the Ukrainian people and the inhabitants of Bukovyna region in his introduction. Finally, the author outlined his own vision of the tasks of scientific popularization. Explaining to the reader the benefits of getting acquainted with the book, the scientist noted: «The book will demonstrate that the life of each person has its own ups and downs, times of prosperity and decline. As the strength, precision and mind of the person affects his/her fate in life, so the education and energy of the whole people defines its position among others. The more educated, self-aware and generous for the common cause the people are, the better are their prospects in the future. You will find many examples of such devotion to the homeland, and let it strengthen your love for your native nation and your willingness to work hard to acquire a better future and a better fortune» (Korduba, 1906, pp. IV-V).
The architectonics of the «Illustrated History of Bukovina» is extremely interesting. Turning away from the tradition of depicting the history of the region as something being limited in time and space by a historical phenomenon, M. Korduba for the first time among the local historians offered the reader an all-Ukrainian optics. From such a conciliarism perspective, Bukovyna emerges as an integral part of Greater Ukraine, which only for a short time lived with it in the same political life, but never tore numerous spiritual ties. In support of this thesis, the historian begins the story from the time of the settlement of the peoples, when the immediate ancestors of the Ukrainians settled large expanses from the San to the Don. Further, during the princely age, according to the author, a lot of the Slavic tribes developed a cultural and tribal sense of unity that later became the basis for formation of the Ukrainian people. A special role in such a union, as Korduba noted, was played by the baptism of Rus by Volodymyr the Great.
Bukovyna did not tear its connections with the rest of Ukraine during the feudal fragmentation period as well. At that time, it became the part of the heir of Kyiv Rus -Galicia and Volyn principality. Thus, the historical destinies of proto-Ukrainian sub-ethnicities intertwined even more.
The result of such relationships was the emerging feeling of all-Ukrainian unity. It appeared to be so strong that even the centuries of being under the rule of other countries could not undermine it. Describing the past of the country during the Medieval times and during modern period, M. Korduba constantly demonstrates cultural and economic connections of with the locals of other Ukrainian lands, emphasizes on the Bukovynians' existing urge to communicate with their Dniester and Dnipro compatriots.
For example, in his characteristic of Moldovan rule M. Korduba mentioned: «Though the creation of a separate Moldova state tore the political connections of the Carpathian and the middle Dniester Ukrainians with the rest of Rus -yet the relationships between the Polish and Moldovan Rus Ukrainians remained active. Both native and migrated Vlachs experienced the cultural influence of Rus. The Rus language became the authority language among the officers, Moldovan aristocracy and clergy» (Korduba, 1906, pp. 33-34).
The Ukrainian conciliarism tendencies became especially visible at the Cossack era when the new defenders of the Orthodox faith inhabited almost all Ukrainian terrains. M. Korduba dedicated his special attention to Moldovan policies of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi as the latter had real chances to unite the Ukrainians in one political unity (Korduba, 1906, pp. 35-43) According to M. Korduba, the XIXth century became the peak of all-Ukrainian unity, as the Ukrainians, like other Slavic people, underwent the eventful phase of a national revival. During that time, due to the thorough work of intelligentsia on both banks of the Zbruch, the Ukrainians established stronger and stronger relationships between the Ukrainians of the two empires. Powerful cultural influences from Dnipro Ukraine and Galicia finally «woke up» Bukovynian intelligentsia and urged it to the common national work.
Describing its achievements, the author positively mentions: «Thus, the national life of the Bukovynian Ruthenians before the 20-ies emerged. It is worth wondering and being happy for it as they achieved a great success in numerous aspects in such a short period of time. The last years show us the more and more vivid and engaging life of the Bukovynian Rus. The growth of self-awareness among Rus intelligentsia resulted in the community of activist that work at education, national awareness and economic advance of our city and peasant population» (Korduba, 1906, p. 86).
We cannot but draw attention to the illustrative part of Korduba's book. He illustrated «Illustrated history of Bukovyna», following the conciliarism tendency, with pictures that visualised best the most remarkable moments not only in the history of the land, but the history of Ukraine as well. Thus, along with images of the King Danylo, Stephen the Great, emperor Joseph II, Osyp Fedkovych and Isidore Vorobkevych, we see story illustrations on the baptism of Rus, the beauty of the Dnipro rapids or the horror of the Tatar attack, as well as portraits of Yaroslav Mydryi, Petro Mohyla and Taras Shevchenko.
M. Korduba's «Illustrated History of Bukovyna» was extremely welcomed not only among the readers but also among professionals. The most thorough review of the book was written by his colleague from Lviv Historical School, Stepan Tomashivsky. As he had a profound experience with his own didactic works, the reviewer noted the talent of the Korduba-populariser to present the necessary material in a concise form, without falling into the profanation or vulgarization of historical knowledge: «Despite the increasingly popular nature of the essay, the author stuck to scientific forms, acceptable in modern textbooks. He tried to provide an insight into the different sides of the political, social and national-cultural life, while miniaturizing them in a short story» (S. T., 1907, p. 213). S. Tomashivsky also praised the conciliarism message of his colleague's book, fully agreeing with the importance of such optics: «It should be noted that the author recounts the history of this piece of Rus-Ukraine, while constantly linking it with the historical fate of the entire Ukrainian people, from the ancient to modern times» (S. T., 1907, p. 213).
As a conclusion, the reviewer characterizes the professional side of the analysed work. In his opinion, only a scientist of M. Korduba's level should be occupied with scientific popularization, because it is a guarantee that the reader will gain reliable knowledge, which will become an important worldview. «With regard to the metric part, we must admit that the book in each part corresponds to the general results of the latest experiments, written sine ira et studio». As S. Tomashivsky sums up, «…the statement is clear, although the form is a bit less popular for peasant readers, but it is good for schools. Twelve illustrations of all historical times decorate this already beautifully published book. The author deserves a sincere gratitude for it» (ST, 1907, p. 213).
The liveliness of perception and discussion of the «Illustrated History of Bukovyna» showed an urgent need for this type of literature, which encouraged M. Korduba to continue his work on the creation of popular science works. The scientist wrote a series of educational articles under the general title «Who are we?» for the least educated audience. These texts, which contained the basic historical information about the past of the Ukrainian people and its Bukovyna part, contained the explanations the peculiarities and significance of the national name of the Ukrainians, spoke about the glorious past and pantheon of the heroes of our people, showed the landmarks of national labour, etc. (Korduba, 1907, pp. 78-87). These articles contributed significantly to raising the level of a national awareness, above all, for the peasant readership, which was discussed in many critical reviews.
The demand for the mentioned historical and educational articles for a wide circle of readers from the people became a reference point for M. Korduba in his further popularization work. Having considered the numerous wishes of readers and the advice of colleagues-educators, the scientist prepared a supplemented version of the work entitled «Who are we?» with an eloquent subtitle -«On Ukrainian nationality, state and language» (Korduba, 1911). A new book was published in Chernivtsi in 1911 in the popular publishing series «The People's Library», edited by the well-known Bukovynian educational figure Lev Kohut.
In this book M. Korduba addressed to the broadest possible circle of poorly educated readers. He explained the importance of national self-awareness, showing as much as possible when and how the Ukrainian nationality was created. Overcoming the mental stereotypes of the Ukrainian peasantry, the historian emphasized that religion and nationality are different concepts that do not overlap. Therefore, as the author argues, one should be clearly aware of the belonging to certain people, and only then tackle the religious similarities or differences within the Ukrainian community.
The following part of M. Korduba's book deals with the problem of functioning of the Ukrainian language in the wide space from the San to the Don, presenting it as the most significant marker of nationality. Convincing its readers in the urgent need to cherish their mother tongue, the educator emotionally emphasizes: «[…] Our mother tongue supports our Rus nationality, language, and is a watchman who keeps and prevents the Rusyns from a complete merging with other people. Our mother tongue keeps us in the world of the Rusyns. And that is why the mother tongue is a very important treasure in our lives.
[…] Therefore, we must cherish and nurture it in the way it deserves, we must love this most precious of our spiritual treasures» (Korduba, 1911, pp. 15-16).
Finally, in the last part of his book, M. Korduba raises the most topical issue of the division of Ukrainians by different state borders, which constantly deepens the differences between, as he wrote, the «children of one mother». From the standpoint of a conciliarism adherent, the scientist emphasizes that regional and religious features should not destroy national unity. On the contrary, one should deliberately abandon seemingly usual things in favour of unifying steps, no matter how incomprehensible at first. Among them there is the need for conscious acceptance of a single national name. «Both the Ukrainians and the Rusyns are one and the same people», the author stresses. «Therefore, we should definitely decide on one common name. And what are the names of those two that we stick to? There can be only one answer to this: one that most of our people use.
[…] The more enlightened circles of our people have adopted the name «the Ukrainians» and we must all follow them, especially since all our memories are closely connected with Ukraine» (Korduba, 1911, pp. 45-46). In substantiating his position, M. Korduba shows the historical grandeur and the great power of the Ukrainian people to Bukovynians, thereby raising in their imagination the prestige of being a Ukrainian. «Thus, we speak Ukrainian and have common historical traditions together with Ukraine -that is why we are a great Ukrainian nation, counting 34 million people, belonging to the largest peoples of Europe and inhabiting a space larger than any European state with the exception of Russia.
[…] As we can see, there is also Ukraine and the great Ukrainian people, who have their own separate traditions, their own proper language, and their specific customs and traditions» (Korduba, 1911, p. 46).
Analysing the popular science editions of M. Korduba, we can say very little about the peculiarities of their colportage and people's reception. Unfortunately, the publishers of that time, with few exceptions, had no widespread practice of specifying the circulation of their printed matter, as well as of reporting the dynamics of its distribution. Considering the low cost of the popular books by M. Korduba, we can assume that most willing readers could well afford such a cultural expense. It should also be noted that the books mentioned by the historian were published by cultural and educational societies, so that their circulation was directed primarily to popular reading rooms, where they were freely available to readers. Therefore, almost anyone could get acquainted with Korduba's achievements.
Another important component of the scientific popularization of the Ukrainian past was informing the Bukovynian public about the achievements of prominent Ukrainian figures who, through their multifaceted work, contributed to a significant advance of national culture. At the same time, in accordance with consciously accepted conciliarism optics, the historian tried to write in a balanced way about the Dnipro and the Zbruch intellectuals. For example, among the Ukrainians from the Russian empire, he particularly emphasizes on the importance of Borys Hrinchenko's national service (Batyuk, 2015) and Volodymyr Antonovych . As for the Galician intellectuals of the time, M. Korduba was fascinated by the magnitude of, his teacher M. Hrushevsky's (his teacher) creative genius during the period under study (Telvak and Telvak, 2018).
In addition to his historically popular works, M. Korduba also actively disseminated knowledge about the Ukrainian past among the masses through public lectures. As an active member of many Ukrainian institutions of Bukovyna region, he presented his lectures, first of all, at the Chernivtsi Historical Society (Satyr Oleg, 1904), the Civic Club (Respectful Manifestation, 1914), local branches of the «Prosvita» (Sokil, 1904, p. 2) and the «Ruska besida» («Rus conversation») (Deshcho pro diialnist, 1913, p. 4). Bukovynian newspapers unanimously praised the unprecedented popularization and oratorical talents of a scientist who skilfully ignited the hearts of listeners with a love to the Ukrainian past.
The Conclusions. Summarizing our observations on the work of the Kordubapopulariser, let us pay attention to his image of a true Ukrainian intellectual, who in a difficult time for the existence of the nation put aside his own scientific plans and focused on the education of broad circles. According to the scientist, his popular works cultivated a sense of unity, a national awareness and dignity among the broad circles of the Ukrainian community, taught it to know and love its past, called to honour heroes and plan for a common future. The works analysed above provide the features of the scientific work of Korduba-populariser. First of all, he has a special respect for his reader, that manifested itself in the refusal from the trend to retell mythological stories as the most «suitable» ones for the peasant community. Feeling responsible, the scientist deliberately broadcast to the readership a purely scientific knowledge of the past, however complicated it might have been. Also, the historian spoke to his reader in a language s/he understood, while at the same time not indulging in an instructive tone and vulgar didacticism. All this has made his popular science works extremely popular among the general public, as evidenced by their considerable circulation and approving professional reception. Finally, we note that we consider this attempt to reconstruct the popular science works of M. Korduba in the early twentieth century to be only the first step to the full research of this interesting problem, as, in fact, the scientist never left his popularization work. First and foremost, his popular studios on the War for Independence and the interwar periods still require further research.