The main centres of the formation of Ukrainian national identity in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A historical contribution to contemporary developments.

Abstract

The article identifies and reviews the most important activists and circles involved in working for the construction of a modern Ukrainian identity and its popularisation in the areas of residence of the Ukrainian-speaking population in the nineteenth century. This review is conducted on the basis of theoretical reflection drawing from the concepts and considerations of the classics of thought on the development and functioning of modern nations. Split between the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire, the Ukrainian population, dominated by the upper classes with different national consciousness and ethnicity, underwent different processes of national formation in the two areas. The work takes this significant aspect into account and adopts this division when looking at the development of national movements in these lands and their possible interpenetration or dissimilarities. The work also includes an analysis of the major activities created by these communities, the publications published, the associations and centres organised and the historical processes used to construct and influence the national narrative. Believing that the situation today cannot be understood without an analysis of the past and the local specifics of identity formation in Ukraine, the paper aims to summarise the space of historical narratives on the above-mentioned issues.