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Natural-scientific societies of Ukraine in late ХІХ-th – early ХХ-th centuries: review of modern historiography
Authors: DEMUZ I. O.
Number of views: 704
The article analyzes the works published after 1991 and devoted to various aspects of natural
scientific societies, which functioned in Ukraine in late XIX – early XX century.
It was found out that at the present stage of historiography development V. Savchuk, K. Chernenko
and O. Pilipchuk were among the first who started to study natural societies of Ukraine of this period. The
object of these researches was a number of natural scientific societies of Southern Ukraine, Crimea,
Bessarabia and Kiev Society of Naturalists. The authors primarily shown the historical role of natural
communities as a special form of research activities organizationand their contribution to science and
education,determined their place in the socio-cultural process of XIX – early XX century.
A number of general works of O. Konovets, M. Malanyuk, L. Primenko, A. Rizhenko, L. Osiyuk,
S. Rudova and other scientists was analyzed, where the main activities of natural scientific societies were
studied. Attention is paid to the work of L. Kuhta about Mykolayiv and Kamyanets’-Podil’sk societies of
naturalists, and the works of M. Kostritsa, V. Titov, M. Shevchuk, I. Yarmoshik – about Society of Volyn’
researchers. A substantial contribution of V. Ivantsiv to the study of Society of Volyn’ researchers’ history
was marked, in particular his faunal studies in the region.
N. Kolosovska’s works, devoted to the history of Mykolayiv society of nature amateurs, were
considered in detail. The researcher was among the first who marked a difference between public-scientific natural associations and natural societies at universities – combination of research work with a broad
educational activities that usually prevailed. Some aspects of natural societies’ activities were presented in
theses of L. Zvonkova, M. Karavans’ka, A. Korobchenko. L. Adzhieva studied the experience of Crimean
Society of naturalists and nature amateurs, I. Levchenko investigated a scientific component of natural
societies’ activities in Ukraine.
In addition to scientific articles, monographs and dissertations, materials of scientific conferences
on the history of biological science and its prominent representatives were published.
It was found that at the present stage of historiography the researchers’ use of personological
approach to the study of biological science is common. Thus, O. Khohlova, M. Korman, V. Shumanskyi,
O. Sergienko and other researchers wrote about the active participants of natural-scientific societies of
Ukraine (M. Sharleman’, V. Karavayev, I. Feshchenko-Chopivslyi, O. Korotnyev).
It was found that since the 1990’s a research focus has shifted from the study of empire-wide
research natural centers to the regional (local) ones. In modern historiography the issues of natural
scientific societies’ contribution to the development of microbiology, ecology, genetics, floral, faunal and
systematic research in Ukraine are highlighted, not only scientific, public and practical activities of
societies’ members, but contribution of these societies to the development of education and popularization
of knowledge among the population, organization of excursion-exhibition-museum activities, publishing
and environmental activities are considered.
Keywords: natural-scientific societies, scientific activities, members of societies, popularization of
knowledge, Biology, researchers, historiography