PUBLIC ACTIVITIES OF PETRO SOKALSKYI (TO THE 185th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH AND THE 130th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH)

Abstract

The objective. The study examines the public activities of a famous Ukrainian composer P.P. Sokalskyi and its importance for the cultural and economic development of the Southern Ukraine in the mid-to-late XIXth century. It looks at the areas of interest of P.P.Sokalskyi and emphasizes the importance of his public activity and its influence on the formation of the economy and trade in Odessa and the entire Southern region as a whole. The article analyzes the archive materials (P.Sokalskyi’s published pieces) on various aspects of economic nature as well as the public activities of the artist in the field of music education and popularization of music as an art. The research methodology consists of historical, primary sources studying and biographical methods. The mentioned above methodological approach allows to reveal and analyze the economic and cultural life of the Southern region within the defined timeframe through printed press publications and to find the archival documents which makes it possible to create the retrospective view on P.P.Sokalskyi’s public activities in the mid-to-late XIXth century and to add some new facts to the biography of this famous personality of the national culture. Scientific originality. This research highlights previously unstudied period of P.P.Sokalskyi’s activities and introduces new archival documents, which enables the retrospective view on his public activities. Conclusion. On the basis of the archival documents, it can be concluded that in the field of public service P.Sokalskyi proved to be not only an outstanding writer whose publications shaped public opinion of the entire South region. He showed himself a serious professional in various issues of agriculture, which started to develop in the South at that time, as well as in economy and trade. Thanks to P.P.Sokalskyi the fairs of wine products have become a tradition, which successfully continues nowadays. Owing to him tree plantations and forest belts were introduced, permanent meteorological services were founded etc.