State policy on the cultural heritage protection during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917 – 1921

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the activities of the ministries of internal affairs, education, justice, provincial and county assemblies, provincial and district departments of culture, city dumas during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917 – 1921, regarding the cultural heritage protection in Ukraine. Methodological principles of research: historical method, which allowed to observe the genesis of the activity of state authorities and local self-government in the cultural heritage protection sphere; methods of analysis and synthesis, its application assisted for legal analysis of key normative acts and power decisions; method of comparative analysis – made it possible to compare the cultural heritage protection policy in the Ukrainian People's Republic during the period of the Ukrainian Central Rada and the Directory and in the Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky Ukrainian State. Scientific novelty. The emphasis was placed on the main steps and measures of state authorities and local self-government (there was no separate Ministry of Culture in Ukrainian governments during the period from 1917 to 1921) regarding the organizational and methodological support for the cultural heritage protection and the development of relative educational work, aimed at raising organizational and cultural level of the people. It was argued that in the conditions of constant military operations and a deep economic crisis, the Ukrainian authorities at that time pursued a purposeful state policy not only to protect the cultural heritage in their own territory, but also to return the cultural heritage of Ukrainians illegally exported from Ukraine. Conclusions. The analysis of the activities of the higher authorities, the ministries of internal affairs, education, justice, provincial and county assemblies, provincial and district departments of culture, city dumas during the period of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917 – 1921 allows to concluding on the generally consistent policy to ensure the cultural heritage protection in Ukraine. However, because of the lack of a particular governing body in the relevant sphere (ministries of culture) and frequent power changes, more attention was paid to the cultural heritage protection by local self-government bodies, which participate significant public support. A number of important problems of the memorial sphere, which had to be solved by the authorities a hundred years ago, are also relevant today, so the experience of their successful solution deserves attention of contemporaries.