Department of Ukrainian History

History

The Department of Ukrainian History traces its origins to the Research Department of the History of Ukrainian Culture, established in 1921 in Kharkiv and headed for many years by Academician D. I. Bahalii. At that time, the department consisted of four sections: Ukrainian history (headed by D. I. Bahalii), history of Ukrainian law (headed by Prof. M. O. Maksimeiko), and ethnography and local history (headed by Prof. O. Vetukhov).

After the re-establishment of the University in 1933, the Faculty of History created the Department of the History of the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR, initially headed by Prof. M. Ye. Redin, and later (until 1945) by Associate Professor I. D. Boiko. The department became a leading educational and research centre for Ukrainian history in Kharkiv.
In 1957, the Department of Ukrainian SSR History separated from the Department of USSR History; in 1989 it was renamed the Department of Ukrainian History. For 32 years (until September 1989), it was headed by Prof. I. K. Rybalkа.

From 1989 to 1994, the department was chaired by Prof. B. K. Myhal. During this period, the department included Doctor of Historical Sciences, Prof. I. K. Rybalkа, and Associate Professors M. Z. Berdu­ta, V. I. Butenko, V. V. Kalinichenko, V. V. Kravchenko, S. O. Naumov, and A. V. Skorobohatov.

In November 1994, V. V. Kalinichenko defended his doctoral dissertation and in December became the Head of the Department of Ukrainian History. Subsequent doctoral degrees were awarded to A. V. Skorobohatov (2006), S. O. Naumov (2007), and L. Yu. Posokhova (2012).

From 1991 to 2025, the department’s faculty taught not only the general course in Ukrainian history but also numerous specialised courses, including:
— Historical Geography of Ukraine
— Source Studies of Ukrainian History
— Stages of Ukrainian Statehood
— History of Ukrainian Art
— Economy of Slobozhanshchyna
— Socio-Political Movements in Ukraine
— Military History of Ukraine
— National Symbols of Ukraine
— History of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church
— Current Issues of National History
— History of the Ukrainian National Liberation Movement
— History of Ukrainian Nationalism
— Social Modernisation of Dnipro Ukraine in the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries and others.
Faculty members supervise students’ coursework, Bachelor’s and Master’s theses in full-time and part-time programmes. The department also provides PhD training.

Research Activities

The department conducts research in a wide range of areas. Key areas of scholarly work include:

— Prof. V. V. Kalinichenko — agrarian history of Ukraine (second half of the 19th – first half of the 20th century); history of Ukrainian nationalism; history of the Holodomor (1932–1933).
— Assoc. Prof. R. H. Liubavskyi — everyday life of workers in the 1920s–1930s; history of Soviet society.
— Assoc. Prof. Ye. Yu. Zakharchenko — Holocaust history; memory studies.
— Prof. L. Yu. Posokhova — history of Ukrainian culture and education.
— Assoc. Prof. D. V. Zhuravlov — history of Sloboda Ukraine, including military affairs of the Sloboda Cossack regiments.

Partners

Ukrainian and International Partners

— Center for Urban History of East-Central Europe
— Department of History, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
— Faculty of History, H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National University
— Department of Philosophy, Social-Political Disciplines and Ethnology, Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University
— Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
— Kharkiv Regional Station of Young Tourists
— Institute of History, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Lublin, Poland)
— Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
— Kharkiv Gymnasium No. 46
— Gymnasium No. 6
— Kharkiv Academy of Continuing Education
— M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum
— Museum of Nature, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
— Kharkiv Art Museum
— Kharkiv Maritime Museum
— Museum of the History of the Southern Railway
— Kharkiv Holocaust Museum
— Archaeological Museum, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
— Kharkiv Literary Museum
— State Archive of the Kharkiv Region
— Central State Scientific and Technical Archive of Ukraine (Kharkiv)