160 Years Since the Birth of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi: Karazin University Pays Tribute

On 29 September, we mark the 160th anniversary of the birth of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi (1866–1934), an outstanding historian, an organiser of Ukrainian scholarship, Chairman of the Ukrainian Central Rada, and one of the principal architects of the concept of Ukrainian state continuity. His legacy extends far beyond academia, and his life is closely intertwined with the history of our University.

Mykhailo Hrushevskyi’s ties with Karazin University have deep and symbolic roots. In 1902, the Academic Council of Kharkiv University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of History honoris causa, without requiring a dissertation defence. This was official recognition of the immense significance of his monumental work, History of Ukraine-Rus’, and a powerful act of support for Ukrainian scholarship at a time of severe imperial restrictions.

Mykhailo Hrushevskyi’s life and shared research interests forged strong ties with Dmytro Bahalii, an eminent rector of our University and an academician. Both scholars were trained in the Kyiv historical school of Volodymyr Antonovych. For decades, they maintained an intellectual dialogue and collaborated through the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (VUAN), helping to lay the foundations of modern Ukrainian historiography.

As we honour the memory of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, an Honorary Doctor of Karazin University, we continue his work by preserving Ukrainian identity, fostering critical thinking, and educating a new generation of researchers capable of shaping Ukraine’s future.