"Here Is Not As In Russia" (From Travel Notes of the Young V.Vernadskyi) (introductory article by V.Danylenko, Kyiv)

Abstract

Research aim – to analyze in the context of knowledges about Ukraine historical and local lore notes of V.Vernadskyi, first published by I.Mochalov in 2001, to pay reader’s attention on a peculiarities of the ethno genesis of the Ukrainian people revealed by the young researcher, transformation of social, cultural and ethno-national relations between Ukrainian and Russian people in the South of Ukraine at the 18–19 centuries.

The research methodology is based on the means of historical comparative studies, relies on the principles of historicism, systematization, scientificity.

The scientific novelty consists of a new confirmation V.Vernadskyi’s constant interest to the history of Ukraine, Ukrainian people, it’s language and culture, aspiration to systematically and objectively reproduce deep historical processes.

Conclusions. On the example of Novomoskovsk district V.Vernadskyi describes a wide panorama of Ukrainian people’s life, analyzes in details the processes that took place among different groups of the population and their ethno social, psychological, social, ethnographic features. He considers in details the process of "familiarization" of Ukrainian lands by Russian landowners and the active "okhokhliuvannia" of displace Russian peasants in the Ukrainian ethnic environment. Analyzes the scientist and the reverse, more powerful and ever-growing process – the Russification of the Ukrainian population, it’s social tools, sources, methods. The notes of V.Vernadskyi’s contains valuable materials for naturalists, ethnographers and ethnologists, social psychologists, sociologists.