Denis Ivanovych Zubrytsky ( uk, Дени́с Іва́нович Зубри́цький, ; 1777 – January 16, 1862), was the first Ukrainian historian in Galicia and a major early figure in the Galician Russophile movement.Denys Zubrytsky, Encyclopedia of Ukraine
(1993). Volume 5. Article written by Roman Senkus

Life

Denis Zubrytsky was born in 1777 into a family of Ukrainian nobles.

Orest Subtelny Orest Subtelny ( uk, О́рест Субте́льний, 17 May 1941 – 24 July 2016) was a Ukrainian-Canadian historian. Born in Kraków, Poland, he received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1973. From 1982 to 2015, he was a Professor ...

. (2000) ''Ukraine: A History''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pg. 317 After graduating from Lviv's gymnazium in 1795, he worked as a civil servant. In his youth. he had been pro-Polish, and had even supported Napoleon's invasion of Austria-Hungary; in 1809 he served as a secretary to the pro-French Polish forces who occupied the city. Later in his life, Zubrytsky became very hostile to Polish interests and an ardent supporter of Russophilism.John-Paul Himka. (2001). The Construction of Nationality in Galician Rus': Icarian Flights in Almost All Directions. In ''Intellectuals and the Articulation of the Nation '' (Ronald Grigor Suny, Michael D. Kennedy, Eds.) Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press pg. 137 Between 1829 and 1847, he held various positions within the Stauropegion Institute, an important cultural and historical institution in western Ukraine that served as a bastion of Russophilism. He became a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Archeological Commission in 1842, and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1855. In 1843, he was commissioned to organize the

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

municipal archive.

Works and ideas

Zubrytsky was highly influenced by his friend,

Mikhail Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Пого́дин; , Moscow, Moscow) was a Russian Imperial historian and journalist who, jointly with Nikolay Ustryalov, dominated the national historiography between the death ...

, and his idea that Ukrainians and Russian constituted one nation. During his time Austria and Russia were allies and Zubrytsky idealized Russian autocracy while also being loyal to Austria-Hungary. He opposed the Polish nobility and the Polish domination of Galicia, while also objecting to the abolition of serfdom. Through Zubrytsky's efforts many Galicians, such as

Yakiv Holovatsky Yakiv is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Yakiv Barabash (died 1658), Zaporozhian Cossack Otaman (1657–58) who opposed Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky *Yakiv Hodorozha (born 1993), Ukrainian former competitive figure skater *Yakiv Holo ...

, one of the members of the Ruthenian Triad, were converted to Russophilism. Denis Zubrytsky published numerous historical works. His most significant work, written in the Russian language, was the ''History of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia'', written in 1852 and 1855. He also published articles on Galician folk songs, histories of the Ruthenian people and church figures in medieval times, and other historical articles. According to a letter Zubtrytsky wrote to Mikhail Pogodin, the purpose of his historical research was to acquaint Galicians (western Ukrainians) with Russian history and with the Russian language.Serhiy Plokhy. (2005). ''Unmaking imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the writing of Ukrainian history'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp.161-162

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zubrytsky, Denis 1777 births 1862 deaths 19th-century Ukrainian historians Historians of Ukraine Ukrainian people in the Austrian Empire Historians from the Austrian Empire Ukrainian nobility Russophiles of Galicia