З ЛИСТУВАННЯ РОДИНИ ДРАГОМАНОВИХ (ГАДЯЧ‒ЖЕНЕВА/СОФІЯ)

For the first time, four letters to the Drahomanov couple, sent by members of their family from Hadiach to Geneva (7 (19) July 1884, 8 (20) August 1884, May 1888) and Sofia (not earlier than autumn 1892), are introduced into scientific circulation. The unpublished epistolary texts by Y. and O. Drahomanov provide details of the addressees’ lives and describe the events that were taking place in Poltava region at that time. The letters outline the range of interests of the correspondents, focusing on the most important problems of the family of that period. The publication is based on information that adds new touches to the characterization of the addressees, in particular M. Dragomanov and his immediate circle - mother, wife, children, brother Oleksandr.

The letters are presented autographed in the compiler’s translation and in the original language, preserving the peculiarities of the correspondents’ writing. The notes and comments focus on the figures that are mentioned in the texts and provide concise information about the dates. The preface primarily deals with the fate of the autographs. The article highlights the history of collecting and publishing M. Drahomanov’s correspondence, which, at the time of the death of this outstanding and influential figure of the last quarter of the 19th century, was kept in his home archive in Bulgaria or in the correspondents’ archives. The author mentions the first epistolary editions prepared for printing owing to the efforts of Liudmyla Drahomanova, Mykhailo Pavlik, Ivan Franko, and Lesia Ukrainka and traces the path of the letters submitted by the archive of M. Drahomanov to the Russian State Library, where they are supposed to be currently stored. Attention is focused on the importance of publishing the documents that have settled in the funds of a country that is at war with the Ukrainian people now.