EPISTOLARY DIALOGUE BETWEEN OLEKSANDR KONYSKYI AND TYT REVAKOVYCH: CULTURAL AND PUBLISHING PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The article examines the correspondence between Oleksandr Konyskyi and Tyt Revakovych as an important source for studying the intellectual and creative relationships among Ukrainian cultural figures in the second half of the nineteenth century. Their epistolary dialogue reflects coordinated efforts to develop Ukrainian publishing initiatives and periodical press despite the imperial division of Ukrainian lands, contributing to the formation of a shared Ukrainian cultural space.

Although the correspondence has been published, its publishing and intellectual dimensions have not previously been analyzed comprehensively. The study addresses this gap by examining the Konyskyi–Revakovych correspondence as an integral part of the history of the Ukrainian national and cultural movement. Its aim is to analyze the correspondence through the prism of the authors’ cultural and publishing interests and to clarify its significance for the development of the press and book publishing in Galicia. The novelty of the research lies in its holistic interpretation of the correspondence as an intellectual dialogue revealing the mechanisms of Ukrainian cultural integration and national consolidation in the late nineteenth century.

The methodological framework combines historical-literary, biographical, cultural-historical, and hermeneutic approaches, allowing the letters to be examined both as a form of intellectual communication and as a historical source.

The results of the study trace the evolution of the relationship between Konysky and Revakovich and identified the main themes of their dialogue, which centered on Galician periodicals, publishing projects, the promotion of literature, translations, and cooperation between the Dnieper Region, Galicia, and Bukovina. It demonstrates that Konyskyi viewed the press and book publishing as key instruments for strengthening the modern Ukrainian nation, while Revakovych’s letters reveal the specific conditions of the Ukrainian movement in Bukovyna amid the Romanianization of the local Ukrainian population. The correspondence fulfilled not only private and informational functions but also served as an important instrument for coordinating cultural cooperation and shaping common publishing strategies.