“Black Sea Collection” of the Ukrainian Black Sea Institute as a Source of Research in the History and Historical Geography of Southern Ukraine (1942–1947)

The article is devoted to the analysis of publications in the “Black Sea Collection” (“Chornomorskyi zbirnyk”), which was printed by the Ukrainian Black Sea Institute in Poland and West Germany in 1942-1947. During the 1940s, scientific and public figures of the Ukrainian emigration were able to organize the work of a new scientific and research institution - the Ukrainian Black Sea Institute. Unlike other Ukrainian institutions, this Institute did not have a permanent address, and publications were printed in small editions and almost at its own expense. The organizers – Yuriy Lypa, Lev Bykovsky, Ivan Shovgeniv and Valentyn Sadovsky, defined the goal and objectives of the research, made a plan for the Institute’s publications. The main goal of the publication was to show the importance of the Black Sea for the geopolitical and economic interests of Ukraine. Analysis of the texts determines the breadth of views of their authors and compilers. For them, the development of the maritime space began a separate stage in the history of Ukraine - the Black Sea or maritime, and the Black Sea became one of the strategically important centers around which the Ukrainian nation was to develop. The pages of the collection also outline the Black Sea space itself, stretching from Southeastern Europe to the Iranian Highlands. The most important task of the new Ukrainian state, according to the authors, was to unite all the countries of the Black Sea region on the basis of common political interests, economically developed maritime economy and international trade. A significant number of publications explored various aspects of the history of Ukraine for the first time from the point of view of Ukrainian historiography without the layers of Soviet ideology. The structure of the “Black Sea Collection” consisted not only of author’s articles, but also had reviews, discussions, bibliographical sections, which were also devoted to the history and geography of the Black Sea region. The relevance of many ideas expressed by the authors of the publications (regarding the importance of the southern Ukrainian territory, the Crimean peninsula for the state formation of Ukraine, the content of the struggle for the Black Sea in history, and the strengthening of cooperation in the Black Sea-Mediterranean region) was confirmed not only by World War II, but also by the modern Russian aggression against Ukraine.