Oliynichenko O. Conflicts and characters in the historical novels about Ruina

The thesis work is devoted to the investigation of conflicts and characters in the historical novels which depict one of the most tragic periods of Ukrainian past (1657-1680 years). On the base of analysis of the artistic conflicts in the historical novels about Ruina we have observed four typical conflicts: "Ukraine - the Osmanska Empire", "Ukraine - Poland", "Ukraine - Moscovia", "brother against brother". The specific features of these conflicts are determined by the following factors: peculiarities of the author's comprehension of historical conflicts, artistic embodiment and a way of revelation of these conflicts. It is noted that the creators of the historical novels tried to convey the meaning of their artistic conceptions by means of depicting original historical personalities: Ivan Vygovsky, Ivan Sirko, Urij Hmelnychenko, Petro Doroshenko. It is emphasized that foreign characters (Russians, Poles, Turks, Tatars and others) have played an exceptional role in the development of international conflicts. Ukrainian writers not only describe a typical foreign character, but also show the "dialectics of soul" of such a hero.