Shvajba N. N.D. Polonska-Vasylenko - a researcher of the history of Southern Ukraine.

The dissertation is devoted to the comprehensive historiographic analysis of N.D. Polonska-Vasylenko's studies of Southern Ukraine of XVIII century. On the basis of analysis of the historiography of the problem, of involvement of wide range of the archive materials, of scientific heritage of the historian, the research stages of the searches of the scientist were reconstructed, the basic directions of the scientific study of the history of Southern Ukraine were determined, the historical opinions of N.D. Polonska-Vasylenko were analysed in their progressive development. Conceptual basis of the research's vision of the history of Southern Ukraine of XVIII century and a value of scientific works for the historiography of this direction and for the Ukrainian historiography on the whole were ascertained