Kushnir O. Haidamak movement of 1715 - 1760's: history and perception by contemporaries.

The history of haidamak movement, complex social phenomenon in life of the Ukrainian people on the territory of Rzeczpospolita and Russian Empire is analyzed in the dissertation. The couse of haidamak movement in 1715 - 1760's, with definition of the main stages and locations of the rebel fight are reconstructed. The basic causes of the emergence of haidamaks on the territory of Ukraine, as well as objectives, organization and tactics of the haidamak bands are revealed. The specifics of haidamaks activity in the Right-Bank ana Left-Bank Ukraine, as well as on Zaporizhia are researched. The attitude of the Polish and Russian authorities to haidamak movement is explicated. The use of a significant body of ethnographic materials allowed to research the perception of the haidamak movement by its participants and Ukrainian peasants, and to emphasize the role of haidamak leaders in the deployment of the movement.