Burdyak R. The depiction of the history of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the first half of the 17th century in the works of Polish historians of the late 19th century – 1939.

SUMMARY Burdyak R. Z. The depiction of the history of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the first half of the 17th century in the works of Polish historians of the late 19th century – 1939. – Qualification thesis in manuscript form. Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the specialty 032 “History and Archaeology”. Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University, Drohobych, 2026. It is shown that the history of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the first half of the 17th century was one of the important elements of Polish studies of historical Ukrainian studies and the past of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the works of researchers who worked in the period from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of World War II. The study of this issue took place against the background of the transition of Polish historical science from the postulates of positivism to the ideas of a neo-romantic vision of the past, as well as during the development of historical studies in the interwar period. The specificity of the vision of the past of Ukraine and the Cossacks by Polish historians was also influenced by socio-political processes among the Polish people that took place in stateless times, liberation from foreign rule and during the period of the revival of Polish statehood in the period between the two world wars. Another important factor that influenced the vision of historical Ukrainian studies by Poles was Polish-Ukrainian relations, which from the end of the 19th century to 1939 gradually worsened. In turn, in the events of the 17th century, Polish intellectuals and the broad masses of society often saw examples for comparison in relations with Ukrainians already at the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, trying to find in them models of behavior that could help in solving the problems of their modern life. It is determined that the interest of scientists in the history of the Cossacks in the first half of the 17th century was also due to the need to study the role of the Zaporozhian Army in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the period of its greatest power, when the importance of the Cossacks grew sharply both in the socio-political life of the Polish-Lithuanian state and in the international arena. Along with this, Polish researchers tried to trace in the half-century history of the Cossacks, which preceded the fateful uprising of 1648 for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the roots of a large-scale social disruption that undermined Polish rule in Ukrainian lands and initiated the process of gradual destruction of the Polish state. It has been established that in the depiction of the events of the Cossack uprisings of the 1620s – 1630s, there is often an uncritical adherence to the letter of Polish historical sources, which exaggerate the size of the Cossack forces and the losses inflicted on the rebels. For the most part, the images of Polish commanders and troops were heroized, who were depicted as honest, noble selfless fighters who decisively defeated a much more numerous enemy and showed acts of humanism towards him. Instead, in the spirit of historical myths, the rebels were shown as barbaric masses of ruthless slaughterers and robbers, distinguished by treachery and cowardice. In the works of some researchers, there is a silence on facts that would show the Polish army and commanders in a negative light, undermine the image of national heroes, which was used to “strengthen the hearts” of the Polish people and to educate patriotism. In general assessments of the Cossack uprisings, historians saw them as a prologue to the Khmelnytskyi uprising, a kind of first attempts and training of the Cossacks in their struggle against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a result, they tried to trace their generally negative result for the Polish-Lithuanian state, when it was not possible to completely eliminate the forces dangerous to it, the root causes of the conflict were not resolved, and the contradictions among the population of Ukraine only intensified. Keywords: historiography, Polish historical science of the late 19th century – 1939, history of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the first half of the 17th century, historical image, historical consciousness, myth, nobility, clergy.