Historian Theodore Matskiv in His Memoirs and Correspondence

Abstract

The article presents the memoirs of Father Yuri Mytsik about the emigrant from Galicia, the renowned emigrant historian and researcher of early modern Ukrainian history, Theodore Matskiv (1918–2011). The publication’s objective is to portray the persona of a representative from the older generation of Ukrainian scholars in the diaspora through sources of personal origin — memoirs about him and his letters to the author of the memoirs. The memoirs and correspondence shed light on Matskiv’s life journey, scholarly and civic activities, his historical perspectives, assessments of past and contemporary events. In Matskiv’s memoirs, he emerges in everyday life. Concurrently, the author draws attention to the peculiarities of the scientist’s communication with a colleague from Ukraine. Matskiv’s impressions of the atmosphere within the Dnipropetrovsk scientific community in the early years of independence are of interest. The correspondence spans over a decade. The historian’s figure is depicted in letters with a plethora of life details, academic interests, reactions to political life in independent Ukraine. Brief but eloquent characterizations of Ukrainian presidents — Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, Victor Yushchenko — help in understanding how diaspora members perceived these politicians. Also noteworthy is Matskiv’s genuine interest in the research of his Ukrainian colleague. The letters demonstrate the Ukrainian diaspora scientist’s familiarity with the issues of the formation of historical science in Ukraine from the 1990s to the mid-2000s. At the same time, one can observe Matskiv’s research activity even in his advanced age. He discusses his new publications and reissues of already known works with the addressee. The addition of letters to Theodore Matskiv from the author to the main epistolary corpus broadens the context of their long-term communication. The publication of new sources not only deepens the understanding of one of the well-known researchers of early modern Ukrainian history after the post-war emigration wave, but also reproduces the mechanism of communication between historians of the old generation and scientists of independent Ukraine.