HISTORICAL AND LOCAL STUDIES ACTIVITIES OF OLEKSANDR DMYTROVYCH TVERDOHLYBOV

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the historical and local history activities of the outstanding researcher of Okhtyr region Oleksandr Dmytrovych Tverdokhlibov. The author provides a brief description of the development of the historical and local history movement in Left Bank Ukraine at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. The galaxy of researchers who studied the history of Sumy region is considered, while the importance of the research work of local «provincial» local historians is highlighted. Brief biographical data of O. D. Tverdokhlibov, in particular, the initial path of his development as a historian and local historian is highlighted. The scientific connections of the outstanding researcher of Okhtyr region with Kharkiv University were traced: his activities as part of the Kharkiv Historical and Philological Society at the university, as well as fruitful cooperation and friendship with the famous Kharkiv historian-ethnographer M. F. Sumtsov. Various areas of historical and local history activity of O. D. Tverdokhlibov have been analyzed, and a list of his most famous works is also compiled. The author focused considerable attention on the analysis of the work of an outstanding local historian on the study of various aspects of the history of Okhtyrka and local counties. His historical excursion regarding the development of the religious life of the community of Okhtyr region, as well as scientific investigations regarding the history of the emergence and construction of certain ancient church buildings in the region, are considered. Detailed analyzes of research by O. D. Tverdokhlibov on the study of the history of the organization of educational institutions in Okhtyrka and, in general, the history of the development of local education. Based on a detailed study of the researcher's works, his great interest in the history of the industrial development of the Okhtyr region, as well as economic and statistical studies of the region, was revealed. The results of individual ethnographic expeditions, which O. D. Tverdokhlibov carried out in his free time from teaching activities. The significant contribution of the researcher-local historian in the implementation of state projects on the study of ancient local folk crafts was noted. The participation of O. D. Tverdokhlibov at the 12th archaeological congress in Kharkiv, in particular his personal contribution to the organization of the ethnographic exhibition at this congress. The final part of the article examines the folklore and literary heritage of O. D. Tverdokhlibov, as a promising path for further research in the study of individual areas of activity of this outstanding researcher of the Sumy region.