The Region of ‘Southern Ukraine’ in Historical Memory and Mental Dimension

Abstract

The article examines the region of ‘Southern Ukraine’ in terms of historical memory and its mental dimension, and attempts to determine the most appropriate name for the region and its territories, based on the research of historians of the 19-21 centuries.

Historical memory is a relatively stable set of interconnected collective perceptions of the past of a certain group of people, codified and standardised in historical research, myths and symbols. The regions of Ukraine have different versions of historical memory. Some researchers attribute the problems associated with historical memory and the current situation in Ukraine to its geopolitical location between the East and the West.

Southern Ukraine is a separate historical region whose territorial boundaries are defined by the geographical limits of the Black Sea and Azov regions, which include the territories of modern Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, south-eastern parts of Odesa and Kherson regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. It has its own history, territory, ethnic composition and mental characteristics. Its location at the crossroads of civilisations, cultures and important land and sea transport routes played a significant role in the historical development of this region.

The national mentality performs the functions of historical memory and allows the people to preserve their identity and ethnic consciousness. The southern Ukrainian population has accumulated a number of important traits: a stubborn character, a thirst for struggle, a specific fraternal attitude to religion, tolerance of foreign languages, traditions, culture, openness, a desire to protect their own interests and rejection of any authority other than their own.