Publishing and the Civic Movement in the Second Half of the 19th Century: the Role of Periodicals in Forming Modern Ukrainian Identity

Abstract

In the second half of the 19^th century, publishing became an important factor in the formation of modern Ukrainian identity. Periodicals served as a mechanism for spreading national ideology, contributed to the consolidation of intellectual circles, and activated the civic movement that resisted censorship restrictions. This article comprehensively characterizes the influence of publishing and journalism on the formation of modern Ukrainian identity in the second half of the 19^th century. To achieve this goal, the historical and cultural factors that contributed to the development of publishing activities are systematized; the role of individual periodicals in shaping national thought is analysed; and the connection between journalism and the civic movement is identified. Archival research shows that journalistic articles, reviews, literary critiques, and essays in the pages of contemporary periodicals served as a catalyst for the formation of critical thinking among Ukrainian intelligentsia, stimulating discussion of pressing issues of social life and opening space for discourse that united representatives of different social strata.

The active publishing activities of the community produced new value orientations that stimulated not only national revival but also the integration of Ukrainian thought into the general European context of modernization. The interaction of cultural and civic movements with publishing revealed the multidimensional nature of the processes of forming national consciousness: each periodical, despite institutional and political difficulties, became a laboratory of innovative ideas, determining the further vector of society’s development. Printed materials played a special role: they not only recorded the cultural experience of the past but also projected visions of the future, contributing to the formation of a comprehensive system of national values and ideals. Thus, publishing became an integral component of the formation of modern Ukrainian identity, and the periodical press served as an important agent of transformation of social relations aimed at establishing national self-consciousness, democratic principles, and openness to world cultural processes, which remains relevant today.