Reconstruction of Ivan Piddubnyi’s Genealogy: Source Studies and Methodological Aspects

Abstract

The article investigates the genealogy of the renowned athlete Ivan Maksymovych Piddubnyi. For a long time, the champion’s persona has been subjected to manipulation within Soviet and Russian imperial historical narratives. His Cossack roots and Ukrainian identity were purposefully marginalized in favor of the «Russian bogatyr» construct. In light of this, refuting pseudo-historical myths through a detailed and comprehensive study of the athlete’s origins is highly relevant.

The study aims to reconstruct I. Piddubnyiʼs ancestral lines back to the mid-18th century based on the analysis of archival documents and to determine the social origins of his ancestors. The source base of the research comprises parish registers and confessional lists from the funds of the State Archives of Cherkasy Region, the State Archives of Poltava Region, and the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Kyiv.

While examining the athlete’s maternal branch, familial ties between I. Piddubnyi and the Cossack families of Hurynenko and Onyshchenko from the village of Bohodukhivka (modern-day Cherkasy region) were established for the first time. Specifically, the figures of the championʼs great-great-grandfathers – Cossacks Vasyl Hurynenko and Tymofii Martynovych Onyshchenko (born circa 1736) – were identified. Knowledge of the paternal line was also expanded by identifying the earliest known representative of the Ovechko family, Uliana Andriivna (born circa 1732).

A distinct outcome of the research is the discovery of an attribution error regarding the parish registers of the village of Krasenivka (Cherkasy region) within the State Archives of Cherkasy Region funds. It was determined that a portion of the files cataloged as belonging to Krasenivka actually pertains to the parish records of Bohodukhivka. This finding allowed for the precise localization of the birthplace of the athlete’s mother, Hanna Naumenko, and the tracing of her lineage back to her great-great-grandfather, Opanas Naumenko (died before 1796).

The study proves I. Piddubnyi’s Cossack descent on both the paternal and maternal sides, which is crucial for refuting the claims of Soviet and Russian historians regarding the athlete as a «Russian bogatyr». The scientific research and description of I. Piddubnyi’s origins are vital for shaping national memory and popularizing Ukrainian history and the genealogy of prominent Ukrainians.