Rural memoirs of Southern Ukraine of the 20th century : prosopographic approach
Authors: Alekseev Оleksii 
Published: January 2022

The aim : to consider the application of prosopographic approaches in the study of biographies of authors of peasant memoirs in order to identify common features that laid the conditions for the emergence of memoir practices among the peasants of the Southern Ukraine in the 20th century; to analyze the potential of prosopography for researching general processes. The article considers the application of the prosopographic method to the study of biographies of authors of peasant memoirs in order to identify common features that created conditions for the emergence of memoir practices among the peasants of southern Ukraine in the twentieth century. Modern historical science suggests that individuals having their own little life stories are present behind all processes and events. New directions and principles of historical research are becoming increasingly important. The prosopographic method is one of them. Under prosopography we understand the scientific method of studying individual biographies of authors of historical sources in order to create a “collective biography” of a certain social group on their basis. Methods: analytical, historical, comparative, system-structural. The article author uses methods of specific scientific activity, empirical research and general logic. Practical meaning: recommended for use by scholars for historical research; provides opportunities for the use of this issue in theoretical and methodological and source studies. Originality: research, in particular on the choice of research source base and methodology of its analysis. Scientific novelty: creation of a collective portrait of a peasant author of a memoir source. Conclusions: on the basis of the analysis with the involvement of prosopographic research methods we have the opportunity to create a conditional collective portrait of a peasant of the Southern Ukraine of the twentieth century, the author of the memoir. When creating a “biography” of a peasant author, the following features are distinguished: common social origin, primary education, teaching and educational skills, psychological characteristics, propensity for creative activity, external influences. The materials collected by the researchers from the Zaporizhzhia branch of the NASU Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography and Source Studies named after M. S. Hrushevsky and the History Faculty of the Zaporizhzhia National University and published as a part of collections titled “Sources on the History of the Southern Ukraine”, “Antiquities of the Southern Ukraine” and “Ascension Antiquities”, are used as sources in the analysis. The purpose of the current investigation is to identify the causes and conditions that prompted particular peasants of the Southern Ukraine to create their own historical narrative – memoirs. Another goal is to create a “collective portrait” of an average author using prosopographic methods. The article investigates through the analysis of biographies the background of peasant authors, which singled them out from the general mass of peasants. It also highlights an “average author” as a “historical figure” and analyzes his attribution to a particular era, place, social group and culture. The use of prosopographic methods in the study of biographies of Southern Ukrainian peasants, who distinguished themselves by creating their own memoirs, allows to determine those aspects of the era and the position of the little man who chose to create their own historical excursions contrary to general trends and understanding the risks of totalitarian system. The creation of prosopographical (collective biographies) portraits of peasant authors is a very important component of the reproduction of general processes that created the conditions for the emergence of peasant narrative sources. The author tries to highlight the modern era in all its aspects through the prism of individual biographies and works of peasant authors. Type of article: scientific and theoretical.