Epistolary dialogue of Mykhailo Kosach and Lesia Ukrainka on the national issue

Abstract

Introduction. The epistolary heritage of the Drahomanov-Kosach family is a whole spiritual continent, rich in factual material, which helps to express the mood of the Ukrainian intelligentsia, to look in a new way at the development of pro-European sympathies in its circles while preserving its own national identity. With their epistolary legacy, the Drahomanov-Kosachs laid a new journalistic discourse in the sphere of the socio-political and spiritual life of the nation. Relevance and purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze the correspondence between Mykhailo Kosach and Lesia Ukrainka as an organic component of the national journalism of the turn of the century in the direction of discussing the ways of forming the Ukrainian political nation. The purpose of the article determines the solution of the following tasks: to find out the main thematic segments in the correspondence of Mykhailo Kosach and Lesia Ukrainka concerning the national question; to characterize the strategies of the Drahomanov-Kosach family to raise the cultural level of the Ukrainian people. Methodology. To solve the tasks set by the author of scientific study, the following methods were used: problem-thematic to identify and study key political issues in the epistolary heritage of the Drahomanov-Kosach family; analytical, systematic and comparative analysis, which helped to clarify the specifics of the national theme in the correspondence of Mykhailo Kosach and Lesia Ukrainka. Results. The correspondence between Mykhailo Kosach and Lesia Ukrainka, on the one hand, is a search for themselves and, on the other, a finding of new evolutionary ways of developing national political and cultural thought. Mykhailo Kosach and Lesya Ukrainka were aware of their mission to be at the forefront of those who continue and strengthen the development of the Ukrainian national idea, so in journalism, in original work, and in letters, they defended the type of strong-willed Ukrainian intellectual who is capable of self-sacrifice for national and social freedom of Ukraine. Conclusions. Modern interpretation of the epistolary heritage of Mykhailo Kosach and Lesia Ukrainka will be of interest to modern Ukrainian journalists, historians, and political scientists for understanding important ideological problems in the field of formation and development of the Ukrainian national idea.