HRYHORII SOVORODA AND MOSCOW “USHKUINYTSTVO” (PLUNDER CUSTOM)

Abstract

During the 19th century, the philosophical and literary heritage of H.Skovoroda was alienated from Ukrainian literature. In addition to the known reasons (book language, inadequate knowledge of the content of the works, with only a small number printed), persistent attempts of imperial scientific propaganda to annex the Ukrainian philosopher for russian culture played a significant role in this. In the 1830s, A. Hâjdău created a number of Tsar-philistic pro-moscow falsifications, attributing them to the “russian Socrates”, “the first russian philosopher”, and in 1912, based on these falsifications, V. Ern in the monograph “Grygoriy Savvych Skovoroda. Life and Teachings” declaired Skovoroda being a “native-russian” “born genius”, “secret initiator” of Russian Slavophilism, etc. All of that caused the indignation of Ukrainian researchers: M. Sryblyanskyi, M. Sumtsov, M. Fedyushka (Yevshan), A. Tovkachevskyi, E. Malanyuk. In particular, M. Sryblyanskyi called V. Ern’s position “literary plunder custom” (pillage), inherent in Muscovites regarding everything whatever they do, and M. Sumtsov wrote that “Ern cut off Skovoroda from the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian school in one fell swoop”. 1934 saw the student of M. Sumtsov, D. Chyzhevskyi, refuting V. Ern`s concept in the fundamental monograph “Philosophy of H. S. Skovoroda”, convincingly prescribing the heritage of Ukrainian philosopher in the context of European culture and Ukrainian baroque. The purpose of the article is to show how the scientific integrity of Ukrainian scientists gradually casts light on the speculative techniques of Moscow pseudoscience and comes to the conclusion that the spiritual heritage of H. Skovoroda is an organic part of the European civilizational space, and not a prerogative of Moscow pseudo-culture.