Kasianov, Georgiy Vladimirovich; Tairova-Yakovleva, Tatiana Gennadyevna. Reserve Hortyca and its place in historical memory

Kasianov, Georgiy Vladimirovich ― Dr. Sc. in History, Professor, Head of Department of Contemporary History and Politics, Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine, Orc ID 0000-0003-1996-0362; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;
Tairova-Yakovleva, Tatiana Gennadyevna― Dr. Sc. in History, Professor, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia, Orc ID 0000-0003-1050-4264, Reseacher ID H-5914-2013, Scopus ID 56562978400; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article is dedicated to the place of the Hortyca reserve in the Cossack myth and the historical memory of Ukraine. The Cossack myth at different stages of its formation, in its post-Soviet-populist version, was successfully integrated into the state policy of memory of independent Ukraine. The article reveals the stages and the historical context of the creation of the Hortyca reserve, shows the lack of a historical base for the «reconstruction» of the Zaporizhisn Sich. Nevertheless, the Cossack movement and the Cossack theme gain an important place in the historical politics of the presidents. The Cossack movement also became participants and organizers of public commemorative actions associated with significant events in Cossack history. The events of the Maidan 2013–2014 added new colors to the Cossack myth. The use of the Hortyca complex for the formation of an artificial place of memory associated with the Zaporizhzhya Sich and the Cossacks is studies. It is shown that there was no historical or archaeological basis for the formation of the memorial on Bolshaya Hortyca. Nevertheless, since the time of N. Yavornitsky, a number of stages in the creation of such a place of memory can be traced. In particular, P. Shelest’s decisions on perpetuating the memory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. In 1965 was made a decision to create a historical and cultural reserve «Hortyca». One of the key places is the grave of the ataman I. Sirko. The exhumation and further investigation of Sirko’s remains became the subject of a war of memory. Only in 2000, the skull of the legendary chieftain was buried. The reserve itself remained the subject of speculation and manipulation of the Cossack myth, since would not be based on either historical or archaeological data, but it was based on the idea of recreating a certain generalized image. As a result, the complex «Hortyca’s Sich» turned out to be a generalized image of Cossack fortifications with an attempt to reproduce the structure of all eight Cossack sections that existed in the 17th–18th centuries. The complex is actively used by reenactors and folklorists.

Berkhoff, Karel. «Brothers, we are all of Cossack stock»: The Cossack campaign of Ukrainian newspapers on the eve of independence, in Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 1997. Vol. XXI. No. 1–2. Рp. 124–125.

Beketova, Valentina Mikhaylovna. K istorii perezakhoroneniya koshevogo atamana Sirko [To the History of reburning of kosh atoman Sirko], in Letopis’ Prichernomorya. No. 3. Kherson, 1999. Pp. 39–52. (in Russian).

Chergіk, Natalya Yuryevna. Ekspozitsіya pіd vіkritim nebom na o. Khortitsya: іstorіografіchniy oglyad (1965–2018) [Open-air exposure at Khortitsa island: historiographical review (1965–2018)], in Naukovі pratsі іstorichnogo fakul’tetu Zaporіz’kogo natsіonal’nogo unіversitetu. 2019. Issue 52. Vol. 2. Pp. 94–104. (in Ukrainian).

Fedoruk A., Shcherbak V. (eds). Ukraina — kozats’ka derzhava [Ukraine — Cossacks state]. Kyiv: «Emma» Publ., 2007. 1216 p. (in Ukrainian).

Kitsenko, Nikolay. Khortitsa v geroike i legendakh [Khortitsa in heroics and legends]. Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovsk State University Press, 1967. 84 p. (in Russian).

Kitsenko, Nikolay. Khortitsya v geroitsі і legendakh [Khortitsa in heroics and legends]. 2^nd edition, added and reworked. Preface by Olena Opanovich. Dnepropetrovsk: «Promіn’» Publ., 1972. 132 p. (in Ukrainian).

Pustovalov, Sergіy Zhanovich. Deyakі pіdsumki rozkopok gorodishcha na ostrovі Mala Khortitsya (Bayda) [Some results of the escavations at the Little Khortitsa island (Baida)], in Naukovі zapiski. Vol. 3. Kyiv: KM «Academia» Publ., 1998. Pp. 67–74. (in Ukrainian).

Segeda, Sergіy. Znovu Іvan Sіrko [Ivan Sirko again], in Pam’yatki Ukraini. 1989. No. 1. Pp. 46–47. (in Ukrainian).

Segeda, Sergіy. Ukrains’kiy panteon [The Ukrainian pantheon]. Kyiv: «Baltіya-Druk» Publ., 2013. 184 p. (in Ukrainian).

Smol’nikov, Yuri. Problema vіdrodzhennya ukrainskoy movi ta іstorichnoy pam’yatі v Ukrainі (dr. polovina 80-kh – poch. 90-kh rr. XX st.): Teoreticheskiy analiz: Dis. …kand. ist. nauk [Problems of rivaval of the Ukrainian language and of historical memory in Ukraine (second half of the 80s - early 90s of the XX century): Theoretical analysis. Thesis for a PhD degree]. Kyiv, 2005. (in Ukrainian).

Smoliy, V. A.; Stepankov, V. S. (eds). Ukrains’ka natsіonal’na revolyutsіya XVII st. (1648–1676 rr.) [Ukrainian national revolution of 17^th century (1648–1676)]. Kyiv: «Kievo-Mogilyanska akademіya» Publ., 2009. 447 p. (in Ukrainian).

Smorzhevskaya, Oksana Aleksandrovna. Ostrov Khortitsa kak sakral’niy ob’ekt (na primere deyatel’nosti rus’kogo pravoslavnogo kola) [Khortytsia Island as a sacred object], in Colloquium Heptaplomeres. 2015. No. 2. Pp. 89–93. (in Russian).

Yura, Roman Aleksandrovich. Raboty Khortitskoy ekspeditsii v 1968 g. [Works of the Khortitsa expedition in 1968], in Arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya na Ukraine. 1971. T. 3. Рр. 245–249. (in Russian).