The Relevance of Studying the Cultural Heritage of the Territory of the Republic of Ukraine

Abstract

The Ukraine’s cultural heritage is of great historical importance for world culture and the study of the history of the formation of Eastern European civilizations. Archaeological research indicates that the territory of modern Ukraine has been actively developed by people for the last 5,000 years. Crimea became the center of the development of the Scythian civilization. In the 4^th–5^th century, the formation of the Slavic civilization, which later developed into Kyivan Rus, one of the most powerful centers of Slavic culture, began. The culture of the modern Ukraine’s territories developed further under the administration of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. The Ukrainian people have even preserved their identity in the era of their development as part of the Soviet Union. In the topic of the Slavic War between Ukraine and Russia, it becomes extremely urgent to preserve the unique cultural heritage, which is in danger of disappearing during military operations and uncontrolled bombing of the Ukraine’s territory. To date, objects of material cultural heritage of the annexed territories of Donetsk region, Luhansk region, Kharkiv region, Kherson region, Zaporizhian region, Odesa region, and the Crimean Autonomous Republic are located in the immediate zone of potential destruction. The study subject was the tangible cultural heritage of the Republic of Ukraine. The study objects were objects of international, republican, and regional cultural heritage. The study purpose was to actualise the development of research on the Ukraine’s tangible cultural heritage, which is particularly endangered as a result of military actions by the Russian Federation. In the study course, logical, historical, documentary, comparative, and deductive methods of scientific work were used. Materials of archives and statistical data of UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine were used to achieve the purpose and solve the tasks set. The authors conclude that the relevance of the research of the fund of Ukraine’s tangible cultural heritage objects is obvious due to the ongoing military operations on the territory of the country and the use of modern military technologies of high-precision weapons of destruction at long distances. This poses a direct threat to any objects throughout the territory of Ukraine, regardless of their purpose and the causes of potential damage.