Between Rebellion and Loyalty: Decisive Moments of Ukrainian History of the 17th and Early 18th Centuries in Modern Public Reception of Ukraine

ЕМІНАК Eminak, 2024, 2 (46) 44 УДК (UDC) 94 (477) [“16/17”+”20…”] DOI: https://doi.org/10.33782/eminak2024.2(46).705 BETWEEN REBELLION AND LOYALTY: DECISIVE MOMENTS OF UKRAINIAN HISTORY OF THE 17TH AND EARLY 18TH CENTURIES IN MODERN PUBLIC RECEPTION OF UKRAINE Liudmyla Vovchuk1, Wiktor Werner2 Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poznan, Poland) 1 e-mail: [email protected]; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8324-5235 2 e-mail: [email protected]; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3004-6021 ABSTRACT The purpose of the research paper is based on the processing of video materials on Ukrainian history of the period of the 17th century of the beginning of the 18th century, posted on the leading Ukrainian historical YouTube channels, to determine the top historical heroes and events that arouse the greatest interest from the audience. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the first attempt at content analysis of the Ukrainian segment of YouTube of a historical orientation, defined by popular Ukrainian heroes and events of the 17th century, which changed the historical and geopolitical development of Ukraine, by applying innovative computer methods. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that among the video material we processed on Ukrainian historical YouTube channels, the top period of the 17th century – the beginning of the 18th century among the users of these channels is the period of the Cossack state. A period of political and social turbulence, wars of the Ukrainian Cossacks for the independence of the Ukrainian state and its geopolitical place in the contemporary arena of international relations. When looking for allies to fight for the independence of Ukraine at that time, there was a tendency to change them. Top historical heroes are Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Ivan Mazepa, who for Ukrainians are the creators of Ukrainian statehood and fighters for its independence and foreign political influence. One of the most popular topics is the Pereiaslav Agreement with Muscovy concluded by B. Khmelnytskyi, which became a key event in the transition of Ukraine from the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth to Muscovy. And it is this event that arouses the greatest interest among users of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels. In our opinion, this is explained by the desire of Ukrainians to understand the long-term mythologizing of this agreement, which was created by the Soviet authorities, as well as the conditions that led to the long-term loss of independence by Ukrainians. In this case, the top metaphor ‘The return of history’ is absolutely logical, which stems from the desire of users of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels, the number of which increased significantly in July-December 2023, to know a new perspective on Ukrainian history, and not the creation of imperial-Soviet ideology. This trend is especially observed with the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, which significantly affected the perception of Ukrainians about their past. And this is actually the beginning of the formation of a new historical consciousness, which is the key to building a strong Ukrainian state. Funding. The work was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under the research project ‘Historical narratives in Web 2.0 as a functional element of national identities in Central and Eastern Europe’, № UMO-2020/39/B/HS3/01237. Keywords: historical heroes, events of the 17th century, Ukrainian YouTube channels, Ukrainian history НОВА ІСТОРІЯ 45 МІЖ ПОВСТАННЯМ І ВІРНІСТЮ: ВИРІШАЛЬНІ МОМЕНТИ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ІСТОРІЇ 17 – ПОЧАТКУ 18 СТ. У СУЧАСНІЙ СУСПІЛЬНІЙ РЕЦЕПЦІЇ УКРАЇНИ Людмила Вовчук1, Віктор Вернер2 Університет імені Адама Міцкевича в Познані (Познань, Польща) 1 e-mail: [email protected]; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8324-5235 2 e-mail: [email protected]; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3004-6021 АНОТАЦІЯ Мета статті – на основі опрацювання відеоматеріалів щодо української історії періоду 17 – початку 18 ст., розміщених на провідних українських історичних YouTube каналах, визначити топових історичних героїв і події, які викликають найбільший інтерес з боку глядачів. Наукова новизна полягає у спробі контент-аналізу українського сегменту YouTube історичної спрямованості, визначенні популярних українських героїв і подій 17 ст. – початку 18 ст., які змінили історичний і геополітичний розвиток України, шляхом застосування новаторських комп’ютерних методик. Висновки. У результаті проведеного дослідження було з’ясовано, що серед опрацьованого нами відеоматеріалу українських історичних YouTube каналів одним із найпопулярніших у користувачів є період 17 – початку 18 ст., тобто доба Козацької держави. Період політичної та соціальної турбулентності, воєн українського козацтва за незалежність української держави та її геополітичного місця на тогочасній арені міжнародних відносин. Топовими історичними героями виступають Богдан Хмельницький та Іван Мазепа, які для українців є творцями української державності та борцями за її незалежність і зовнішньополітичний вплив. Однією із затребуваних тем є укладена Б. Хмельницьким Переяславська угода з Московією, яка стала ключовою подією переходу України від Речі Посполитої до Московського царства. І саме цією подією найбільше цікавляться користувачі українських історичних YouTube каналів. На нашу думку, це пояснюється бажанням українців розібратися у довготривалій міфологізації цієї угоди, яка була створена радянською владою, а також умовах, які призвели до довготривалої втрати українцями своєї незалежності. Абсолютно логічною у даному випадку є топова метафора «Повернення історії», що випливає із бажання користувачів українських історичних YouTube каналів, кількість яких за липень-грудень 2023 р. значно зросла, знати нові погляди на українську історію, а не творіння імперсько-радянської ідеології. Дана тенденція особливо спостерігається з початком повномасштабної російськоукраїнської війни, яка суттєво вплинула на уявлення українців про власне минуле. А це фактично є початком формування нової історичної свідомості, що є запорукою побудови сильної української держави. Фінансування. Робота виконана за підтримки Національного наукового центру (Польща) в рамках дослідницького проекту «Історичні наративи в Web 2.0 як функціональний елемент національних ідентичностей у Центральній і Східній Європі», № UMO-2020/39/B/HS3/01237. Ключові слова: історичні герої, події 17 ст., українські YouTube канали, історія України ЕМІНАК Eminak, 2024, 2 (46) 46 INTRODUCTION The Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been on-going since the occupation of Crimea in February 2014, has become a catalyst in the desire of Ukrainians to know and understand their own history, which for a long time, first by the imperial and then by the Soviet authorities, was purposefully distorted and its individual pages were hidden. In order to return the lost history to Ukrainians, Ukrainian YouTube channels created a number of historical films and videos, the main purpose of which was to debunk myths about the past of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, such as – Ukraine is an artificial state created by the Bolsheviks led by Lenin, or the Ukrainian language is exceptional the language of an uneducated peasant, etc. The YouTube platform was purposefully chosen for this, because today it is the most influential and convenient not only in Ukraine, but also in the world in general. Our previous research1 showed that the top historical period among Ukrainian YouTube users is precisely the period of the 17th century. This is a period of significant events and decisive moments in the history of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, which determined the further development of Ukrainian lands. Conflicts arose between uprisings and loyalty, which affected the political, social and cultural picture of Ukraine. So, the authors set their goal – based on the processing of historical videos about Ukrainian history of the period of the 17th century, the beginning of the 18th century posted on the leading Ukrainian historical YouTube channels, to find out in depth: which historical heroes and events of this period are decisive in the process of formation of Ukrainian statehood and its geopolitical place on the contemporary map of international relations. And also what are the position, attitude and perception of the specified landmark era by modern Ukrainians and how these processes influenced the formation of modern Ukrainian consciousness. LITERATURE REVIEW Historical science has a rather rich historiographic heritage of the history of Ukraine in the 17th and early 18th centuries, but the perception of these events by modern Ukrainian society is far from knowledge. Therefore, modern historians are increasingly trying to attract data obtained from social networks popular among Ukrainians (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) regarding their interest in one or another period of Ukrainian history and their perception of the latest information about the Ukrainian past by viewing and reacting to video material on these networks. As a result, a number of such works have appeared in recent years, among which one can single out scientific articles by Ukrainian researchers R. Khardel and V. Vyzdryk2, A. Kasian, Ya. Platmir and D. Khomenko3, K. Dzihora4, where, based on the use of dedicated software, the authors 1 Werner W., Vovchuk L. Central Figures and Events of Ukrainian History in the Light of Content Analysis of Ukrainian Historical YouTube Channels from 2014 to 2022 // Східноєвропейський історичний вісник. 2023. № 28. Р. 239-252. DOI: 10.24919/2519-058X.28.287545 2 Хардель Р., Виздрик В. Історична свідомість як об’єкт інформаційного впливу в нових медіа під час протистояння Російської Федерації з Україною // Вісник Львівського університету. Серія журналістика. 2019. № 45.С. 100-107. DOI: 10.30970/vjo.2019.45.9990 3 Касьян А., Платмір Я., Хоменко Д. Особливості джерельного комплексу дослідження політики пам’яті на окупованих Росією територіях України // Вісник Черкаського університету. Серія історія. 2020. № 2. С. 14-25. DOI: 10.31651/2076-5908-2020-2-14-25 4 Дзігора К. Репрезентація історичної пам’яті у спільнотах соціальних мереж // Схід. 2022. Вип. 3(1). С. 15-24. DOI: 10.21847/1728-9343.2022.3(1).254336 НОВА ІСТОРІЯ 47 investigated the presence of certain video materials on Ukrainian video channels, as well as studied the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of communities that were devoted to historical memory or related to the history of Ukraine, in modern social networks, among which was YouTube. However, today there are practically no works on the topic proposed by us and the methodology of its research. A similar research methodology was used in scientific articles: V. Telvak and W. Werner5, which related to the coverage of interest in historical figures in the world wide web as a marker of historical consciousness in modern Ukraine; W. Werner and L. Vovchuk6, which revealed central figures and events of Ukrainian history in the light of content analysis of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels from 2014 to 2022. And also A. Trzoss, W. Werner, C. Kleist, K. Kwiatkowska-Moskalewicz, M. Moskalewicz7, devoted to coverage the politicisation of historical memory on Twitter: ‘Positive antisemitism’ in the Holocaust debate in Poland. Joint monographic study edited by E. Rutten, Ju. Fedor and V. Zvereva8 on viewing video content of media Facebook, Twitter belongs to this kind of work. This research is based on both quantitative and qualitative methods. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS When conducting this research, a comprehensive approach was used, the basis of which was the descriptive statistical analysis9 and CNA (Complex Network Analysis)10, which helped to identify the most influential historical heroes and events of the specified period. The research took place in several stages. First of all, the selection of the most popular Ukrainian historical YouTube channels was carried out. At the same time, 2 criteria were taken as a basis: 1) the number of subscribers, which should not be less than 15 thousand, which indicates the interest and importance of the video content of this channel; 2) availability of clips/films about historical heroes or events of Ukraine in the 17th century. As a result, 15 Ukrainian historical YouTube channels were selected (Table 1). The interest in these channels is also explained by the growing progression of their subscribers, which indicates the interest of Ukrainian YouTube users in knowing and understanding their own history. For example, if as of May 2023, the number of subscribers to the YouTube channel named after T.G. Shevchenko had 821,000 subscribers11, and then on February 15, 2024, it increased by 104,000 and became 925,000 subscribers. 5 Telvak V., Werner W. Interest in Historical Figures on the World Wide Web as a Marker of Historical Consciousness in Contemporary Ukraine // Eminak. 2023. № 1(41). Р. 234-254. DOI: 10.33782/eminak2023.1(41).635 6 Werner W., Vovchuk L. Central Figures and Events of Ukrainian History… 7 Trzoss A., Werner W., Kleist C., Kwiatkowska-Moskalewicz K., Moskalewicz M. The politicisation of historical memory on Twitter: “Positive antisemitism” in the Holocaust debate in Poland // Rethinking History. 2023. № 27 (4). Р. 780-810. DOI: 10.1080/13642529.2023.2248451 8 Rutten E., Fedor Ju., Zvereva V. Memory, Conflict and New Media. Web wars in post-socialist states. London-New-York: Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group, 2013. 288 р. 9 Cheng Xu, Cameron Dale, Jiangchuan Liu. Statistics and social network of youtube videos // 16th International Workshop on Quality of Service. IEEE, 2008. P. 229-238. 10 Paolillo J., Ghule S., Harper B. A network view of social media platform history: Social structure, dynamics and content on YouTube // Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 2019. Р. 2632-2641. 11 Werner W., Vovchuk L. Central Figures and Events of Ukrainian History in the Light of Content Analysis of Ukrainian Historical YouTube Channels from 2014 to 2022. Р. 243. ЕМІНАК Eminak, 2024, 2 (46) 48 Table 1. Table of the most popular Ukrainian historical YouTube channels (data as of 13.12.2023) № Channel name Number of channel subscribers 1 TV channel ICTV 4,53 million 2 TV channel 1+1 3,39 million 3 TV channel Inter 1,8 million 4 named after T.H. Shevchenko 910 thousand 5 History without myths 668 thousand 6 Oleksandr Alfiorov 387 thousand 7 Real History 350 thousand 8 Iryna Faron 281 thousand 9 History for adults 269 thousand 10 24 TV channel 232 thousand 11 Tochka zboru 85,8 thousand 12 The last hetman 35,8 thousand 13 Interesting History 22,6 thousand 14 History Verum 24,5 thousand 15 Terra Ukraina 16,5 thousand Next, from the list of ‘People’s TOP’, which was formed as a result of a survey of outstanding Ukrainians of all time (October 2022) by the sociological group Rating12, we selected historical figures of the 17th century – early 18th century (Table 2), who left a significant mark on the history of Ukraine and its self-determination at that time. Table 2. Table of the most influential historical heroes in Ukraine № A historical hero Number of votes in % 1 Bohdan Khmelnytskyi 17,3 2 Ivan Mazepa 8,8 3 Ivan Sirko 2,4 4 Petro Sahaidachnyi 1,8 5 Petro Doroshenko 0,3 6 Ivan Bohun 0,3 7 Ivan Vyhovskyi 0,1 So, as we can see, the leading positions were taken by leading political figures, fighters for the independence and autonomy of the Ukrainian state: Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Ivan Mazepa and the legendary Cossack ataman Ivan Sirko. The other four positions were also occupied by well-known figures of the Cossack era: Petro Sahaidachnyi, Petro Doroshenko, Ivan Bohun and Ivan Vyhovskyi. Among all the 12 Народний ТОП: Найвидатніші українці усіх часів // Соціологічна група «Рейтинг». жовтень. Київ, 2022. URL: https://ratinggroup.ua/files/ratinggroup/reg_files/rg_ua_ukraine_top_102022_press.pdf НОВА ІСТОРІЯ 49 representatives, only Ivan Mazepa, thanks to the imperial-Soviet propaganda, was fixed in the minds of Ukrainians as a traitor and a scoundrel, who was anathematised by the Russian Orthodox Church13. The attitude of Ukrainians to this historical figure gradually began to change at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when the changed emphasis of Ukrainian historiography began to show results14. The next step in the research was to form a database based on the viewing of videos on the Ukrainian historical YouTube channels we selected. The number of videos viewed reached 50 units. The main criteria for this database were: the number of views, likes, comments to the video; historical heroes, who, for the sake of accurate data, were assessed according to the scale of their influence in the video: 1 – the main character; 0.75 – important, but not the main character; 0.5 - secondary character; 0.3 – less important; 0.1 – unimportant. The main criteria also included historical events and metaphors. It is worth noting that the list of historical heroes has grown considerably while watching the films, as we also took into account those historical figures who were related to the historical heroes we have chosen. These include, for example, Peter the Great, Charles XII, Danylo Chaplynskyi, Yuriy Khmelnytskyi, Tsar Alexei, and others. THE HISTORY OF UKRAINE IN THE 17TH – EARLY 18TH CENTURIES AS PERCEIVED BY USERS OF UKRAINIAN HISTORICAL YOUTUBE CHANNELS Using the statistical approach, based on the comparison between quantitative variables (views, likes, comments as parameters of each video) and interpretive variables (topics, heroes, events, metaphors presented in videos) from the abovementioned database, we found that the dominant topic among both Ukrainian producers on Ukrainian historical YouTube channels and their users is political history (fig. 1, 2, 3). The political movements and conflicts of the 17th and early 18th centuries determined not only the future of Ukraine (reorientation from Western to Eastern civilisation), but also influenced the formation of its national identity. The study of political history provides a complete understanding of the preconditions, causes, and course of events of the time, as well as the key historical figures that had a direct impact on the country’s further development. Political history also plays a very important role in determining the continuity of past political processes with modern state policy, in identifying recommendations for establishing trends towards combining the traditions of society with its socio-political innovations15. This also shows that both the producers of these videos and the viewers constitute the political identity of the Ukrainian nation. THE TOP PROTAGONISTS Using the similar operation (which processes data on the number of views, likes, and comments on films/videos), we identified the leading historical heroes and antiheroes in the history of Ukraine in the 17th and early 18th centuries. In terms of the 13 Фанайлова О. Петро і Мазепа. Чому прóклятий Москвою гетьман не був зрадником – погляд з Росії. // Радіо Свобода. 2022. 5 лютого. URL: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/hetman-ivan-mazepai-rosiya/31687163.html 14 Werner W., Vovchuk L. Central Figures and Events of Ukrainian History… Р. 244. 15 Історичні традиції і політика // Радіо Свобода. 2002. 22 січня. URL: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/885715.html ЕМІНАК Eminak, 2024, 2 (46) 50 Fig. 1. Number of views aggregated (average) for specific topics of videos Fig. 2. Number of likes aggregated (average) for specific topics of videos Fig. 3. Number of comments aggregated (average) for specific topics of videos НОВА ІСТОРІЯ 51 number of views and likes, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi took the top spot among users of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels (fig. 4, 5). For Ukrainians, he is a national hero of Ukraine, a reformer and founder of Ukrainian statehood, who for the first time gave the term ‘Ukraine’ a political meaning. It was during his Hetmanate that Ukraine began to count as a state, as an independent political entity. Petro Sahaidachnyi, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s predecessor, spoke repeatedly about a united and indivisible Ukraine – up to Przemysl and the borders of the Kyiv Orthodox Metropolis. However, it was Khmelnytskyi who managed to lay the foundations of the Hetmanate. In addition, under Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine gained not only domestic political recognition but also a strong foothold at the international level. The diplomacy of the Ukrainian state of that time was recognised by many countries, including the Austrian and Ottoman Empires, the Electorate of Brandenburg, the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Duchy of Prussia, the Principalities of Wallachia and Transylvania, the Crimean Khanate, and others16. Peter the Great took the second place (Fig. 4). In this case, according to the video materials, he is the main antihero. It was during his time in power that Ukraine became the scene of many conflicts and transformations, finally losing its independence and reorienting itself towards Eastern European civilisational development. This is a man who has never been an Ukrainophile or a Cossackophile. And according to V. Stepanenko, Peter I was one of the most brutal executioners of Ukraine. His atrocities against the Ukrainian people are quite comparable to those of Hitler or Stalin, whose praises Ukrainians have never sung even under foreign occupation17. In fact, before I. Mazepa finally understood Peter I’s plans for Ukraine (its complete subordination) and before he sided with the Swedes in the Great Northern War (for which he received the status of a traitor in Ukrainian society for 310 years); there was a period of cooperation between them for almost 20 years. Peter treated Mazepa with great respect, always referring to him as ‘Mr. Hetman’ in his letters, which was unusual for Peter. Mazepa, on the other hand, treated him as his sovereign18. Despite the plans and actions of Peter the Great towards Ukraine, the previous study showed that this personality still has his supporters among Ukrainians19, much fewer than in 2010, but they do exist, which indicates support for this historical figure, who for a long time was perceived as the builder of the Russian Empire, which included Ukraine, which became Malorossia. Ivan Mazepa, who as Bohdan Khmelnytskyi is a national symbol for contemporary Ukraine, takes the third place. The importance of these historical heroes is also evidenced by a saying that has been circulating among Ukrainians for decades: “There were no hetmans from Bohdan to Ivan”20. 16 Богдан Хмельницький: історія про гетьмана, якому вдалося об’єднати українські території // 24 канал. 2019. 9 травня. URL: https://bit.ly/4cllGQe 17 Степаненко В. Лише раби возвеличують своїх катів // Історична правда. 2010. 15 грудня. URL: https://www.istpravda.com.ua/columns/4d0872d15e44e/ 18 Фанайлова О. Петро і Мазепа. Чому прóклятий Москвою гетьман не був зрадником – погляд з Росії // Радіо Свобода. 2022. 5 лютого. URL: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/hetman-ivan-mazepai-rosiya/31687163.html 19 Werner W., Vovchuk L. Central Figures and Events of Ukrainian History… Р. 245. 20 Кузнецова І. Ким був для України Богдан Хмельницький? // Радіо Свобода. 2010. 7 серпня. URL: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/2120813.html ЕМІНАК Eminak, 2024, 2 (46) 52 In turn, Petro Sahaidachnyi is ranked 4th, Ivan Sirko – 8th, Ivan Bohun – 12th, Ivan Vyhovskyi – 13th, Petro Doroshenko – 17th. This does not mean that they are unimportant historical figures in the Ukrainian state-building process. All of the above representatives left a bright mark on the history of the Ukrainian state, all of them fought for Ukraine’s independence and the freedom of the Ukrainian people. However, it was Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Ivan Mazepa who had a decisive influence on the further development of Ukraine, determining its civilisational development. In addition, these figures are the most controversial and discussed – Bohdan Khmelnytskyi for agreeing to the Pereiaslav Rada and signing the March Articles, and I. Mazepa for his ambiguous friendship with Peter the Great and his ‘diplomatic game’ with Charles XII and Stanisław Leszczynski. In terms of the number of comments, the top historical heroes are Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Ivan Mazepa, who are perceived as symbols of national heroism. Most comments on videos about these personalities are positive and were published after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As for the other heroes we studied, Petro Sahaidachnyi ranks 4th, Ivan Bohun – 7th, Ivan Vyhovskyi – 8th, Ivan Sirko – 11th, Petro Doroshenko – 16th (Fig. 6). Comments about them are mostly positive. That is, the overall picture has not changed dramatically. As in the case of the number of views, likes, and comments, the difference between them is on average 2 to 3 positions. This indicates that these historical heroes are important among Ukrainians, but not top of mind. Fig. 4. Protagonist/ antagonist by the number of views of Ukrainian historical videos on Ukrainian YouTube channels НОВА ІСТОРІЯ 59 Fig. 11. The top metaphor by the number of views of videos/clips on Ukrainian historical YouTube channels Fig. 12. The top metaphor by the number of likes of videos/clips on Ukrainian historical YouTube channels ЕМІНАК Eminak, 2024, 2 (46) 60 Fig. 13. The top metaphor by the number of comments of videos/clips on Ukrainian historical YouTube channels CONCLUSIONS As a result of the research, it was found that among the video material of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels, one of the most popular among users is the period of the 17th – early 18th centuries, i.e. the era of the Cossack state. It was a period of political and social turbulence, wars of the Ukrainian Cossacks for the independence of the Ukrainian state and its geopolitical place in the international arena of that time. The top historical heroes are Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Ivan Mazepa, who for Ukrainians are the creators of Ukrainian statehood and fighters for its independence and foreign policy influence. One of the most popular topics is the Pereiaslav Agreement with Moscow signed by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, which was a key event in Ukraine’s transition from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the Moscow Empire. And it is this event that users of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels will be most interested in. In our opinion, this is due to the desire of Ukrainians to understand the long-term mythologisation of this agreement, which was created by the Soviet government, as well as the conditions that led to the long-term loss of Ukrainian independence. In this case, the top metaphor of ‘Return of History’ is absolutely logical, stemming from the desire of users of Ukrainian historical YouTube channels, whose number increased significantly in July-December 2023, to know new views on Ukrainian НОВА ІСТОРІЯ 61 history, rather than the creations of imperial-Soviet ideology. This trend has been particularly evident since the outbreak of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. This has had a significant impact on Ukrainians’ perceptions of their past. And this is actually the beginning of the formation of a new historical consciousness, which is the key to building a strong Ukrainian state. Funding. The work was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under the research project ‘Historical narratives in Web 2.0 as a functional element of national identities in Central and Eastern Europe’, № UMO-2020/39/B/HS3/01237. REFERENCES 24 channel (2019). 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