Олександр Кониський

Fields of activity: Science and Education, Politics
Date of birth: August 6 (18), 1836
Date of death: November 29 (December 12), 1900, Kyiv
Navigator: The Long 19th Century

Oleksandr Konyskyi was a key figure of the national liberation movement of the second half of the 19th century. He was distinguished by a clear orientation toward creating a cultural distinction between Ukrainians and Russians. He was, perhaps, the first consistent advocate of Ukrainian independence.

Before him, the Ukrainophile movement attempted to combine two mentally incompatible things — Russian and Ukrainian cultures — in particular, to regard Russian literature as a shared achievement of both the “Great Russian” and “Little Russian” peoples. Ukrainian culture was perceived as part of a broader “all-Russian” (that is, Russian) whole. Oleksandr Konyskyi, however, clearly drew a boundary between the Ukrainian and Russian spiritual spheres.
He advocated a conscious rejection of Russian literature as a means of cultural development, arguing that alongside these achievements of world civilization came the mental Russification of Ukrainians. Oleksandr Konyskyi was the first to call for the active reclaiming of Ukraine’s own cultural space, thereby laying a cornerstone for further political progress — no less significant than Mykhailo Drahomanov’s call to learn from Europe and to be both Ukrainian and cosmopolitan.
In 1862, Konyskyi was exiled from Poltava for “Little Russian separatism.” This was not surprising, as even for the Kyiv “Hromada” members he was considered too radical in his anti-Russian stance. Panteleimon Kulish recalled how the respectable “Hromada” members tried to calm Konyskyi’s patriotic fervor, but it was too late — he was sent into exile in Vologda. He demonstrated the same patriotic activity in other places he lived, including Katerynoslav and Kyiv.
Over time, Konyskyi’s ideas proved to be, if not more relevant than those of Mykhailo Drahomanov, then certainly more productive from the perspective of building a Ukrainian state. His credo — “I do not believe in revolution and place no hope in it; I believe only in the good that comes from education and love,” expressed in a letter to Osyp Yurii Fedkovych — can be considered a motto of Ukrainian cultural activism.
On the issue of Ukraine’s state independence, Mykhailo Drahomanov and Oleksandr Konyskyi were also opposites. Drahomanov continued the traditional line of the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, advocating for the federalization of the Russian Empire and, more broadly, for a federation of all Europe. Konyskyi viewed federation only as an intermediate step toward independence.
Oleksandr Konyskyi also became an organizer of Ukrainian national scholarship. The first Ukrainian academy of sciences — the Shevchenko Scientific Society — was largely his creation, both ideologically and financially: he donated 1,000 rubles of his own money. He served as the chief editor of the first volumes of the Notes of the Shevchenko Scientific Society and was the only Ukrainian from the Russian Empire, aside from Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, who published his works in every issue.
Together with Volodymyr Antonovych, Konyskyi arranged for his student Mykhailo Hrushevskyi to be appointed professor of Ukrainian history at Lviv University. Upon learning of this appointment, he wrote: “Rejoice at our very important news: the Emperor, on April 9, confirmed Hrushevskyi as an ordinary professor at the Department of History in Lviv. For me personally, this is an inexpressibly great joy! This is the very moment from which the history of our national education and culture will begin! My work has not perished, and I have lived to see this long-awaited time! I have seen the fruits of what I sowed in 1889!” In Konyskyi’s view, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi was to become for Ukrainians what Shevchenko had been — a defining figure of the 20th century.

Author: Ihor Hyrych

Brief conclusions

Statesman and reformer — influenced Ukrainian society as a lawyer, public figure, journalist, and patron through supporting national consciousness, science, and literary work.
Legislator — did not engage directly in legislative activity; his efforts were focused on cultural and educational work. He prepared a textbook on Ukrainian laws for peasants, which was banned by censorship.
Builder and patron — donated his library and archive to the Shevchenko Scientific Society, established a scholarship, and left part of his funds for the development of science.
Church policy — author of the national spiritual hymn “Prayer for Ukraine.” He defended Ukrainians’ right to use their own language in church life at a time when the Russian Empire sought to Russify religious services and education.
Legacy — one of the first Ukrainian independence advocates who actively fought to preserve the language, culture, and historical memory of the Ukrainian people. He made significant contributions to the development of Ukrainian studies, particularly as an initiator of transforming the Shevchenko Literary Society into the Shevchenko Scientific Society.

Portal Editorial Team