Features of the research of the participation of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine in the organization of the ‘Constantinople action’ of 1914

Abstract

The authors of the article ostended that against the background of the history of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine and Ukrainian-Turkish relations during the First World War, the ‘Constantinople Action’ was insufficiently researched, which led to a lack of historiographical studies of the topic. Therefore, the authors set a goal to fill the gap in the research of scientific literature on the participation of ULU’s in the joint project with the countries of the Quadruple Alliance of landing an amphibious assault on the Black Sea coast of the Russian Empire and organizing the Ukrainian uprising there.

The greatest contribution to the study of the features and circumstances of the ULU’s participation in the ‘Constantinople Action’ was made by professional historians Volodymyr and Bohdan Serhiychuk, Ivan Pater, Mykola Nesuk, as well as Hakan Kirimly (Turkey), Roman Rozdolskyi (USA) and others who included materials from domestic and foreign archival funds in their works was established.

A comparative analysis of the studies of the ULU mission in Istanbul in 1914 made it possible to reveal, along with the achievements of the authors, some of their gaps and shortcomings. Thus, historians, as a rule, analyze the activities of the Union to prepare for the landing in the North Caucasus in 1914, while the known facts about M. Melenevskyi and his associates continuing to search for options for such an expedition together with the Georgians or Iranians in 1915. Uncritical repetition was also revealed by some researchers of unverified facts, such as about the 1,000th Ukrainian landing party from among prisoners of war, as well as about the reasons for Austria-Hungary’s refusal to cooperate with ULUs, etc.

The scientific achievements of the authors of the studies on the participation of the ULU in the ‘Constantinople Action’ are significant and contribute to the formation of the historical memory of the Ukrainian people and the deepening of knowledge about the events of the Great War of 1914-1918, the history of the ULU and Ukrainian-Turkish relations it was found. The comparative analysis of scientific literature on the history of the participation of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine in the organization of the ‘Constantinople Action’ of 1914 has only just begun and needs professional continuation, as it helps to approach the historical truth.