Kirzhaieva Iryna, Maistrenko Anzhela

Letters from Ivan Spaskyi to Mykola Kotliar (1960—1967): source research potential Studies in Special Historical Disciplines

Section: Studies of Archival and Book Fonds

Abstract: Objective. The article aims to analyze and introduce into academic circulation the correspondence of historian, art critic, museologist and numismatist Ivan Heorhiyovych Spaskyi to medievalist, source scholar and numismatist Mykola Fedorovych Kotliar. The letters preserved in the latter’s personal archive at the Institute of Archival Studies of the V.I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine were studied using a prosopographic research method, which helped examine the epistolary sources and added new facts to the scholarly biographies of I. Spaskyi and M. Kotliar. Scientific novelty. For the first time, private letters from I. Spaskyi to M. Kotliar dating from 1960 to 1967 are introduced and analyzed. These letters provide insights into the everyday scholarly life of the two scientists, their personal relationship, and I. Spaskyi’s continuous communication with the Ukrainian scholarly community. Conclusions. The research into the letters from I. Spaskyi to M. Kotliar, which are kept at the Institute of Archival Studies of the V.I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine sheds light on the evolution of working and personal relations between the two outstanding scholars, which grew from professional collaboration into a genuine lifelong friendship. Through Spaskyi’s correspondence we also glimpse his scientific ties with notable Ukrainian scholars such as V. Anokhin, S. Taranushenko, F. Shevchenko and others. The letters reveal Spaskyi as someone who deeply loved Nizhyn, Kyiv and Ukraine as a whole.

Keywords: Ivan Spaskyi, Mykola Kotliar, Stefan Taranushenko, correspondence, Institute of Archival Studies of V.I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine.

  Full-text PDF    https://doi.org/10.15407/rksu.40.108     Citation

• Kirzhaieva Iryna (V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Ukraine, Kyiv, irkir@ukr.net) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0147-8711
• Maistrenko Anzhela (V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Ukraine, Kyiv, a_maistrenko@ukr.net) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1303-9214

Cite:
Kirzhaieva Iryna, Maistrenko Anzhela. (2026). Letters from Ivan Spaskyi to Mykola Kotliar (1960—1967): source research potential Studies in Special Historical Disciplines. Manuscript and book heritage of Ukraine, (1) 108-119 . https://doi.org/10.15407/rksu.40.108

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