Reserve Hortyca and its place in historical memory

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the place of the Hortyca reserve in the Cossack myth and the historical memory of Ukraine. The Cossack myth at different stages of its formation, in its post-Soviet-populist version, was successfully integrated into the state policy of memory of independent Ukraine. The article reveals the stages and the historical context of the creation of the Hortyca reserve, shows the lack of a historical base for the «reconstruction» of the Zaporizhisn Sich. Nevertheless, the Cossack movement and the Cossack theme gain an important place in the historical politics of the presidents. The Cossack movement also became participants and organizers of public commemorative actions associated with significant events in Cossack history. The events of the Maidan 2013–2014 added new colors to the Cossack myth. The use of the Hortyca complex for the formation of an artificial place of memory associated with the Zaporizhzhya Sich and the Cossacks is studies. It is shown that there was no historical or archaeological basis for the formation of the memorial on Bolshaya Hortyca. Nevertheless, since the time of N. Yavornitsky, a number of stages in the creation of such a place of memory can be traced. In particular, P. Shelest’s decisions on perpetuating the memory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. In 1965 was made a decision to create a historical and cultural reserve «Hortyca». One of the key places is the grave of the ataman I. Sirko. The exhumation and further investigation of Sirko’s remains became the subject of a war of memory. Only in 2000, the skull of the legendary chieftain was buried. The reserve itself remained the subject of speculation and manipulation of the Cossack myth, since would not be based on either historical or archaeological data, but it was based on the idea of recreating a certain generalized image. As a result, the complex «Hortyca’s Sich» turned out to be a generalized image of Cossack fortifications with an attempt to reproduce the structure of all eight Cossack sections that existed in the 17th–18th centuries. The complex is actively used by reenactors and folklorists.