Historical Ways of Development of the Multiethnic Culture of Ukraine

Abstract

In the article the historical ways of forming of the multiethnic culture of Ukraine have been analyzed. The main scientific approaches to the Ukrainian ethnogenesis have been distinguished. Among them are the theory of “Primordalism”, the autochthonous theory of Mikhail Gruschevsky, the theory of “one cradle”, and the theory of the “Independent Development of East Slavic Peoples”. It has been emphasized that the main element of any ethnos is a language. The main elements of the Ukrainian ethnos have been named: 1) Basic ethnic massive of the Ukrainian people; 2) Ethnic Ukrainian groups abroad in short-distance and long-distance – Diaspora; 3) Subethnic groups – communities among Ukrainians, differing by specific culture traits (gutsuls, lemks, boyks, polischuks, etc.).Key words: Ukrainian history, Ukrainian culture, Ethnos, Nature and geographic conditions, Primordialism.