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Nikolay VasilenkoUkrainian historian, statesman and political figure
Date of Birth: 02.02.1866
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Content:
- Ukrainian Historian and Statesman
- Academic Career
- Legal and Political Activities
- State Service
- Soviet Period
- Family and Personal Life
Ukrainian Historian and Statesman
Early Life and EducationNikolai Prokofievich Vasilenko was a renowned Ukrainian historian, state, and political figure. Born in Ukraine, he completed his progymnasium in Hlukhiv and gymnasium in Poltava. Initially pursuing medical studies in Germany, he later transferred to the historical and philological faculty and received a degree in Russian history in 1890.
Academic Career
Vasilenko expanded his knowledge by attending lectures by prominent professors at Kiev University. He published scholarly articles in the journal "Kyivskaia starina" and became a contributor to its editorial board. He was also active in the Historical Society of Nestor the Chronicler, becoming its chairman in 1919.
From 1893 to 1903, Vasilenko taught history at various institutions in Kyiv, including the Beitel Private Women's Gymnasium and the Funderkeevskaya Women's Gymnasium. He specialized in the history of left-bank Ukraine, publishing historical documents and studying the history of western Russian law, including Magdeburg law in Ukraine.
In 1910, Vasilenko passed his master's exams in Russian history and joined the Kyiv University faculty. He became a private lecturer in 1911 but was dismissed in 1913 due to his involvement in Ukrainian nationalist propaganda.
Legal and Political Activities
In 1907, Vasilenko became an assistant to a sworn attorney in Odessa and later became a sworn attorney himself in 1913 in Kyiv. He participated in approximately 150 court cases.
Vasilenko was also politically active, joining the Constitutional Democratic Party (Party of People's Freedom) in 1910. He supported the party's stance of permitting Ukrainian language use in schools, courts, and churches. However, the party's opposition to Ukrainian autonomy caused tensions with Ukrainian nationalists.
State Service
After the February Revolution in 1917, Vasilenko became deputy chairman of the Central Rada at the initiative of Mykhailo Hrushevsky. He was appointed the trustee of the Kyiv educational district by the Russian Provisional Government and later served as the deputy minister of public education.
Vasilenko also held the position of acting chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian State from April 1918. He became the minister of education and later of education and arts until October 1918. He also served as acting foreign minister and concurrently as the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers.
As a government official, Vasilenko sought to recruit highly qualified specialists and facilitated the opening of Ukrainian state universities, the Ukrainian National Library, the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, schools, archives, and museums.
Soviet Period
After the fall of the Ukrainian State, Vasilenko remained in Ukraine despite having the opportunity to emigrate. He became an elected academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and edited its socio-economic department publications. He served as the academy's president from 1921 to 1922.
In 1923, Vasilenko was arrested on charges of creating a counterrevolutionary organization and espionage. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1924, but his sentence was later reduced. He spent time in exile in Omsk before returning to Kyiv in 1925.
Family and Personal Life
Vasilenko was married to Natalia Dmitrievna Polonska-Vasilenko, a historian and memoirist. He had a younger brother, Konstantin, who was a Menshevik and was also convicted in 1924.
Vasilenko enjoyed playing the violin and had a large library. He passed away in Kyiv and was buried in the Lukyanivske Cemetery.
