THE SOUTH OF UKRAINE IN THE XVI-TH – XVIII-th CENTURIES IN THE NOTES OF FOREIGNERS

Abstract

In this article the main works of foreign authors (S.Gerbershtein, M.Litvin, E.Lyasota, G.Boplan, K.Shevalye, K.Gildebrant, P.Alepskiy, A.Vimina, H.Eyler, Y.Gildenshtedt, Y.Miller, J.-B.Sherer) are analyzed. The article focuses the reader’s attention on describing the process of the settling of Steppe Ukraine in the XVI – XVIII centuries and the role of the Ukrainian people in it. The process of formation of independent Ukrainian state has ethno-political problems. For the decision of these problems the authors analyzed the role of Ukrainians in settlement and development of the South of Ukraine in the XVI-th – XVIII-th centuries. The article stresses that there were many Russians, Tatars, Greeks and others people who took an active part in formation of Ukrainian ethnic group. Different sources of foreign authors are subject of the research. The authors investigate the main works of foreign authors (monographs, investigations, travel notes, letters, reports and so on). The main peculiarities of these sources are: chronological nature; the authors make a dubious assumption that it has the elements of art work; not many of them have scientific nature. South of Ukraine is a territory which borders on state boundary of the Russian Federation in the East; on such rivers as the Siversky Donets the Oril and the Tjasmin in the North, on rivers the Sinjukha and the Kodyma and the state boundary of Moldova in the West. Some ethno-political aspects of the modern problems connected with settling up a state may be solved by means of scientific analysis applied to the role of Ukrainian nation in settling and development of its territory specifically Southern Ukraine in the period of the XVI – XVIII centuries.