Сivic position of Professor V.I. Albitskyі in the context of socio-political transformations of the early 20th century

Abstract

Abstract. The article examines the civic position of Professor Vasyl Ivanovych Albitskyi (1850–1926(?)), a leading hydraulics scientist, teacher and publicist who was an active participant in the conservative movement in Kharkiv in the early 20th century. The attention is focused on his consistent monarchist orientation, participation in the Kharkiv branch of the Russian Assembly (KhBRA), the Union of the Russian People (KhURP) and other right-wing conservative structures. The methodological basis of the research is the principles of historicism, objectivity, and interdisciplinarity.The work uses historical-biographical, historical-genetic, source-based, problem-chronological, as well as general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalization. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of the conflict situation that unfolded around the figure of V.I. Albitskyi at the Kharkiv Technological Institute (KhTI) in 1906–1907, in particular, the large-scale student boycott caused by his anti-democratic position and outspoken criticism of liberal and revolutionary tendencies in the student environment. The article reveals the relationship between the scientific, pedagogical and ideological beliefs of the scientist, their impact on the academic atmosphere and professional fate. It is established that the figure of Professor V.I. Albitskyi is not only a symbol of academic intransigence, but also an embodiment of the clash of traditionalist and modernisation trends in higher technical education in the 1900s on the Ukrainian territory of the Russian Empire.