On the issue of the national pantheon appearance in Ukraine

Abstract

One of the forms of showing respect for famous figures is burial monuments. The national pantheon (a memorial complex in the form of a single place of honorable reburial of historical figures or a symbolic space in their honor) is the pinnacle of national honoring of such personalities. There are such pantheons in various countries of the world. However, it is not yet available in Ukraine. The lack of information about the location of the graves of many prominent figures of the past prevents it from appearing. For example, nothing is known about the location of the graves of a number of prominent figures of the princely era. Another problem is taking care of burial places of prominent Ukrainians in other countries. The question of who exactly should belong to the Ukrainian national pantheon requires a wide discussion. This article describes the history of attempts to create a national pantheon in Ukraine and substantiates the potential of the planned encyclopedic reference about the burial places of famous Ukrainians (princes, hetmans and chieftains, leading cultural figures of different eras, writers, scientists, artists and other persons whose work contributed to the preservation of the national self-identification).