Serving the Empire? The Ukrainian Nobility in the Late Eighteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

The focus of this article lays on the Cossack-rooted noble stratum on the Left Bank Ukrainian lands in the course of the long nineteenth century. It is asserted that various aspects of the issue have attracted scholarly attention in recent decades. The author approaches the subject through the examination of literary and historical works as well as private historical collections which the Ukrainian noble families possessed during the period. The evocative role of these artifacts is evaluated from the perspective of the “Cossack myth” and the restoration of the hetmancy in 1918.