Problems of formation of Ukrainian national press in opinions of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi and Yevhen Chykalenko

The goal of the work. The research concerns the consideration of key problems of formation of Ukrainian national press in the beginning of the 20th century on the basis of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi's journalism, firstly publications in the popular weekly “Village” and materials of Yevhen Chykalenko's diary. The methodology is in the use of heuristic and problem-searching method combined with a critical analysis of materials published by Mykhailo Hrushevskyi in Ukrainian press, which consider ways and problems of formation and development of the Ukrainian periodicals in the beginning of the 20th century. The scientific novelty of this research is to expand the basis of scientific knowledge in the fields of researching the Ukrainian periodicals, history of the Ukrainian national movement in the beginning of the 20th century, Hrushevskyi's studies, implication in scientific circulation of a number of little-known researchers published in Ukrainian press of the initial period of the national press. The analysis of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi's publications and Yevhen Chykalenko's diary gives an opportunity to determine their views on the main problematic topics faced by publishers and editors of Ukrainian language press after the 1905 Revolution in the Russian Empire, the role and significance of the printed word in the native language in the forming of Ukrainian national consciousness. Conclusions. It was established that the issues of development of the Ukrainian press, its distribution and influence on the formation of national consciousness were the main tasks for both prominent leaders of the Ukrainian movement and their views and though their views on the perspectives of the Ukrainian press differed, but at key moments were similar. And the main point in their publishing and publicist activity was the understanding that Ukrainian newspapers and magazines should only rely on the wide support of the masses.