«Native Archivist» Vira Zhuk (to the 95th Anniversary of the Birth)

The article is dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the birth of Vira Nykanorivna Zhuk (1928–2018) – a Ukrainian scholar-historian, archivist, bulgarianist, local historian, pedagogue, public fi gure. The purpose of the work is to study various aspects of the formation of V. Zhuk's personality as a historianarchivist, to analyze the directions of her professional activity, to establish a contribution to the development of archival aff airs. The research methodology is general scientifi c methods of analysis and synthesis, principles of historicism and objectivity. The work uses chronological, systematic methods, source analysis. Thanks to the biographical method, the main factors that infl uenced the formation of the personality of V. Zhuk as a historian-archivist were clarifi ed. The scientifi c novelty consists in the actualization of the methodological heritage of V. Zhuk in the fi eld of archival studies. Based on the study of the correspondence of I. Butych with V. Zhuk and the latter's publications in the «Archives of Ukraine», the details of the creation of the methodology for organizing the archival fonds of the regional editorial boards of «History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR» were clarifi ed. Conclusions. The professional development of Vira Zhuk as a historian-archivist was infl uenced by famous scientists, teachers, archivists-practitioners: A. Vvedenskyi, V. Dyadychenko, V. Zhebokrytskyi, L. Slavin, V. Strelskyi, I. Butych and others. At the same time, one cannot ignore the impact of the turning points in Ukrainian history of the 20th century, which V. Zhuk witnessed in. As an archivist, she devoted a lot of time and eff ort to the use of archival information in various forms and achieved considerable success, for which she received a government award and an honorary title. The achievements of V. Zhuk in the systematization, description of documents, creation and improvement of the scientifi c reference apparatus are undeniable, an example of this is organized by her fonds of the Poltava Regional Editorial Board «History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR», fond of M. V. Sklifosovskyi, two editions of the guidebook of the State Archives of the Poltava Region etc. Her contribution to replenishment, preservation and popularization of the National Archival Holdings requires further study.