The Polish National Liberation Movement on the Territory of Volyn Province in the 1860s (According to the Documents of the State Archives of Zhytomyr Region)

The purpose of the article is to analyze, reinterpret and introduce into the scientific circulation the documents of the State Archives of Zhytomyr Region related to the Polish national liberation movement on the territory of the Volyn province in the middle of the 19th century and, in particular, to the January Uprising of 1863–1864. Methodology of the study is based on the general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and historical research methods (historical-genetic, historical-systemic), as well as methods of historiographical and source studies. The scientific novelty of the article is determined by the analysis of the source potential of the documents from fonds stored in the State Archives of Zhytomyr Region for the study of the Polish liberation movement on the territory of the Volyn province in the 1860s, with an emphasis on the role of women in supporting the Polish movement. Conclusions. The documents from the fonds of the State Archives of Zhytomyr region, which relate to the activities of imperial governing bodies, judicial authorities and religious institutions, are an important source for researching the Polish liberation movement in the Volyn province in the 60s of the 19th century. The archival documents allow us to reconstruct the course of events, the reaction of the authorities to various forms of protests by representatives of the Polish community both in the Volyn province and in the Right-bank Ukraine as a whole; to study the general public sentiment, the role of women in preserving national identity in the context of the intensification of the national movement, as well as the complicated relationship between the Ukrainian peasantry and the Poles. Prospects for further research. The fonds of the State Archives of Zhytomyr Region contain a significant number of documents directly and indirectly related to the Polish movement in the Volyn region and in the Right-bank Ukraine. Some of these documents have been introduced into the scientific circulation, but still require new readings in accordance with new approaches to interpreting the content of the Polish movement and complex issues of Ukrainian-Polish understanding during the 19th century. Some archival documents are still waiting for its researchers.