The City of Orihiv in 1838, 1843 According to Archival Documents

The purpose of the work is to introduce previously unpublished archival documents from the fond «Orikhiv District School» (F. 109) stored in the State Archives of Zaporizhzhia Region into scientific circulation. The documents relate to the historical and statistical description of the city of Orikhiv in the 1830s and 1840s and depict the image of this city against the background of the processes of integration of the Ukrainian south by the Russian Empire. The research methodology is based on a systematic approach using methods of archival heuristics, source criticism, and comparative-historical analysis of archival and printed sources. Biographical and genealogical research methods were used to establish the authorship of a historical source. In the preparation of documents for publication, methods of cameral and editorial archeography were applied. The scientific novelty of the article consists in expanding the source base for research on the history of southern Ukraine in the first half of the 19th century and the spectrum of historical urbanism of small towns in the region, establishing unknown facts from the early history of the town of Orikhiv, related to the establishment of the towns' status as a district centre. Conclusions. The documents introduced into scientific circulation testify to the Ukrainian nature of the settlement of the town of Orikhiv, the determining, long-lasting and powerful influence of the Ukrainian ethnic group on the formation of its socio-cultural landscape, as well as the entire southern region of Ukraine. Russian imperial ties, which were implemented through the administrative system of power, were absorbed by the Ukrainian ethno-cultural environment for a long time. We observe this in the forms of acceptance of local customs and traditions by national minorities, their study and perception of local history as their own, infiltration of Ukrainianisms into the Russian language of stationery documents, etc. The prospect for further research lies in deepening the exploration of the history of individual settlements in the region, in particular – urban, educational, spiritual centers, administrative institutions, and economic bodies in the context of their systemic response to imperial integration.