Page 31 - IJSA, Vol. 3, No 1, 2020

рrint ISSN: 2617-2682; online ISSN: 2707-3637; DOI:10.26697/ijsa IJSA

intelligentsia began to unite in amateur semi-legal

organizations called communities. The community did
not have specific programs and charters. All of them
were united by the national Ukrainian idea on a
democratic basis.
Five years later the Vernadsky family moved to
Kharkiv. This environment influenced the young
Volodymyr and the formation of his worldview. Ivan
Vernadsky (Volodymyr’s father) maintained relations
with prominent figures of Ukrainian and Russian
culture, representatives of democratic thought, namely
with Shevchenko, Granovsky, Lavrov, Kavelin,
Solovyov, Bunge, Maksymovych and others. During
this period, the Vernadskys were often visited by
Professor of Kharkiv University Kachenovsky (1827–
1872) who was a lawyer, historian, friend of the
Vernadsky family, and by writer Alchevska. In his diary,
Volodymyr Ivanovych recalled an interesting incident
that occurred at their home: “Father and Kachenovsky ...
talked about the Garibaldians and the Franco-German

war which I was interested in. Suddenly my father called
Figure 2. Anna Petrivna Vernadska (1837–1898), me and told Kachenovsky: “My father thought that I
mother. would live to see the constitution, but I don’t think so,
but I’m sure that Volodya will live in a free country”
Vernadsky (1988b, p. 22) wrote: “My mother was born
in Kyiv in a landowner’s family which already consisted (Vernadsky, 2010, p. 247).
almost exclusively of the military. Her father, an Volodymyr Ivanovych spent almost eight years in
artillery general, was a serviceman but he was a good Kharkiv (1868–1876). During these very years that
man, judging by the stories, an original type of the old V. Vernadsky’s attraction to Ukrainian culture
Ukrainian Cossacks (he spoke mainly Ukrainian)”. developed. Ukrainian song sunk into his child soul. “My
Anna Petrivna studied at Kyiv General Levashov private father loved Ukrainian songs very much, and my mother
boarding school and dreamed of becoming a singer. sang them beautifully.” Anna Petrivna Vernadska had a
However, her mother was against it. After a while her wonderful mezzo-soprano. In Kharkiv, according to the
father died and she had to work as a class mistress at the memoirs of Volodymyr Ivanovych, “she organized
Institute of Noble Maidens. Vernadsky (1988b, p. 22) choirs, windows opened and beautiful Ukrainian songs
recalled his mother: “In early years my mother was a were heard” (Vernadsky, 1922). In 1873, when
daring girl. After her father’s death she decided to Volodymyr was ten years old, he entered the first grade
sustain herself and entered an institute in Moscow as a of the First Male Kharkiv Gymnasium (see Figure 3, 4).
class mistress. There she did not work long. Having He studied there for two years, although he did not like
great musical abilities and an extremely strong voice, studying.
she sought to perform on stage, but her mother opposed
this. Subsequently she came to Petersburg, where she
also gave lessons and participated in the famous choir of
composer Balakirev ...”. The family of Anna Petrivna
also had Polish roots. V. Vernadsky believed that
parents in their families felt the enormous influence of
Polish culture. This was seen in observance of the
customs of the holidays of Right-Bank Ukraine which
were followed by the mother of Volodymyr Ivanovych,
in Polish dishes prepared by grandmother
(Onyshchenko, 2011).
Vernadsky (1988b, p. 22) described in detail the events
with prominent figures of that time. In particular, he
noticed that his mother’s uncle, Gulak, was a member
and “one of the leaders of the secret Ukrainian society –
Cyril and Methodius, headed by Shevchenko,
Kostomarov and others”.
Volodymyr Vernadsky was born in 1863 in St.
Petersburg. At this period the leading figures of the Cyril
and Methodius Society returned from exile and
continued their national activities in the cultural and

educational movement. In the 60s in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Figure 3. Volodymyr Vernadsky – gymnasium pupil.
Poltava and other cities the liberal and democratic

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