Pages: 500-523

The article dwells on a unique period of development of Byzantine studies in Ukrainian lands of Russian Empire (1874-1885) – from transition of the leading expert on history F. I. Uspenskiy to University of Odessa up to the border between the first and the second stages of pre-revolutionary medieval studies in this country. The methodological basis of most researches becomes a novel positivist methodology that focused scientific interest on problems of internal, primarily social and economic history. The historians obviously rejected Gibbon’s concept of Byzantine development. The chronology of their studies embraced all periods of existence of Byzantine Empire. Those researches were prepared at four main centers of Byzantine studies – Odessa, Kharkov, Kiev Universities and Kiev Theological Academy. Among the persons who studied various Byzantine problems the most fruitful were F.I. Uspensky (land property relations and Byzantine-Bulgarian relations in 12th – 13th centuries), N.P. Kondakov (Byzantine art and iconography), F.A. Ternovsky (problems of Byzantine influence on Rus in the field of science and Greek Eastern Church at the age of Ecumenical Councils), M.S. Drinov (relations between Byzantium and Bulgaria in 10th century), V.K. Nadler (circus parties activities in the 5th century and their role in political life of the country).

Keywords: Byzantium, Scholars, Ukraine, Uspenskiy, Byzantine-Bulgarian