Establishment of the Academy The predecessors of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences were the Ukrainian Scientific Society in
Kyiv, that due to various circumstances did not develop into a national academy, and the
Shevchenko Scientific Society in Lemberg (modern
Lviv). , Minister of Education and Arts The initiative to create the institution came from the
Ukrainian Science Society in April 1917, eight months before the beginning of the
Soviet-Ukrainian War. The institution materialized during the time of the first
Ukrainian State, when
Mykola Vasylenko, at that time the Minister of Education and Arts, proposed the formation of a special commission. By 17 September, a bill for the creation of the Academy had been written, and the statute drafted. Among the first academicians were historians
Dmytro Bahaliy and
Orest Levytsky, economists
Mykhailo Tuhan-Baranovsky and
Volodymyr Kosynsky, eastern studies
Ahathanhel Krymsky and
Nikolai Petrov, linguist
Stepan Smal-Stotsky, geologists
Volodymyr Vernadsky and
Pavlo Tutkovsky, biologist
Mykola Kashchenko, mechanic
Stepan Tymoshenko, law studies
Fedir Taranovsky. For the post of the President of the Academy, the
Hetman of Ukraine (head of state)
Pavlo Skoropadsky invited
Mykhailo Hrushevsky who at that time was the president of the
Ukrainian Science Society and before the
World War I served as the president of the
Shevchenko Scientific Society in
Lemberg, neighboring
Austria-Hungary, but Hrushevsky declined the invitation yet later (sometime after 1923) became a major figure in the Ukrainian Academy of Science (UAS) in Kyiv. Its official operations the academy started at the end of November 1918 with having several sessions of General Assembly and assemblies of its departments. The first General Assembly (Constituent) that took place on November 27, 1918 academician Volodymyr Vernadsky was elected the President of academy, while the permanent secretary became Ahathanhel Krymsky. The same day, at the sessions of the 2nd and the 3rd departments there were elected as chairmen respectively Mykola Kashchenko and Mykhailo Tuhan-Baranovsky, on 8 December 1918 the chairman of the 1st department was elected Dmytro Bahaliy. All appointments were approved by Hetman Skoropadskyi. The first institutions of the UAS established in December 1918 were such commissions: • for compilation of historic and geographic dictionary of the Ukrainian land (director Dmytro Bahaliy) • for compilation of historic dictionary of Ukrainian language (director Yevhen Tymchenko) • for compilation of the Ukrainian living language dictionary (director Ahathanhel Krymsky) • for publishing landmarks of the modern Ukrainian script (director Serhiy Yefremov) • (archaeographic commission) for publishing landmarks of language, script and history (director Vasyl Danylevych) • acclimatization garden (director Mykhailo Kashchenko) • institute of technical mechanics (director Stepan Tymoshenko) • institute of geodesy, institute of economic conjuncture and national economy of Ukraine (director Mykhailo Tuhan-Baranovsky) Next month there were added following commissions: • institute of demography • in research of common law (director Orest Levytsky) • in research of social issues (director Mykhailo Tuhan-Baranovsky) • in research of national economy (director Volodymyr Kosynsky)
First years During its first years the academy operated during the period of political instability and economical ruin (
Ukrainian–Soviet War,
Russian Civil War,
Polish–Soviet War). The leadership of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences sought its recognition by each new power and principally emphasizing on non-political background of the main science center. Despite the financial hardship, famine, arrests, and emigration of some of its members, the UAS has not only survived as an institution, but developed its structure and directions of research, began to prepare for publication its scientific works. On 3 January 1919 the
Direktoria of the
Ukrainian People's Republic has adopted legislatively changes to the UAS statute, according to which there were made provisions concerning printing of works in Ukrainian and foreign languages (volume of publications in foreign language should not exceeded the 1/4 amount of the Ukrainian language), all the UAS officials had to freely possess the
Ukrainian language, and full members upon their approval would swear in allegiance to the
Ukrainian People's Republic. The Supreme power also has left after itself the right to approve the newly elected members at the UAS General Assembly. Following occupation of Kyiv by Bolshevik forces, on 11 February 1919 the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences received as its own property the mansion and former
boarding house of countess Levashova. This happened on the order of People's Commissar of Education of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic,
Volodymyr Zatonskyi. The next day, on 12 February 1919, an extraordinary UAS General Assembly took place, during which
Ahatanhel Krymsky passed on the order of Zatonskyi immediately to start the work. Since the late 1920s, in the
Soviet historiography that day was considered as the day of establishing the Academy of Sciences, instead of 14 November 1918 when Hetman Skoropadskyi signed the law on creation of the academy.
All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences After several changes of power and withdrawal of the Denikin's forces in December 1919, the Bolsheviks permanently established themselves in Kyiv. With the second arrival of Bolsheviks Vernadsky resigned. Orest Levytsky was elected President of the Academy for the next couple of years. In 1921 Levytsky was replaced by newly elected Mykola Vasylenko, however he was not approved by the authorities and soon was replaced with Levytsky. Vasylenko himself was arrested in 1923 and convicted (later released on amnesty). On June 14, 1921, the
Council of People's Commissars of Ukrainian SSR adopted a decree "Resolution on the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences", according to which the Academy was recognized as the highest scientific state institution and subordinated to the
Narkom of Education. The Academy was renamed from UAS to VUAN () -
All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences - underlining its importance for Ukrainian territories under
Poland,
Romania,
Czechoslovakia and declaring its intentions to unite within one organization the scientific
intelligentsia of all Ukrainian lands. The relationship between members of VUAN and the Soviet authorities soured, while the relationships with the Ukrainian scientists abroad had completely ceased. After historian Orest Levytsky, botanist
Volodymyr Lypsky became president of the Academy. Between 1919-1930 103 academicians were elected to the Academy. In 1924-5, the Academy held its first election for foreign members. However, none of the candidates were approved by the Narkom of Education. Between 1927 and 1930 the takeover of the Academy by the Soviet authorities was completed.
Mykhailo Hrushevsky had been candidate for the presidency, but by the end of 1927 Hrushevsky's candidacy was no longer supported by the authorities. He had been considered a counterweight to the "constitutional-democratic" faction led by
Serhiy Yefremov and Ahatanhel Krymsky, but the three of them had actually agreed on opposing state interference. The authorities removed Yefremov and his supporters and dropped all support for Hrushevsky, who was arrested in 1931, taken to Moscow, and never returned to Ukraine.
Danylo Zabolotny, a microbiologist, was instead put up as president of the Academy, followed by
Oleksandr Bohomolets in 1930. Repressions against the Academy reached their peak in 1933-1934 and were conducted under the leadership of
Pavel Postyshev. Numerous academicians were imprisoned, exiled and deprived of their titles. According to
Natalia Polonska-Vasylenko, during the 1930s over 250 members of the Academy became victims of persecution.
Humanitarian sciences were hit especially hard. From that time on, technical sciences became the Academy's main focus point. In 1934 it was directly subordinated to the
Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Ukraine, and in 1936 was deprived of its national status and renamed into
Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. However, the Academy failed to restore its activities due to opposition from German occupying authorities, which greatly damaged its funds.
Postwar years The Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR returned to Kyiv in 1944. In 1946 it was headed by
Oleksandr Palladin. According to a decree of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in 1963 the Academy was subjected to the
Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union and de-facto turned into its filial. As a result of
Russification, during the 1970s the majority of the academy's publications were issued in the
Russian language. ==Chief executive posts==