The ambiguity of Panteleimon Kulish’s figure in the assessment of Ukrainian emigration

The aim of the study is to identify the main characteristics of P. Kulish by the representatives of Ukrainian emigration in the twentieth century, focusing on aspects of the extraordinary personality in Ukrainian culture and literature. The object of the research is literary-critical and non-fiction (publicist) articles, as well as correspondence of some representatives of Ukrainian intellectual emigration (in particular Ye. Malaniuk, I. Kachurovsky, A. Zhyvotko, Yu. Коsach, Yu. Shevelov), which addressed their works to the figure and creativity of P. Kulish.Methods. According to the indexes and content of literary-critical and non-fiction worksof certain critics, journalists, and scientists in the diaspora, the appeal to the name of P. Kulish is traced, as well as characterization of his personality in the Ukrainian press of the postwar period in the territory of Germany (in particular in the years of his 50th anniversary and 60th anniversary of death – 1947, 1957). Methods of analysis, induction and deduction, comparison, synthesis, and generalization made it possible to distinguish the main features of P. Kulish – the creator of the Ukrainian nation, a state-maker, a true European, a unique personality. Results and conclusions. The «integrity», «universality», «synthetics», «versatility» ofP. Kulish still remains to be explored in some aspects. Many biographies, essays, articles were published in order to descry his creative, rebellious, and not always consistent nature, to reveal historical intuition, political foresight, ideas about independence and statehood of Ukraine, to understand innovative steps in literature, translation, language, historiosophy, to emphasize persistent publishing and editorial activities, etc. Both domestic and emigration researchers tried to convey the greatness of P. Kulish in the translations of his works, at the same time the Ukrainian public recognized the «living person», a prominent figure «in the gallery of the creators of our post-Shevchenko cultural and historical process».Therefore, they still have not lost their symbolic and critical coloration of the estimation and characteristics of P. Kulish, although not all of these works are known today in Ukraine.Key words: Panteleimon Kulish, Ukrainian emigration, literary-critical and non-fiction(publicistic) articles, creator of nation, European orientations.