Pro-Russian historian, archaeologist Tolochko dies: what he was remembered for
29 April 2024 11:29
A well-known Ukrainian historian, archaeologist, academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and a member of its presidium, MP of the III and IV convocations and active public figure Petro Tolochko has died. This was announced by the People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the III convocation Artur Bilous, Komersant ukrainskyi 
reports.
The scientist passed away on 28 April, he was 86 years old.
“He was a member of two convocations of the Verkhovna Rada, one of which was the third, and we met him. And although he was elected from Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna party, his political views were even more left-wing. Closer to the OPFL and the Communist Party. He did not consider the Holodomor to be a genocide of the Ukrainian people, and did not accept any of the Maidans. He regarded the Old Russian nation as the only one from whose roots the branches of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians later grew,”
– bilous said.
He noted that “such controversial views do not diminish his merits as a scientist.
“It was he who, since the 70s, put archaeological expeditions that had not been systematic before on a permanent basis.
Excavations under his leadership shed light on many previously unknown circumstances. It was believed that the inhabitants of Ancient Rus lived in dugouts and half-dugouts. Excavations in Podil proved that most Kyivans already lived in wooden buildings. It was these archaeological expeditions that made it possible to establish the age of Kyiv from the first settlements on Starokyivska Hill, starting from the end of the fifth century. And not from the arrival of the Varangians-Rurikovich in the ninth century, as was generally believed before,”
– bilous reminded.
It should be noted that Tolochko, despite his significant contribution to science, was known for his pro-Russian views. The news of the death of the “defender of the Russian language and the unity of the three peoples” was published by the Kremlin-controlled central media in Russia.
Russian media reported that Tolochko died in the Feofania clinic in Kyiv. The cause of death is “a complex of various diseases”.
What is the famous historian and archaeologist Petro Tolochko remembered for?
Petro Tolochko was born in the Kyiv region in 1938. In 1960, he graduated from the Faculty of History and Philosophy of Kyiv University, and in 1966 he completed his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. He defended his PhD thesis “Historical Topography of Ancient Kyiv” and his doctoral thesis “Kyiv and Kyivan Land in the Period of Feudal Disintegration of Rus in the 12th-13th Centuries”.
Tolochko has made a significant contribution to the study of the history of the Eastern Slavs, Kyivan Rus and the Ukrainian Middle Ages.
He is the author of about 400 scientific works, including 25 monographs, including Historical Topography of Ancient Kyiv (1970), Ancient Kyiv (1983), Historical Portraits (1991), Chronicles of Kyivan Rus (1994), Volodymyr the Holy – Yaroslav the Wise (1996), From Rus’ to Ukraine (1997), and others. Tolochko is the author of more than 200 journalistic and fictional works, which address important issues of the formation of Ukrainian statehood, the formation of a political nation, civil society and its elite, and the definition of the national idea.
It was Tolochko who established the age of Kyiv. Thanks to his persistence and ability to defend his position at the highest level, it was determined that Kyiv is 1500 years old – 200 years older than previously thought.
In his works, Petro Tolochko proved that in the tenth century, Kyiv was ahead of other European capitals in terms of development. In general, almost all of the academician’s scientific work was devoted to the study of the history of Kyivan Rus.
For a series of works on the history and archeology of Kyiv, P. Tolochko received the State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR in Science and Technology (1983), and for the series of works “Ancient History of Ukraine” in three volumes, as well as the monograph “Ethnic History of Ancient Ukraine”, he was awarded the title of Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine in 2002. He was awarded the Hrushevsky Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1992) for his research on the urbanisation of Kyivan Rus.
In total, Tolochko spent about 15 years on archaeological expeditions. He revived the archaeology of ancient Kyiv, which was completely destroyed for a number of historical reasons, including the repressions of the 1930s.
Tolochko was one of the initiators of the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, and from 1989 to 2015 he headed it. He was a member of the Board of the National Union of Local History of Ukraine (until 2016).
He was repeatedly awarded orders, including:
- The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, III class (16 May 2013) – for his significant personal contribution to the development of national science, strengthening the scientific and technical potential of Ukraine, many years of conscientious work and high professionalism.
- Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, IV class (21 February 2003) – for outstanding personal services to the Ukrainian state in the development of historical science, active social, political and legislative activities.
- The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, V century (23 February 1998) – for outstanding personal contribution to the development of archeology, enrichment of historical science with fundamental research on Kyivan Rus and ancient Kyiv.
It should be noted that Tolochko received a number of Russian awards, namely: Honorary Doctor of the Order of Friendship (Russian Federation) (2008), Honorary Doctor of the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions (2016), Laureate of the Alexander Nevsky Prize (Russia, 2012), Special Prize of the International Slavic Literary Forum “Golden Knight” (Russia, 2021).
Tolochko’s pro-Russian views
Tolochko is known for his pro-Russian views, in particular for denying the Holodomor as genocide against Ukrainians. He considered himself part of the “Russian world” and supported Putin’s views on historical heritage.
In his speeches on socio-political topics, he opposed the nationalist interpretation of Ukrainian history and believed that there was no persecution of Ukrainian culture.
In his book Ukraine in the Fire of European Integration, he spoke out against the Maidan and European integration. Tolochko also criticised the granting of the Tomos to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
He headed the pro-Russian Slavic People’s Patriotic Union party (2003-2005). He was a member of the presidium of the World Russian People’s Council.
Tolochkov is accused of making separatist statements, supporting pro-Russian propaganda, co-founding the Slavic People’s Patriotic Union, participating in the governing body of the World Russian People’s Council, etc.
Under public pressure, he was dismissed in 2016 from the post of director of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
In January 2022, he took part in a roundtable discussion of the Russian Historical Society chaired by Sergei Naryshkin, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, which was dedicated to the study of the history of Ukraine and timed to the 368th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada.
However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on 8 March 2022, he signed a Collective Statement to the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences from members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine – foreign members of the RAS, in which scientists condemned the war and withdrew from the foreign members of the RAS.
