On January 9, 2024, the Department of Archaeology, Medieval and Modern History of the Chernivtsi Regional Museum of Local Lore held a round table "Academician Stepan Smal-Stotsky", dedicated to the 165th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Ukrainian cultural and socio-political figure, educator, outstanding Slavic scholar, who made a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian philology, literary criticism, and history.

The wide range of S. Smal-Stotsky's interests, in each of which the scholar achieved considerable success, gathered researchers from the historical, philological, and pedagogical faculties, the Scientific Library of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, the State Archives of Chernivtsi Region, representatives of authorities and public organizations in the museum hall.

The event moderator, Oksana Dragomyretska, Head of the Department of Archaeology, Medieval and Modern History of the Region, told the guests about the scholar's enormous contribution to the national revival of Ukrainians in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. She presented an exhibition of selected works by S. Smal-Stotsky from the #ChOKM fund repository and a previously unexhibited original photograph.

The guest of the event, D.Sc. (History), Professor, Dean of the Faculty of History, Political Science and International Relations of ChNU, Oleksandr Dobrzhanskyi, emphasized the significance of S. Smal-Stotsky's scientific and socio-political activities and presented a book published in 2023 in collaboration with Viktor and Oleksandr Danylenko, "Stepan Smal-Stotsky. 'Deserved by all of Ukraine'". The audience was also interested in the story about the scholar's descendants, many of whom are scientists and public figures who, although scattered across various countries and continents, remember their roots.

D.Sc. (Philology), Professor of the Department of Modern Ukrainian Language at the Faculty of Philology of ChNU, Liudmyla Tkach, delivered a report titled "The Figure of Professor Stepan Smal-Stotsky and His Grammatical Works in the Context of His Time and Our Age". She noted that "Grammar of the Ruthenian Language", published by S. Smal-Stotsky in collaboration with Professor T. Gartner, became a landmark event in the development of the science of the Ukrainian language. This textbook underwent 4 editions and was used for over 40 years in schools in Western Ukrainian lands.

D.Sc. (Philology), Professor of the Department of Ukrainian Literature at ChNU, Volodymyr Antofiychuk, spoke to the attendees about S. Smal-Stotsky's activities as a literary critic. He highlighted his original work "T. Shevchenko: Interpretations", which was unbiased by ideological approaches.

A very interesting and insightful study on S. Smal-Stotsky's cultural and educational work in the camps for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Freistadt during the First World War was prepared by PhD (History), Head of the Department of Modern History at ChOKM, Tetiana Minaieva. She emphasized that the professor's educational activities made an invaluable contribution to the enlightenment of many Ukrainians, who returned from captivity as sincere patriots of their people.

People's Artist of Ukraine, Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Music at ChNU, Ivan Derda, deeply impressed the audience with his passionate recitation of Kobzar's works. In his speech, he pointed out S. Smal-Stotsky's deep understanding of Taras Shevchenko's work, the scholar's research into the rhythm of Shevchenko's works, which are based on folk rhythms. He spoke about his scholarly studies "Reading Shevchenko's Poetry" and "The Rhythmics of Shevchenko's Poetry," in which he raised the question of how to read and perform the brilliant poet's works to capture all the thoughts, all the "subtleties... of emotional stirring, all degrees of warmth and tenderness of his kind soul, his ardent heart...".

Yulia Prokopchuk also became a guest of the round table, presenting the abstract of the dissertation of her husband, Oleh Horbatiuk, PhD (Philology), Head of the Rukshyn community, who is currently defending our country as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, titled "Stepan Smal-Stotsky as a Literary Critic: Figures and Phenomena of New Ukrainian Literature".

During the round table, the staff of the Scientific Library of ChNU exhibited a mobile exhibition "Stepan Smal-Stotsky – Ukrainian Cultural and Public Figure, Scholar, Philologist", prepared using materials from S. Smal-Stotsky's fund, which is housed in the rare books department. The rare editions were presented by Mykhailo Zushman, PhD (Philology), Director of the Scientific Library, who provided an overview of the presented works, particularly those on literary criticism. He recounted that the scholar was one of the first to notice and properly appreciate the great talent of the still very young Vasyl Stefanyk.

Employees of the State Archives of Chernivtsi Region presented guests with original documents and individual works by S. Smal-Stotsky, including his article "My Politics," in which the scholar critically analyzes and summarizes his activities.

Comprehending all that Stepan Smal-Stotsky accomplished during his life, we understand that this Man's motto could well have been his own words: "Only through the sincere work of each generation is built the temple of national culture, the temple of a magnificent future for the people...".

Stepan Smal-Stotsky dedicated his life to the Ukrainian people, whom he loved sincerely and selflessly...