РОЗВИТОК ПРИРОДНИЧИХ НАУК У НАДДНІПРЯНЩИНІ КІНЦЯ ХІХ – ПОЧАТКУ ХХ СТОЛІТТЯ: СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ПРОБЛЕМИ

Purpose of the research. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current state of the development of natural sciences in the Dnieper region in the late 19th – early 20th century, based on historiographical sources. The focus is on the activities of scientific societies and institutions, the contribution of prominent scientists, and the influence of Western European scientific concepts. Research methodology. A systematic review of scientific works on the development of natural sciences in the Dnieper region was conducted. The analysis included publications of scientific societies and universities, as well as the scientific and educational activities of Ukrainian scientists and their participation in international scientific communities. The historical and comparative methods were used to assess the influence of institutional, ideological, and socio-political factors on the development of natural sciences. Scientific novelty. The novelty of this study lies in the systematization and generalization of historiographical sources that examine the development of scientific institutions and international cooperation of scientists in the Dnieper region. For the first time, the main directions of the influence of Western European ideas, such as Darwinism and positivism, on the formation of Ukrainian scientific thought are outlined. Conclusions. The analyzed sources indicate the intense development of natural sciences in the Dnieper region at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Universities and scientific societies, which actively cooperated with each other and with Western European colleagues, were the main drivers of scientific progress. International scientific connections contributed to the introduction of new ideas and methods in local scientific research. However, the socio-political conditions of this period also presented challenges, affecting the development of science and its integration into the global scientific space.