Abstract

At the beginning of the XX century Vyatsheslav Kazymyrovych Lipinski formed his own original conservative nationological conception with the following starting points: the determining role of the state and elite in nation-genesis, national consciousness as an important factor of creation of nation, phenomenon of national idea and nationalism. Today we need conscious understanding and comprehension of V. Lipinski’s works and implementation of his ideas into the life of our nation as never before. Directives and warnings of V. Lipinski from «Letters to brothers- grain growers» were topical at the beginning of the XX century and it would be worth considering them today, at the beginning of the XXI century: «Nobody will build the state to us, if we do not build it ourselves, and nobody will do the nation for us, if we do not want to be the nation»; «Presently nobody in Europe does not wish the strong and large Ukrainian state». All the questions that have been stated in V. Lipinski’s works, in particular construction of the Ukrainian national state, analysis of the political systems and political culture, functioning of elites, conception of citizenship, relations between the state, society and a citizen, brightly reflect modern problems of the Ukrainian state creation. Today, as well as in the national liberation competitions time of 1917–1920, social and political life in Ukraine is characterized by a deep crisis, especially in its ideological, political and territorial spheres. And as for the society, it would be fully logical in this situation to address to the idea of union of liberal democracy and conservatism with the purpose of expansion of the national-state front and creation of the general effective policy in a fight for strengthening the Ukrainian state system.