Leontii Voitovych


Leontii Voitovych is a modern Ukrainian scientist-historian and holds a Doctor of Science degree. He is a research fellow of the department of Middle Ages history at the Krypiakevych Institute of Ukrainian Studies as well as an academic department director of history of Middle Ages and Byzantine studies in the University of Lviv.

Biography

Born in the Ural region of the Russian Federation, Voitovych is from the Western Ukraine. A brother of his grandfather, Petro Voitovych, was a Lviv sculptor and known for his works of Lviv Opera. His family was deported across the Ural Mountains during the Stalin period and he was growing up in small mining town with many other children of Soviet exiles. His father, who finished the Prague Polytechnic as a bridge engineer, perished in a mine from a methane explosion. Soon after the Stalin's death, in 1956 Voitovych together with his mother returned to homeland and settled in Mykolaiv, Lviv Oblast. Because in the Soviet Union Voitovych was recognized as "unreliable element" by state authorities, he was discouraged to even try to enroll in the University of Lviv.
In 1972 he graduated from Lviv Polytechnic Institute, now Lviv Polytechnic National University, specializing in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation Voitovych worked in Berehove at a local branch of the All-Union Institute of maintenance and exploitation of vehicle-tractor park.
In 1981 he started to be involved in historical research. His supervisor was doktor of science Yaroslav Isayevych who was a director of the department of historical landmarks of the Institute of Social Sciences.
In 1994 Voitovych defended his dissertation for a candidate of sciences on "Appanage duchies of Riurikids and Gediminids in 12-16th centuries". In 2001 he defended his doctorate dissertation "Princely dynasties of Eastern Europe : composition, social and political role".
Since the late 1990s he was a professor of academic department of Ancient History of Ukraine at the University of Lviv and since 2005 Voitovych is heading academic department of Middle Ages history and Byzantine studies.
He is considered a notable historian of genealogy of Rurikids and the history of Rus' people.

Recognitions