EASTERN TRAVELS AND TRAVELOGUES OF SOFIA YABLONSKA

Olga Sukhobokova,

Ph.D. (History), Associate Professor,

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2524-048X.2026.33.12

 

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to review the travels of the Ukrainian and French traveler, writer, photographer, and cinematographer Sofia Yablonska (1907–1971) to Southeast Asia and North Africa in the late 1920s and 1930s and their coverage in her travelogues (travelogues).

The methodological basis of the study is the principles of historicism and the problem-chronological approach. This allowed us to consistently reconstruct the main stages of Sofia Yablonska’s biography and activities. The historical-genetic method, methods of content analysis and comparative analysis were used to analyze the content of her travelogues («Charms of Morocco», «From the Land of Rice and Opium», «Distant Horizons») and the historical context of their creation.

Scientific novelty. Based on the analysis of previous publications dedicated to Sofia Yablonska and her travelogues, it was found that her creative heritage has been addressed mainly by Ukrainian literary scholars and philologists, since her travelogues are vivid examples of Ukrainian travel literature. At the same time, her travel essays and a huge array of published and archival documentary photographs from various countries of Asia and Africa can be sources of the history and culture of the peoples of the East. Therefore, they require attention and careful special research by historians-orientalists. This article attempts to demonstrate the potential of her literary and documentary heritage for enriching Ukrainian oriental studies.

Conclusions. Travelogues, photographs and film footage from Sofia Yablonska’s travels to Asian and African countries are a valuable asset and an example of modern European culture. Their content, style and form of presentation, emotionality and the author’s reflections on the current situation, culture and traditions of the peoples of Asia and Africa, the consequences for them of European colonialism and the «backwardness of the East» together allow us to form the most complete picture of the peculiarities of life of various national and social groups in China and the countries of Southeast Asia and Africa.

Key words: Sofia Yablonska, travel literature, travelogue, history of Asian and African countries, oriental studies, China, Morocco.

 

Submitted 10.11.2025

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