Abstract: The subject of this research is the main trends in development of the Ukrainian cultural space in the Russian Empire during the XIX century. The object of this research is the attempts of codification of the Ukrainian language in form of standardized dictionaries and literary works. The author examines such aspects of the topic as comprehension of the historical events and formation of the mythological representations on history, which is common to the Modern Era. Particular attention is given to the Ukrainian cultural space as an independent phenomenon associated with the struggle of extreme views – the Russian imperial idea and the Ukrainian cultural self-identification. The main conclusion lies in the statement that the Ukrainian cultural space has gradually become a phenomenon in its own right due to restrictive measures of the state and hostile position of the Russian community after the January Uprising of 1863-1864. The author’s special contribution into the research consists in acknowledgement that the attempts of establishing the Ukrainian nation for a long time were viewed as a challenge to the inchoate project of the Russian nation, which led to the split of Russian people. The scientific novelty lies in comprehension of the peculiarities of transition of the Ukrainian cultural space from amorphous existence at the level of the regional-imperial identity and the status of ethnographic “marvel” to the clearly outlined boundaries and realization of its uniqueness, encouraged by the creation of “Cossack myth” and the relatively systemless regional policy of the Russian Empire.