Artykuł przedstawia sylwetkę i losy zmarłego przed pięćdziesięciu laty, a dzisiaj niemal zupełnie zapomnianego związanego z Poznaniem badacza Słowiańszczyzny, Władysława Kowalenki. Wykazana jest w nim zarówno nieliczna literatura odnosząca się do jego osoby oraz przede wszystkim niewykorzystane dotychczas liczne materiały archiwalne. W dalszej części przedstawione są wczesne zainteresowania Kowalenki skupiające się wokół osadnictwa grodowego Wielkopolski, oraz jego działalność w okresie okupacji na tajnym Uniwersytecie Ziem Zachodnich. Czasy, w jakich przyszło mu żyć po wojnie, a także sytuacja polityczna epoki PRL wywarły niebagatelny wpływ na kierunek jego dalszej pracy naukowej. Pomimo tego, oraz podeszłego już wieku w ostatnich kilkunastu latach jego życia nastąpił znaczny rozwój jego zainteresowań badawczych związanych z dziejami morskimi Słowiańszczyzny zachodniej i południowej, znajdujący swój wyraz w licznych publikacjach. Kierował też pracami redakcyjnymi jedynego wielotomowego kompendium wiedzy o wczesnej Słowiańszczyźnie jakim jest do dzisiaj Słownik starożytności słowiańskich. Obecnie dorobek naukowy Kowalenki nadal jest wykorzystywany przez badaczy i cytowany w ich pracach

Władysław Kowalenko – a forgotten pioneer of research on the importance of sea for the Slavic nations in the early Middle Ages from Poznań 

The articles presents the character and the life of Władysław Kowalenko, a researcher in Slavic studies connected to Poznań, who died 50 years ago and is now almost entirely forgotten. The article presents primarily the archive materials which had not been used so far, and includes the scarce pieces of literature concerning Kowalenko. The subsequent part of the article presents his early interest in the town settlements in Greater Poland and his activity during the occupation in an underground University of the Western Lands. The times in which he lived after the Second Wold War and the political situation of socialist Poland significantly influenced the direction of his academic work later on. It can be noticed that in the final years of his life, despite the circumstances and despite his advanced age, a significant development of his research interests related to the marine history of the western and southern parts of the Slavic area can be observed, which was expressed in numerous publications. Kowalenko also supervised the editorial work on the only multi-volume encyclopedia concerning the early Slavic history – the “Dictionary of Ancient Slavic History”. At present, the academic legacy of Kowalenko is still used by researchers and quoted in their works.

The articles presents the character and the life of Władysław Kowalenko, a researcher in Slavic studies connected to Poznań, who died 50 years ago and is now almost entirely forgotten. The article presents primarily the archive materials which had not been used so far, and includes the scarce pieces of literature concerning Kowalenko. The subsequent part of the article presents his early interest in the town settlements in Greater Poland and his activity during the occupation in an underground University of the Western Lands. The times in which he lived after the Second Wold War and the political situation of socialist Poland significantly influenced the direction of his academic work later on. It can be noticed that in the final years of his life, despite the circumstances and despite his advanced age, a significant development of his research interests related to the marine history of the western and southern parts of the Slavic area can be observed, which was expressed in numerous publications. Kowalenko also supervised the editorial work on the only multi-volume encyclopedia concerning the early Slavic history – the “Dictionary of Ancient Slavic History”. At present, the academic legacy of Kowalenko is still used by researchers and quoted in their works.