Russophile societies in Przemysl: activities and reasons for decline (second half of the 19th century – 1930s of the 20th century)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the activities of Russophile societies and their infl uence on the Russophile movement in the city of Przemysl, as well as to establish and highlight the reasons for their decline. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, comprehensiveness, integrity, systematicity, as well as the use of the methods of analysis and synthesis, historical-comparative, historical-typological, and problem-chronological. Th e scientifi c novelty lies in the fact that, for the fi rst time, the activity of Russophile societies in the city of Przemysl has been systematically analyzed, and the reasons for their decline clarifi ed. Conclusions. In the course of the research, it has been identifi ed that in the city of Przemysl in the second half of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century, the Russophile movement did not have a large number of supporters, in general, it was rep- resented by several cultural and educational societies. Among the most active champions of Russophile ideas were gymnasium professor Mykola Antonevich (1840-1919) and lawyer Kyrylo Cherlyunchakevych (1869-1950). Th e following reasons led to the decline of Russophile societies and the movement in general: 1) the main Russophile organizations, such as the Stavropygian Institute, the Galician-Russian Motherland, the Lviv People’s House, did not have branches and were not represented in Przemysl; 2) Ukrainophile cultural and educational societies predomi- nated quantitatively, their activities encompassed the educational, cultural, artistic, economic, and spiritual life of the city community, in particular such societies as “Prosvita”, Ukrainian Pedagogical Society, “Teachers’ Community”, “Mutual Aid of Ukrainian Teachers”, “Petro Mohyla Society of Scientifi c Lectures”, “Union of Ukrainian Women”; 3) the city’s pro-Ukrainian intelligentsia founded the “People’s House” society, which became a center for patriotic activists, and also provided locations for hosting various societies, holding cultural, educational and ar- tistic events; 4) Ukrainophiles had an advantage in mass media; 5) in one of the oldest societies “Ruska Besida” at the end of the 19th century, Narodovites began to prevail, who later com- pletely mastered this society; 6) representatives of the M. Kachovsky Society lost their positions in the Diet of Galicia and the Vienna Parliament; 7) during the First World War, many supporters of Russophilism were imprisoned or destroyed. Th e reasons above led to the complete decline of Russophile cultural and educational societies in Przemysl even before the Second World War.