Living in Ukraine 100 Years Ago: The Prosvita Society

Cover of a Prosvita Publication

There was a house in the village of Biala where nobody lived.  It was owned by Painko Bryniak, my 2Xtigreat uncle.  My great aunt Katherine Rychly Pylatiuk called it the chytalnia, which means reading house in Ukrainian. Monthly meetings were held in the house called Veedchyty (means reading in Ukrainian). These meetings were for the enlightenment of the men, where the more educated shared their knowledge with the less educated.

Prosvita reading House in a village. Source: Encyclopedia of Ukraine

Katherine explains in her autobiography how valuable the veedchyty were to the people of the village. Since her grandmother lived next door to the chytalnia, (Painko Bryniak owned that house as well) she could look through the window and see a bust of the Ukrainian poet an artist, Taras Shevchenko. She heard the men recite Shevchenko's poems and sing patriotic Ukrainian songs.  Sometimes one of the men would read an article and then lead a discussion about it.  She also saw shelves of books and magazines and portraits of famous Ukrainian s on the wall of the house.

Statue of Taras Shevchenko on the Mall, Washington D.C.

 

What was the Prosvita Society?

This reading house in Biala was a part of the Prosvita Society.  Prosvita means enlightenment in Ukrainian,  founded in 1868 in Lviv by Ukrainian students  in order to "know and edify the people." Until 1914, Prosvita was the most important Ukrainian mass organization in Galicia.  Its activities included almost all aspects of Ukrainian life, and it created many cultural, political, economic, farming and sports societies and organizations which eventually became independent organizations.

Founders of the Prosvita Society, 1868. Source: Encyclopedia of Ukraine.

Why did this group of young people feel that it was necessary  to edify the people when free public education was available for children in Galicia up to the age of twelve?
This is a question is hard to answer because it involves both politics and history.  Biala, Ternopil' and Eastern Galicia were part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire which was made up of many countries and many ethnic groups. The Austrians kept control of its various peoples by encouraging discord between ethnic groups.  This policy worked for a time, but in 1861 Austria became a constitutional monarchy when it recognized the Hungary as an equal partner and changed its name to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Both Austria and Hungary had their own legislatures and capitals, Vienna for Austria and Budapest for Hungary. The Austrians had their hands full dealing the demands of the various ethnic groups, and left the governing of Galicia to the Poles. In the 1860's, the Poles controlled the both local and provincial government in Eastern Galicia. The Ukrainians wanted instruction in the Ukrainian language in the schools, more Ukrainian high schools,  more representation in government and recognition of their culture. There were many conflicts between the Ukrainians and Poles, but since the Poles held all the positions of power, decisions almost always favored Polish interests.   The founders of Prosvita realized that if the Ukrainian people of were to achieve economic and political power, they would have to do it on their own.

Map of Eastern and Western Galicia.

 Prosvita's Three Goals

Increasing Literacy 

Increasing literacy was Prosvita's  first goal. A network of libraries and reading rooms were established in Eastern Galicia. Most villages had schools with trained teachers, and lessons were in both Ukrainian and Polish. One of the first actions of Prosvita  was to publish basic textbook in the Ukrainian language to be used in schools. The society started a network of chytalnias (reading rooms) in the Lviv area, where books and other reading materials were available. These reading rooms spread quickly and within a few years, reading rooms were established all over Eastern Galicia.

Higher education was a concern, elementary schools, run by the government were available, but secondary education was not. To raise the cultural level of the Ukrainian people, access to higher education was a necessity. In 1897, 30 high schools were Polish, two were Ukrainian. in Galicia.  By 1914, four more Ukrainian high schools were added by the government. Acting on the idea of self  help and knowing that no more high schools would be funded by the government, contributions by the Ukrainian community established eight more private high schools. Private dormitories were built in Lviv so students from rural areas could attend high school and university.  Few Ukrainian students attended Lviv University; about 500 students out of a student body of 1700, which had eight Ukrainian professors in of a faculty of eighty.   Ukrainian professorships gradually increased and the government promised a Ukrainian university, but this did not happen because of the outbreak of World War One.

Cover of "Lions" Ukrainian History Book published by Prosvita

 

Increasing the Economic Level of the People

Prosvita's second  goal was to raise the economic level of the Ukrainian farmers in Galicia. Ukrainians in the Austrian empire were among the Empire's poorest and under represented people. Self help was the key, since there was no help coming from the government.

Prosvita Vasyl Orynchuk cooperative members, Roztoky,  Lviv Region. Source: wumag.ua

Cooperatives, stores and warehouses were formed to improve the condition of the peasants.  Courses were organized to help the farmers modernize and improve farming methods. Itinerant farming instructors travel the region and taught local farmers how to use modern methods. It started a commercial school in Lviv, a farming school and a women's domestic school. Prosvita gave scholarship for students to study agronomy, dairying and domestic management.  Credit unions were started to enable peasants to save money  and to borrow it when necessary.  Books were published about farming and other subjects such as Ukrainian history and literature. In 1877 Prosvita started to print monthly booklets which were given to members free of charge and established a newspaper was in 1879.

Prosvita Dairy Store/Cooperative in Lviv. Source: Encyclopedia of Ukraine

 

Building Cultural Awareness and Patriotism

Choir organized by the Prosvita Reading House in Zahiria, 1931. Source: Encyclopedia of Ukraine

The third goal was to raise awareness of the Ukrainian language and culture among the Ukrainian people. To further awareness, Prosvita encouraged the Ukrainians to form choirs, bands and drama groups;  learn about Ukrainian history, read literature in the Ukrainian language and develop Ukrainian patriotism.  Prosvita started Sokil and Sich in 1894 to encourage youth appreciation for discipline, cooperation, patriotism and education. Sokil developed physical training and the goal of Sich was to develop patriotic and cultural activities.

Drama Group, Prosvita Mohyntsa, Ternopil' Source: ebay.

 

Prosvita's Support

Prosvita's support came from membership dues, individual donations, subsidies  from the provincial and cnetral government.  Government support was small and was often cut off by Polish opposition. Profits from Prosvita's printing and its other operations also funded its activities.  Between 1869 and 1906, Prosvita made a small profit, of 2000 Kronen.iProsvita's Success
By 1900, the Prosvita chytalnia reading houses became the center of village life, displacing the church and tavern. In 1914, Prosvita had  77 regional branches, 3000 reading rooms and over 200,000 members. 75% of the villages cities and towns of Galicia had reading rooms, thelargest number of were in the Ternopil' area.  It published over three million copies of  495 books, supported 45 scholarships for high school and university students.  Prosvita owned its own headquarters building in Lviv and sponsored a large celebration of the 100th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth there in 1914. It spread out  from Eastern Galicia to other parts of the Austrian empire with large numbers of Ukrainians.  It also was established in Eastern Ukraine, which was ruled by Russia.
Prosvita played a critical role in the growth of national consciousness among Ukrainians and in the improvement of their standard of living.

Wilhem Feldman said in 1907, "The 20th century has seen many nations rise from the ashes, but there are very few cases of rebirth so rapid and energetic as that of the Ukrainians of Austria... their unexpected and vigorous growth is mostly the result of self-help and hard fought gains." Subtelny, p. 329.

The Prosvita Building in Lviv. Source: Encyclopedia of Ukraine.

Sources: 
Encyclopedia of Ukraine, www.encyclopediaofukraine.com
Lawryk, Julia, Kateryna (Kasha) Autobiography by Katherine Pylatiuk Lymar as told to her Daughter, Julie Lawryk in 1988. copyright 1988
Subtely, Orest, Ukraine, A History,  University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada, 1988
Yaremko, Michael, Galicia-Halachyn: From Separation to Unity, Shevchenko Scientific Society,  Toronto, 1967.

World War One in Galicia: Katherine's Story

Russian Soldiers on the outskirts of Ternopil

Katherine Rychly, my aunt was ten years old when World War One started.  The war continued until 1917, when the Russian Revolution began, and the Russian army retreated from the Ternopil area and the village of Bila.  The end of the war did not bring peace to Galicia, since various groups occupied the area as a result of wars between the Russians, Poles and Germans for control of the area.  Calm returned in 1920, when Eastern Galicia became part of Poland.  A good part of Katherine’s early life took place on the front lines of war.  She details her life in the village of Bila, just outside the city of Ternopol, in her memoir/autobiography: Katheryna (Kashka) Autobiography by Katherine Pylatiuk Lymar, as told to her daughter, Julia, 1988.

 

Russian Soldiers entering Przemysl in Galicia on March 22, 1915.  (see map below)

Although the Russian Army did not have great success in World War One, losing battles and territory in Northern Poland; they were very successful in Galicia. On August 18, 1914, the Russian Eighth army commanded by General Brusilov, invaded and captured most of Eastern Galicia by the middle of September. The Russians controlled this area until the end of 1915, when the Austrian-German Army pushed them back to the”Riga-Jakobstadt-Dunaburg-Baranovichi-Pinsk-Dubno-Ternopil” line. In 1916, the Russian Army retook much of Eastern Galicia, holding it for several months. The city of Ternopil, and the areas to the east, remained under Russian control from 1914 until 1917, after the Bolshevik October Revolution. From that time until the end of the war in 1918, the easternmost areas of Galicia returned to Austria.

 

Galicia in 1915, showing the "Riga...Ternopil" line.

The Russian policy in Galicia was very different than that of the Austrians.  The Austrians were tolerant of  ethnic minority people, including the Ruthenians (Ukrainians) and Jews.  They had some representation in the government, as well as schools taught in their language and were allowed religious freedom. For the most part, these groups remained loyal to the Austrian during the Russian occupation. 

 

Map of Galicia, Eastern Galicia is shown in pink. 

Katherine relates a story of how the War affected her family. Her uncle, Kassian Bryiak, immigrated to Minneapolis in 1913.  Nooshka, wife and son Paul remained in Bila.  The Russians were fighting the Austrians, so this story probably took place in 1915. The village of Bila was in their crossfire, the villagers hid in the fields to avoid the shelling.  Nooshka and Paul were hiding in a hole.  Paul was hungry and started crying, Nooshka decided to go to the barn and get some milk from a cow.  As she entered the barn, it was hit by a shell, it exploded, killing her and all the animals.  According to custom, her body was washed and dressed and put on a board in her house. Nooska’s father and brother were sitting next to her body, receiving visitors paying their respects. They decided to go outside for a few minutes to smoke.  As they sat smoking their pipes, a shell came through the window of the house, exploded in the room where Nooshka was laid out, destroying everything in the room including her body.  What was left of her remains was buried in the village cemetery.  Kassian, her husband, sent money from Minnesota for a stone memorial, which was unusual, since most village people could afford only wooden crosses.   Not long after it was installed, a shell hit her grave and exploded, destroyed the gravestone and left a large hole. Village gossip swirled around Nooshka’s unfortunate end.  People in the village said that she was having an affair with a Russian soldier who often came to the village.  His wife came to see Nooshka and “put a curse on her”.  The villagers believed that the curse led to her horrible death and the destruction of her grave.
 

Cemetery in Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1998. Photo: David McMillan

Nooshka’s demise continued to affect Katherine’s family.  The family decided that her mother, Marya, and her children should move into Nooshka’s house, since it was much larger and better than theirs. They moved in, but were never comfortable, because the family found that living there was frightening.  When the shell hit the house, Nooshka’s body was blown to bits, staining the walls and ceiling.  Even though it was scrubbed and painted many times, the stains always reappeared, reminding them of her horrific end.

Katherine experienced the shelling first hand again when she visited her grandmother’s house in the village.  A shell landed on the straw roof of her house, but it didn’t explode, and the house wasn’t damaged.

From June of 1915 until 1916, things in Bila were relatively calm.  The Russian soldiers continued to live in the village houses, but life returned to a sort of normal.  People worked in their fields and at their trades.  Adjustments were made, since no one knew when the shooting would start up again.