Ethnopolitical processes in the Hutsul and Boykos regions in the 1920s (on the documents of local authorities of stanislaviv voivodeship)

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Ethnopolitical processes in the Hutsul and Boykos regions in the 1920s (on the documents of local authorities of stanislaviv voivodeship)

Oleh Zhernokleiev

Abstract

The events of recent years have shown the need for regional studies. The problems of regionalism have a deep historical retrospective. The Second Polish Republic attempted to change the map of regionalism, in particular in the Ukrainian Carpathians, inhibited by the Ukrainian ethnographic groups of Hutsuls, Boykos, Lemkos. This attempt was unsuccessful and the local population didn't support it. How did the regional Polish government see these processes? Despite the significant amount of work on the given subject, the period of the 1920s is not sufficiently researched. This article focuses on the political sources of identification, namely the activities of parties and public organizations in the Hutsul and Boykiv regions of 1924-1929 within the Stanislav Voivodeship, it studies them through the perception of local Polish authorities. The unpublished documents of the State Archives of the Ivano-Frankivsk region make up the source base of the study. The analysed documents prove that the Ukrainian national identity of the Galician Hutsuls and Boykos in the 1920s was real and functional. It was the active position of political parties as well as cultural-educational, cooperative and other organizations, the position with a distinct Ukrainian ethno-national character that played an important role in its "formation" and manifestation. The most popular parties were the Ukrainian National Democratic Union and the Ukrainian Socialist Radical Party, both of them clearly stated their disagreement concerning the issue of the Ukrainian lands being a part of Poland and they strived for an independent Ukraine. Pro-Polish parties were far from very popular. Compared to Hutsulshchyna, Galician Boykivshchyna was characterized by an obviously higher degree of ethnical politicization. The ethno-political processes of the 1920s in the Hutsul and Boykiv regions resulted in the establishment of the Ukrainian national self-consciousness. In practice, on the local level even Polish officials did not question the national roots of Hutsuls and Boykos and them being Ukrainian; this fact only adds to the artificial character of the following Polish policy of local "regionalisms" of the 1930s. In general, the imaginary picture of the ethnical-political process in the region, provided by the local authority documents, was objective. The question whether it influenced the political decision-making process is open and still to be studied.

Keywords: ethnopolitics, Hutsul region, Boykiv region, political parties, public organizations, national identity.

Жерноклеєв Олег. Етнополітичні процеси на Гуцульщині та Бойківщині у 1920-х рр. (за документами місцевих органів влади Станиславівського воєводства).

Події останніх років актуалізували потребу регіональних студій. Проблеми регіоналізму мають глибоку історичну ретроспективу. Міжвоєнна Річ Посполита зробила спробу розіграти карту регіоналізму, зокрема й на теренах Українських Карпат, де мешкають етнографічні групи українського народу - гуцули, бойки, лемки. Ця спроба виявилась невдалою і не була сприйнята місцевим населенням. Як бачились ці процеси регіональними структурами польської влади? Попри значні напрацювання з окресленої тематики, період 1920-х років висвітлений недостатньо. У фокусі цієї статті - політичні джерела ідентифікації, а саме діяльність партій і громадських організацій на Гуцульщині та Бойківщині 1924-1929 рр. у межах Станиславівського воєводства та через призму її бачення місцевими органами польської влади. Джерельною базою дослідження послугували неопубліковані документи Державного архіву Івано-Франківської області. Аналіз документальної інформації свідчить, що українська національна ідентичність галицьких гуцулів і бойків у 1920-х роках була реальною і функціональною. У її «конструюванні» та маніфестації важливу роль відіграла активна діяльність політичних партій, культурно-освітніх, кооперативних та інших організацій, що мала виразно український етнонаціональний характер. Найбільшою популярністю користувалися Українське національно-демократичне об'єднання та Українська соціалістично-радикальна партія, які чітко декларували незгоду з приналежністю українських земель до Польщі та прагнули незалежної України. Популярність пропольських партій була незначною. Галицька Бойківщина характеризувалася помітно вищим ступенем політизації етнічності, ніж Гуцульщина. Підсумком етнополітичних процесів 20-х років на Гуцульщині та Бойківщині стало утвердження української національної самосвідомості. На практиці самі місцеві польські чиновники не ставили під сумнів приналежність гуцулів і бойків до українського народу, що підтверджує штучність пізнішої польської політики місцевих «регіоналізмів» 1930-х рр. Уявна картина етнополітичних процесів у регіоні, представлена в документах місцевих органів державної влади, в цілому була об'єктивною. Питання про те, чи впливала вона на прийняття політичних рішень, залишається відкритим для подальшого вивчення.

Ключові слова: етнополітика, Гуцульщина, Бойківщина, політичні партії, громадські організації, національна ідентичність.

Introduction

The events of recent years in Ukraine have shown the need for regional studies. Both Ukrainian society and science have faced the challenges of regionalism and catholicity [13, p. 5-6]. The problems of political regionalism have come to the foreground, many of them having a deep historical retrospective.

Following its ethnic policy, the Second Polish Republic (hereinafter - the RP) attempted to change the map of regionalism, in particular in the Ukrainian Carpathians, inhibited by the Ukrainian ethnographic groups of Hutsuls, Boykos, Lemkos. However, this attempt was unsuccessful and the local population didn't support it. How did the regional structures of the Polish government see these processes? How accurate and objective was this picture and did it influence the decisions of the capital at all?

Theoretical background. research objective, methodology and data

Setting an objective of the research, we relied on the understanding of ethno-politics as a purposeful activity of the state, political parties and public organizations to regulate relations between ethnic groups [11], with ethno-political processes being defined as a set of socio-political processes that happened in a particular ethnic or ethnographic group and influenced its ethno-national identification [4, p. 5]. A modern view on the ethno-politics of the Second Polish Republic and its comprehensive description can be found in the works of both foreign and national historians [1; 2; 3; 10]. A number of dissertations (theses) and published research papers by such authors as P. Kostyuchok, I. Lyubchyk and others cover the main aspects of ethno-political and national-cultural processes in the Ukrainian Carpathians region in between the end of the 19^th century and 1939 [4; 6]. These topics are also presented in our previous works dedicated to the period of the 30s of the XX century [14]. However, there is still a need to research the period of the second half of the 1920s sufficiently. As long as political sources of self-identification (party affiliation, ideological priorities, etc.) are among the important sources of self-identification [9, p. 274], this article focuses on the political parties and public organizations in the Hutsul and Boykiv regions of the Stanislaviv Voivodeship and their activity in1924-1929, all through the prism of the local authorities of the Republic of Poland.

The unpublished documents of the State Archives of the Ivano-Frankivsk region make up the source base of the study. In particular, the sources include the funds 2 ("Stanislav voivodship administration”, documents from 1915-1939)The fund was opened and fully given access to only in 1994 p. [12, p. 27]. and 11 ("Pechenizhyn County Starostwo", 1918-1929). These funds include numerous quarterly, monthly, weekly and other reports, as well as correspondence, information from the Ministry of the Internal Affairs, voivodship administration departments, county starostwos, and state police concerning the socio-political situation in the voivodship. Our primary attention goes to the information about Pechenizhyn, Kosiv, Nadvirna and partly Kolomyia counties, that's the territory of the Galician part of the Hutsul region of that time, and Dolyna, Kalush, Stryj, Skoliv, and Turkiv counties, their territories covered the eastern part of Galician Boykos region within the Stanislaviv voivodeship. The research paper relies on the methods of archival heuristics, source criticism, comparative-historical, synchronic and diachronic analysis along with the problem-chronological presentation of the material. hutsul region boykiv region political party

Relying on the local officials' information, we assume that these documents are objective for the most part. Hence, on the one hand, official were obliged to identify state security threats and justify the center's policy towards national minorities, and on the other hand, it was not in their interests to exaggerate the success of the Ukrainian movement, as that would mean their activity in the given areas was ineffective and they were called to actually counteract these processes. Modern Polish historians also emphasize the professionalism of officials of the interwar period [10, p. 239].

Results and discussion

After on March 15, 1923, the Council of Ambassadors of the Entente made the decision according to which the Ukrainian lands of Galicia were given to the Second Polish Republic, the latter opted for the worst possible ethno-politics concerning national minorities [10, p. 249], namely the methods included repressive assimilation, which significantly worsened their own chances of survival in the face of future external threats [1, p. 348-349; 2, p. 212]. Following the new social realities, in 1924-1926 the Ukrainian political camp party forces regrouped, they formed their centrist, left, and covenant (pact) wings of the legal political spectrum and it was reflected in their organizational structure within the new party system.

The ethno-political "engineering" of the Polish government included not only close monitoring, but also active intervention in the processes of national-political identity "construction", and, primarily, into the creation and support of a covenant Ukrainian party. In January 1924 there was approved the relevant government course [8, p. 216], afterwards, the documents of the Stanislaviv Voivodeship stated that on December 18, 1924, in Kolomyia there was held a congress of the Ukrainian People's Party (UNP) with 700 delegates participating, this congress condemned the activities of Ye. Petrushevych, K. Tryliovsky, etc., and expressed the desire to live in harmony with the Polish people and act for the benefit of the state State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 201. Fol. 317.. The materials of the Pechenizhyn County Starostwo Fund contain quarterly reports from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Second Polish Republic on the development of Ukrainian political parties; all the local authorities got them. The first quarter of 1925 report stated that the UNP operated on various territories including Kolomyia, Kosiv, and Pechenizhyn counties of the Sanislaviv voivodeship, it relied on the apolitical part of the peasantry, numerous but disorganized Ibid. Fund 11. Inventory 1. Unit 50. Fol. 2..

At the same time, there were two other Ukrainian parties domineering in Boykivschyna, and in particular in Stryj County, according to the monthly reports of the county starostwo they were the People's Labor Party and the National Labor Party Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 201. Fol. 231.. The Ministry of Internal Affairs quarterly information emphasized the hostile attitude the latter one towards the Polish state and the USSR, it wanted to have an independent unified Ukraine and its position was generally characterized as "extremely nationalistic" Ibid. Fund 11. Inventory 1. Unit 50. Fol. 2.. Governmental reports concerning the Ukrainian People's Labor Party (UPLP) stated it refused to recognize any international acts and treaties that violated the rights of the Ukrainian people to independence; it announced an uncompromising struggle against Poland and expressed the desire to have an independent Ukrainian state in all Ukrainian ethnographic lands. The UPLP activity encompassed frequent and mass rallies, active promotion with the help of cultural, educational, economic, sports and other institutions, having a profound influence in the public unions "Prosvita" ("Enlightenment"), "Ukrainian Pedagogical Society”, "The Union of Ukrainian Women", "Farmer", " Union of Cooperatives" Ibid..

In the 1925 third quarter report the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated the emergence of the Ukrainian National Democratic Union (UNDO, headed by Dmytro Levytsky); during the Lviv congress on July 11, it appeared as a result of a merge of the Ukrainian National Labor Party, the Ukrainian Labour Party and "the national group of the Ukrainian parliamentary representation". It was viewed as a new threat to the Polish statehood because of its favorable attitude to the USSR as well as because it recognized the need for authorized representation of Western lands abroad (Ye.Petrushevych was to do the job), it was also willing to resort to both legal and illegal means Ibid. Fol. 12..

The I quarter of 1926 report informed that of the "I Peasant Congress" in Stanislaviv, on January 30, 1926, resulted in the creation at of a new party "Ukrainian People's Union" led by Severyn Danylovych. Among the members of the UPU there were many leaders and representatives of two covenant parties - the UNP and the Ukrainian-Ruthenian Farmers' Party. The new party claimed to represent the Ukrainian working masses, and especially the peasantry, and strived to achieve the highest level of political, cultural and economic development for the Ukrainian people while adhering to the Constitution. The party program included articles on the territorial autonomy for the Ukrainian people in the lands populated mostly Ukrainians, yet without violation of the state unity of Poland; it also advocated the introduction of the Ukrainian language in government, courts, establishment of a Ukrainian university, conducting an agrarian reform benefiting landless and less fortunate peasants, mostly - the local population Ibid. Fol. 22..

The statute of the UNU mimicked the organizational system of the Polish People's Party "Piast", it called for organizations on the district, county, and local levels. After the congress, by the end of the quarter, there were 18 meetings held in the counties of Kosiv, Kolomyia, Turka, Nadvirna, Skole, Kalush, Sniatyn, while 3 county branches (Kolomyia, Turka, Sniatyn) and 13 local branches were established. The Kolomyia county representative was Emil Zalutskyi, an ambassador to the Polish Sejm; the party's press medium was the weekly newspaper "Seliansky Prapor" ("Peasant Flag") in Stanislaviv Ibid.. Later on, as of April 1, 1927, the official information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning the development of the Ukrainian movement in Poland made it clear that this loyal to Poland political movement was initiated by Izydor Tverdokhlib, the editor of the "Ridnyi Krai" ("Native Land”) before the elections to the Sejm in 1922; it found its practical implementation in the activities of the UNP in Pokuttia, the Ukrainian-Ruthenian Farmers' Party in Stryi (Rev. Mykola Ilkiv) and S. Danylovych's group in Stanislaviv. The UNU activity covered mainly the Stanislaviv voivodship and the closest counties of the Ternopil and Lviv voivodships, with its centre in Stanislaviv. The party tried to gain influence in cultural and cooperative institutions. The document emphasized that the party's target audience was predominantly peasantry, in particular, the population of the Subcarpathian mountain countiesi° Ibid. Unit 63. Fol. 2..

A fortnight later, on February 14, 1926, in Lviv there was established the Ukrainian Socialist-Radical Party (USRP, headed by Lev Bachynsky), a political representative of the working masses of villages and cities. The party's goal was an independent, socialist Ukrainian republic, uniting all Ukrainian ethnographic lands, the other aims included the transfer of power to the councils of the working people and an agrarian reform without compensation. According to the authorities, it engaged into an especially strong agitation against the covenant activity of S. Danylovych, it also engaged into a lively work concerning the organization of societies "Luh"("Meadow") and "Selanska Spilka"("Peasant Unions")и Ibid. Unit 50. Fol. 22..

The Muscovite movement, revived since 1919, and its right wing, in particular, formed the "Ruthenian People's Organization" (RPO, headed by Gregor Malets). The most important postulates of its programme, adopted at the congress on June 29, 1926, included the national and cultural unity of the peoples of the Ruthenian origin in the Polish state, total ethnical equality; territorial autonomy of the Ruthenian lands in Poland, state Ruthenian schooling, and an agrarian reform without compensation. It was in Lemkivshchyna, in the mountain territories the Lviv Voivodeship, and in the mountain counties of the eastern part of Krakow Voivodship, as well as some counties of Ternopil Voivodeship, and in Boykivshchyna, in the Turka county of the Stanislav voivodship, where the PRO was most active. Besides the central institutions (the Kachkovsky Society, the Stauropeah Institute, etc.), it spread its influence on some local cooperatives as well Ibid. Unit 63. Fol. 2..

Along with following the structural changes within Ukrainian politics state authorities tried to pinpoint the slightest changes and fluctuations in the mood of the local population and how parties and public organisations influence it. Thus, in its report for the first quarter of 1925, the state police team of the Stanislaviv District reported a general shift of attention from political to economic life; however, it was noted the change did not apply to Ukrainian society, which "continued to move intensively toward national separation" Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 258. Fol. 2..

Regarding the mountain region local population, in December 1924 the Nadvirna County police reported that "with the exception of a few leaders who loudly manifest their Ukrainian affiliation, the Ruthenian population stands on a fairly correct position concerning the state, it is especially true about the local mountains population, where far less political trends reach" Ibid. Unit 201. Fol. 303.. As of January-March, 1925, police stated the county population has a "right" position towards the state, "especially the mountain population.” Yet, in several communities (Nadvirna, Deliatyn, Mykulychyn, Sadzhavtsi, Lanchyni) Ukrainians witnessed increased anti-state agitation Ibid. Unit 258. Fol. 6.. Among the centers of the Ukrainian movement, indicated in the I-III quarters report, were Nadvirna, where the Labours party gathered around Ivan Sanotsky, and Delyatyn, where Ostap Navrotsky headed the radicalsIbid. Unit 265. Fol. 9..

The Pechenizhyn County police offered a rather colorful assessments of Hutsuls. Thus, the monthly report as of August, 1924, states that the Ukrainian population "looks calm and humble, however, they are far from aware of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the Polish state," because Ukrainian societies, students, teachers and priests "set them up against the state and try to awaken their aspirations of an independent Ukraine. The anti-governmental agitation is especially intense during the holidays". And further there was emphasized: "Among the proofs of the population solidarity with the subversive activities is that the population not only conceals the activists, but also refuses to provide any information; men, women, as well as children, behave the same even in cases when the act has been outrightly hostile to the state and there have been witnesses who have had some information»Ibid. Unit 201. Fol. 15.. In general, there were frequent complaints about the lack of informants among local residents of Hutsul and Boykiv regions, and, therefore, there was no possibility to provide more detailed information about the activities of Ukrainian parties, societies, etc.; and the same things can be found in reports from different areas.

Outlining the ratio of political loyalties in the given territory, as of October 1924 the Kosiv County Starostwo report informed of the intensive work of Ukrainian politicians and their increasing influence in the villages. Having noted that 75% of the rural population is illiterate, the starostwo summed up: "In every village there is a group of conservative people and it is quite strong, clinging to the Polish state, loyal in every way.", but "a consistently hostile anti-state element among the remaining peasantry under the influence of Ukrainian figures, is much stronger"; these people are prepared and perfectly organized that in case of any serious riots inside or outside the state, they will "immediately crush the conservative and loyal camp <" Ibid. Fol. 121..

The situation was complicated by the deterioration of the socio-economic situation of the Hutsuls in the autumn of 1924 - winter of 1925 due to the spread of the livestock epidemic, the ban on fairs, as well as stagnation in the forest industry. "The worst disaster of the Hutsul region on the elementary level is local administration," the newspaper "Dziennik ludowy" wrote on March 19, 1925. The documents of the voivodship administration contain a newspaper excerpt with a sharply critical article on this topic, it informed of the facts of abuse of power by local authorities that were confirmed during official investigations Ibid. Unit 311. Fols 1, 5. 231.. It is no coincidence that starting from the second quarter of 1925 the Kosiv County Police team was keeping track of agitation cases among the population that had not been politically organized before: the Ukrainian Radical Party found a lot of supporters among peasants and increased its impact on the existing organizations of the county, primarily the educational centers "Prosvita" ("Enlightenment"). On April 12, the party held its county congress in Kosiv, and on May 13, a rally was convened in Kosivo with 150 peasant delegates from various villages. Despite the loss of some members, the Radicals (Mykhailo Lepkaliuk, Mykhailo Horbovyi, etc.) remained the largest and best organized party in the county Ibid. Unit 265. Fol. 2..

The monthly report of the Pechenizhyn County Police team as of March 1925 reported that local Ukrainian organizations had been very active in schooling; therefore, almost 80% of the population had signed a declaration for the introduction of the Ukrainian language in schools Ibid. Fund 11. Inventory 1. Unit 44. Fol. 32.. In August 1926, the same team reported that "the Ukrainian people show their loyalty to the Polish state only by sight.” Ibid. Unit 56. Fol. 29., and in January 1927 they reported that 75% of the Ukrainian population was loyal with no signs of hostility, while the rest of the population was supporters of the national democrats and radicals, described as "chauvinists", while there were no changes in the covenant direction nor in the one favouring the Polish state Ibid. Fol. 43..

Regarding the effectiveness of the Ukrainian National Union, the Pechenizhyn police monthly report as of October 1926 stated that the party had developed very poorly during in the given period, its branches in Pechenizhyn, Rungury, Markivka, Kosmach, Knyazhdvor, Molodiatyn, and KlyuchMalyi were almost inactive, unlike Ukrainian radicals and national democrats they held no rallies of local residents Ibid. Unit 58. Fol. 22.. It was only at the beginning of 1927 that the documents of Stanislaviv voivodeship informed of certain strengthening of the organizational work of the UNO that held 3 meetings in the Skole County, 4 - in Kalush and 6 - in Kosiv, establishing 2 new party branches there in the first quarter of the year Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 391. Fol. 7.. The activities of the Ruthenian People's Party, another party loyal to the Polish government, were even less successful in the Hutsul and Boykiv regions. The monthly report of the Pechenizhyn County State Police as of July 1926 stated that attempts to establish an organization in Myshyn resulted only in five supporters, thus, the general conclusion was: "The party's development is very weak, as none of the locals want to become its members" Ibid. Fund 11. Inventory 1. Unit 56. Fol. 25..

In March 1927, the Stanislaviv Voivodeship Department prepared a brief political description of the voivodship Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 477. Fol. 2-5.. This curious analytical paper stated that Ukrainians constituted about 70% of the province population and they were mainly led by two parties - the Ukrainian National Democratic Union (UNDU) and the Ukrainian Social Radical Party (USRP) which were hostile to the Polish state. According to the document, on the Hutsul and Boyko territories the influence of the UNDU was spread among the the Boyko counties of Stryj and Dolyna, and half a Kalush, Skole, Bohorodchany, and Nadvirna. The second party dominated in the county of Kolomyia, half a Kosiv, Nadvirna, Pechenizhyn, it developed a strong organizational action in the county of Stryi Ibid. Fol. 2.. Being the only Ukrainian party favouring the Polish statehood, the UNU didn't enjoy a decisive influence even in smaller communities, although it had its proponents among the older generation in the counties of Kosiv, Kolomyia, Nadvirna, Skole and Turka. The RNO had the most sympathizers in the southwestern part of the Turkiv district, yet it did not engage in any significanr political activity. Regarding the extreme political currents, there was indirect evidence of the existence of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO) centres in the counties of Dolyna, Kalush, and Stryi; together with the Stanislaviv county these territories were classified as the ones where "the most chauvinistic element" lived Ibid. Fol. 3.. The Communist Party of Western Ukraine (CPWU) was most active among the workers primarily in the western counties of the voivodeship - Dolyna, Skole, in particular among lumber workers, as well as in the Stryj County, among forestry, chemical, construction, and oil workers; while in the Pokuttia regions it was the most influential among the peasantry.The communists activity in the region differed in its intensity: it was minimal in the Pechenizhyn district, quite intensive in Kolomyia, and the strongest - in Kosiv (Kobaky, Khimchyn, Rozhniv, Mykytyntsi) Ibid. Fol. 3-4.. Having concluded that the Ukrainian people, for the most part, are hostile to the state, the document authors believed it was necessary to implement a number of economic changes that would boost their positive attitude to the Polish state; these changes might have included cheap credits, land reclamation, livestock farming development, road construction, mountain streams regulation, social assistance in mountain counties, etc. Ibid. Fol. 5..

Different Ukrainian public organizations (cultural and educational, economic, youth, firefighting and sports, professional, and charitable) were of an exceptional importance for the national identity formation. The fact scale that at the end of 1928 in Stanislaviv Voivodeship there were a total of 3270 different societies/organizations, including 2347 societies of national minorities only proves the statement. Approximately the same ratio of organizations could be found in the counties comprising the ethnographic territories of Hutsul and Boykos: at least two thirds of the total number were represented by national minorities, mostly Ukrainian Ibid. Unit 642. Fols. 5, 9, 10-11, 15, 19, 27, 29-30., who were incomparably more numerous and active.

As of November 1921, the county starostwos reported about the ongoing movement for the renewal of Ukrainian societies, they pointed out the intensity of work aimed at the Ukrainian national identity formation among Hutsuls Ibid. Unit 14. Fol. 66.. According to the starostwo data, in 1922 there were 16 societies, including 12 Ukrainian ones in the Pechenizhyn County. In 1923, there were 31 Ukrainian societies in the Kosiv County, including 17 "Prosvita" ("Enlightenment") education centers Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 71. Fol. 31-34., and till March 1924 their amount increased to 28. Assessing their role, the starostwo emphasized that among the Ukrainian legal organizations "Prosvita" ("Enlightenment") is "the most important, [it] has the greatest impact on the national consciousness of the peasants", it nurtures the desire for independent Ukrainit is the clergy, teachers, lawyers, and government officials, who lead it, but some centres also include peasants. The estimated number of its members in the county was around 2,500. At the same time some of the centres, for instance in Biloberizka, Kuty, and Yavoriv, were closed under the pretext of anti-government agitation Ibid. Unit 209. Fol. 11.. In 1925 the Nadvirna district had 36 education centres (many of them in the mountain settlements), however, according to police, nine of them were inactive Ibid. Unit 265. Fol. 13..

"Prosvita" ("Enlightenment") played a similar role in the Boykos counties of the Stanislaviv region. Thus, in March 1924, the Turkiv County starostwo reported that the local population was "politically undeveloped and rather apathetic about political participation," but nationally conscious members of the Ukrainian societies from among priests and teachers were rather influential Ibid. Unit 209. Fol. 24.. At the same time the Dolyna starostwo reported: "Although "Prosvita" ("Enlightenment") does not play a significant role in the political life, but, striving to educate the Ukrainian people, it instills in them the idea of independence, supports the patriotic spirit." Ibid. Fol. 55..

The distinct ethno-national spirit was characteristic even of formally purely economic associations. In the Nadvirna County in 1925 there were only three Polish cooperatives (268 members) and 13 Ukrainian (1903 members), and the latter were under the influence of radicals and labourers Ibid. Unit 265. Fol. 11-12. ^{Ibid. Unit 423. Fol. 1.}. In May 1926, the Kosiv County starostwo reported of a "strong movement" aimed at the establishment of "Peasant Unions" in the Hutsul "mountain communities, which traditionally were indifferent to politics," namely: Zhabie, Krasnoillia, Perekhresne, Holovy, Biloberizka, Usteriky, Stebni, Dovgopole, and Fereskulia; they emphasized that "in fact, these unions are political in nature" and are actively used by the USRP in the preparations for the upcoming elections^[40.

The county starostwos reports included information about frequent mass events organized by various Ukrainian societies, they shaped the national consciousness of peasantry and had forms of various gatherings and rallies, thematic popular science lectures, amateur theater performances, parties, concerts, as well as Ukrainian language courses for the illiterate, "Ukrainian cooperatives celebrations” with the delegations from all county communities, and installation of the symbolic crosses to commemorate the "memory of fallen heroes”. During these events they actively used Ukrainian national symbols - the flag, trident, anthem "Sche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine is still alive”), along with songs "Bozhe Velykyi, Yedynyi..." ("God, Great and the Only...”), "Ne pora" ("It's not time yet!”), "Chervona kalyna"(”Red Viburnum”), "Hey, tam na hori Sich ide"("Hey, there on Mount Sich goes") etc. According to the police reports, the number of these events participants often ranged from a few hundred to several thousand Ibid. Fund 11. Inventory 1. Unit 32. Fol. 59; ibid. Unit 56. Fols. 5-6, 28; Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 201. Fols. 322-323; ibid. Unit 691. Fols. 78-79, 130-131; ibid. Unit 707a. Fols. 2-6.. In their report for the second quarter of 1925 the Stanislaviv District State Police wrote that the Ukrainian national life in the voivodship was primarily centered around "Prosvita" ("Enlightenment") centers and cooperatives Ibid. Unit 258. Fol. 10., The Pechenizhyn police stated in September 1926 that local Ukrainian society's support for humanitarian and cultural societies was increasing ”by means of joining them in greater numbers” Ibid. Fund 11. Inventory 1. Unit 56. Fol. 33..

Political parties used the influence of societies and organizations to actively spread their ideas. Thus, according to the officials of the Stanislaviv Voivodeship Administration (1927), the UNDU acted through the vast majority of "Prosvita" (''Enlightenment”) centres, cooperatives, as well as such societies as ''Native School”, ''Ukrainian Pedagogical Society”, ''Falcon” and ''Plast”. At the same time, the USRP carried out their work with the help of 'Peasant Unions” and the fire and sports society "Luh" ('Meadow”) in particular Ibid. Fund 2. Inventory 1. Unit 477. Fol. 2.. The latter was seen as a transformation of the disbanded "Sich", they engaged in military exercises only and recruited supporters as "our Ukrainian army" Ibid. Unit 569. Fol. 23., for instance, in Runhury. Having analyzed this organization activity, V. Korsak, the Stanislaviv Voivodship head, concluded that it was dangerous for the Polish state, as it trained future Ukrainian soldiers, and ”the firefighting aspect is only a disguise of its true essence” Ibid. Fol. 251..

In terms of the Hutsul region counties, as of June, 1928 the general picture of party influence by means of the Ukrainian societies, centres and cooperatives was the following: the Pechenizhyn County had 23 education centers "Prosvita" (1760 members) and 2 "Luh" societies (78 members), under the influence of the USRP, 24 cooperatives (2253 members) and 10 branches of the 'Native School” (412 members), under the shared influence of the USRP and the UNDU; the Kosiv County had 39 "Prosvita" branches (640 members) and 32 cooperatives (480 members), under the predominant influence of the USRP and less of the UNDU, 9 "Luh" societies (360 members), under the USRP, while in the other Ukrainian societies (1830 members) these parties were equally powerful; the Nadvirna County had 36 centers of 'Prosvita” (1900 members), 10 of ”Luh” (400 members) and 26 cooperatives (2398 members), with the equal ratio of the UNDU and the USRP influence, and 3 - ''Native schools "(150 members), where the UNDU dominated. There was no mention of the Russophile societies Ibid. Unit 649. Fols. 26-27; 29-30..

At the same period the Boykos region witnessed an impressive progress in the Ukrainian national movement development. In 1924-1928 the Dolyna County had its number "Prosvita" centres increased from 17 to 64 (!), and the amount of their members grew from about 1,500 to 4,409; in the Stryj county it was an increase from 38 to 45 (900 to almost 4 000 members); in the Skole county the change was from 13 to 32 with 1918 members; in the Turkiv county the number of centres doubled (8 to 17; with 600 members to 1213); in 1928 the Kalush County boasted of 52 centres with more than 4000 members. In 1928, Ukrainian cooperatives had more than 5,000 members in Dolyna, 3,341 in Stryj, 1,615 in Skoliv, and 843 in Turkiv counties. A lot of locals joined "Sokil" ("Falcon") Firefighting and Sports Associations, as well as "Luh" and others. All of them were under the predominant influence of the UNDU, but for the Kalush County falling under the partial influence of the USRP Ibid. Unit 209. Fols. 24-26, 30-31, 54-55; ibid. Unit 649. Fols. 13-15, 21-25.. The Ukrainian societies activity became that "daily plebiscite” (E. Renan) [7, p. 173], which manifested the national identity of Hutsuls and Boyks constantly and clearly, as well as contributed to its establishment and development.

The political, ideological and organizational activities of the Ukrainian national movement and ethno-political processes in general in the mid-1920s resulted in the corresponding outcome of the local and parliamentary elections. In particular, in the public councils elections in 1927, the UNDU received about 50% of the vote in the villages, the USRP - about 20%, the remaining 30% were shared by the Polish, Jewish and other parties Ibid. Unit 391. Fol. 10.. The results of the 1928 parliamentary elections in the region were similar. According to the local authorities' data in the Boykos region, the UNDU received the highest percentage of votes in the Stryj County (53.3% in the Sejm elections and 56.1% in the Senate election). The results were similar in the counties of Kalush (51.3 and 51.6%, respectively) and Dolyna (50.8 and 49.76%), their results in Skole were significantly lower (43 and 38%) with the lowest point in Turkiv (26 and 27%). The results of the Polish parties were inversely proportional, there dominated the pro-governmental Non-Party Bloc of Cooperation with the Government, and the Polish Socialist Party (PSP) had a comparatively good result Ibid. Unit 592. Fols. 20, 36-37, 43, 46, 51..

On the other hand, in the Hutsul region, as previously predicted by the authorities, there was little difference in the results of the UNDU and USRP, for instance, in the Pechenizhyn district they received 22.5 and 24.5% respectively in the parliamentary elections, and 27.7 and 22.3 % - in the elections to the Senate Ibid. Fol. 28..

Yet, the outcome of the 1927-1928 elections was not fully representative in terms of the results of the ethno-political processes development in the region. The lack of a united "Ukrainian electoral front", the political fragmentation of common Ukrainians as well as representatives of the political spectrum, the mutual criticism and struggle between the leading Ukrainian parties combined with the administrative pressure and repressive policies of the authorities all affected the election results. Even the UNDU, a leader among the Ukrainian political movement, saw them as ambiguous and contradictory, though positive in general [5, p. 386-390].

In the following year, 1929, the government clearly tried to decrease the influence of the radical wing of Ukrainian nationalism, and in particular the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO). Documents of the public security department of the Stanislaviv voivodship administration contained a lot of information about the organizational network, personnel and the presence of the UMO in legal public institutions Ibid. Unit 690. Fols. 10-11, 59-60, 81-86, 101-110, 133; ibid. Unit 694. Fols. 71, 89, 94, 207; ibid. Unit 698. Fol. 9-10, 14-18, 90-92.. Although, at the moment the authorities didn't have much information, they rather relies on hunches, suspicions and assumptions, but the beginning of the world economic crisis, the creation of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the subsequent "pacification" of the Western lands (1930) marked the beginning of a very difficult decade, the last one in the pre-war period.

Conclusion

The analysis of all the documented information proved that the Ukrainian national identity of the Galician Hutsuls and Boykos in the 1920s was a real, functional and relatively permanent thing. Its development and manifestation were directly related to the affiliation of the local population to the political and social structures of Ukrainian society. The active position of political parties, cultural- educational, cooperative, youth and other public organizations with a distinctly Ukrainian ethno- national character contributed to it largely. Among the political parties, the locals favoured the UNDU and USRP the most as they clearly declared their disagreement with the concept of Ukraine being a part of the Polish state and expressed their desire to build an independent Ukraine. Despite the governmental support, the popularity of the UNU and RNO was insignificant. Galician Boykos region had a markedly higher degree of ethnical politicization than Hutsulshchyna.

The ethno-political processes of the 1920s in the Hutsul and Boykos regions resulted in the establishment of the Ukrainian national self-consciousness. In reality, , local Polish officials themselves did not question the issue of Hutsuls and Boykos being Ukrainian, and this only proves the artificial nature of the subsequent Polish policy of local "regionalisms" and the attempts of its implementation in the Ukrainian Carpathians in the 1930s.

In general, the picture of ethno-political processes in the region, presented in the official documents of local authorities of the Second Polish Republic was only one of the options to indirectly recreate realities in the historical sources. As long as its authors had no interest in exaggerating the success of Ukrainian nation-building in the given territories, this picture was generally objective. Yet, the extent to which it influenced political decision-making remains open to further research.

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