Russian People's Council, in 1915 - Russian People's Council Carpathian Rus (RNS; Ruthenian. "People's Sovѣt") - the socio-political organization of the Galician Russophile , took shape in September 1914 in Lviv after the capture of the city by Russian troops during the First World War with the aim of the creation in the province of the new Galician government of representatives of the local political elite. In the summer of 1915 they were evacuated to Kiev , from September - in Rostov-on-Don . From 1915 to 1920 - an organization that coordinated the activities of the Galician Russophiles in Russia [1] . Organizer of the Carpatho-Russian squad as part of the Volunteer Army . Chairs Vladimir Dudykevich (1914-1915), Ivan Kostetsky (1915-1920).
Appearance
During the Battle of Galicia on August 21 ( September 3 ), 1914, the troops of the Russian Imperial Army forced the Austro-Hungarian forces to retreat and occupied Lviv . Representatives of the political elite of the Galician Russophiles of the region, headed by public figure Vladimir Dudykiewicz , who welcomed the entry of Russian troops into the city, organized the highest political organization, which was given the name Russian People’s Council. The role of the organization was seen by its creators in coordinating and creating the future Galician government in the region from among the representatives of the local political elite.
Activity in Lviv
On September 9 (22), 1914 a constituent meeting of the council was held under the chairmanship of Vladimir Dudykevich. At the meeting, governing bodies were elected, I. Dobriansky was elected deputy chairman, M. Sokhotskyy was elected secretary. The Council included L. Aleksevich, M. Gnatishak, Marian Glushkevich , I. Davidovich, I. Zavadovsky, V. Koldra, I. Kostetsky, R. Krasitsky, S. Labensky, V. Lagola, E. Luzhetsky, J. Lutsyk , Dmitry Markov , M. Pakizh, V. Svarichevsky, F. Svistun, Yu. Sikalo, M. Tretyak, K. Bykhovsky, Z. Filipovsky, Yu. Yavorsky [2] .
One of the first orders of the council was to commission the People’s House to set up a Liberation Museum in Lviv, for which it was necessary to collect monuments of the “war of liberation in 1914”. The Russian People’s Council was engaged in the unification of the Galician public to its participation in events dedicated to the demonstration of Russian cultural achievements in Galicia, held together with representatives of the political elite of the Russian Empire. On December 6 (19), 1914, with the participation of the council, citywide celebrations were organized in Lviv to celebrate the name of Emperor Nicholas II [2] .
Evacuation to the Russian Empire
With the retreat of the Russian imperial army from Lvov in June 1915, the council was evacuated from the city along with the Russian army. Originally it was located in Kiev, and in September 1915 he moved to Rostov-on-Don [2] . In connection with the move to another territory, the organization became known as the Russian People’s Council of Carpathian Rus to clarify its name.
The chairman of the council in the Rostov period was Ivan Kostetsky. The Council in the years 1915-1917 expressed the interests of the Galician refugees in the Russian Empire. He carried out intensive work to secure for the Galician refugees the right of the authorities of the Russian Empire to study in educational institutions of Russia and the right to employment. The Council reached an agreement with the Minister of the Interior, Mikhail Shcherbatov, that such permission would be given by the empire authorities if the council vouched for the trustworthiness of their countrymen and their non-involvement in Austrian intelligence. Fulfilling these agreements, the organization began to issue certificates of trustworthiness to its countrymen [2] . Representatives of the council criticized the policy of the authorities of the Russian Empire, which allowed the Ukrainian movements to condone, and then the Ukrainophile policy of the Provisional Government .
In the Civil War in Russia
On the initiative of the comrades of the Chairman of the Russian People's Council L. Yu. Aleksevich and Grigory Malts, on January 8 (21), 1918 , the Karpato-Russian detachment was created in the premises of the society “Chervona Rus” in Rostov-on-Don. The Council, speaking in the negotiations on behalf of all the Russian Galicians, reached an agreement with General Mikhail Alekseev on the conditions of interaction between the forces of the White movement in southern Russia and the Galician russophiles. The Carpatho-Russian detachment joined the Volunteer Army and took part in battles on its side until the evacuation of the white units from the Crimea in November 1920.
In addition to organizing military formations, the council conducted political activities. He formed appeals addressed to the "Russian people." The appeal of December 28, 1918, “On the Question of Self-Determination of Galician, Bukovina, and Ugrian Russia,” contained allegations that Galicia is Russian land, not Ukrainian or Polish. The authors of the appeal Polish period of domination in Galicia was considered as tyranny and "the suppression of the national life of the Russian population." In another appeal, dated January 15, 1919, these provisions developed, the history of Rusyns in the 19th century was presented as a permanent confrontation with Austria, in which the Ruthenians seemed weak and subjected to pressure by the party. The Austrian repressions against the Rusyns during the First World War were described in detail. At the same time, the Ukrainian movement seemed marginal , but, despite this, it posed a great threat to Russian unity. As a new priority of the importance of Galicia’s accession to Russia, the appeal noted not economic and geostrategic advantages for Galicia, but a real opportunity now to deal with the “mazepinism” . Both the first and second appeals ended with a detailed description of the future borders of Russia in the Carpathian region . According to the evaluation of researchers I. Barinov and I. Strelkov, the arguments of the council resembled the “rhetoric of the White movement” [1] .
Activities in the 1920s
After the end of the Civil War, many members of the Russian People’s Council returned to Galicia, which was now part of the Polish Republic , where they continued their political activities.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Barinov I., Strelkov I. А. V. Kopystyansky and his activity in Russia during the years of the Civil War, 1918-1920. // Rusin : a scientific journal. - Chisinau , 2012. - Vol. 3 (29) . - pp . 116-126 . - ISSN 1857-2685 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Orlevich І. V. Galitske rusofіlstvo pіdchas Pershovo svitovoi vіni // News of Lviv Commercial Academy: Zbіrnik naukovih prats. - Lviv: Lviv Commercial Academy, 2011. - Vol. 10: Yuvіliyy zbіrnik on Stepan Geley’s tricks . - p . 235-249 . (in Ukrainian)