“MOTHER OF ALL UKRAINIAN LIFE”: IMAGES OF “PROSVITA” AND ITS MEMBERS ON THE PAGES OF “NASH LEMKO”

Abstract

The purpose of the article consists in understanding the peculiarities of the reception the “Prosvita” society members’ multifaceted work in the columns of “Nash Lemko”. The methodology basis of the research is an interdisciplinary approach. In the article there have been used such methods and approaches as systematic, comparative and critical analysis of the source base represented by large text arrays. The use of the content analysis method made it possible to interpret various newspaper information correctly. The scientific novelty of the article consists in the attempt to analyse the reception of educational issues in the newspaper “Nash Lemko” comprehensively. The Conclusions. In conclusion, we should note that the urgency of educational issue for the Ruthenians during the interwar period determined a special focus of the editorial board of “Nash Lemko” to the activities of “Prosvita”. Actively popularizing its cultural mission, the newspaper persistently advised the reader to become proactive members of the institution and to work in solidarity with fellow citizens on educational and, therefore, national awareness of the Ruthenian community. The pragmatic consequence of this work, it was emphasized in the newspaper, was supposed to be an increase in the well-being of the inhabitants of the Eastern Beskyds, tired of economic troubles. The “Nash Lemko” combined such popularization activity with consultative and methodical activities, suggesting to the Ruthenians optimal models of organizing educational work in mountain villages and effective methods of protection against persecution by the Polish officials. At the same time, having established a close communication with its subscribers and well understanding the specifics of cultural challenges before it, the newspaper itself turned into an initiative agent of educational changes and a full-fledged partner of “Prosvita”. Despite a discriminatory nature of the Ukrainian policy of the governments of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, they managed to modernize a cultural and national landscape of the Eastern Beskyds through their joint efforts radically. This had the consequence of existentially important cohesion to the Lemkos on the eve of difficult trials brought by World War II and the subsequent mass deportations from their native lands.