Gregory Zatkovich
Encyclopedia
Gregory Ignatius Zhatkovich (Rusyn
: Ґріґорій Жатковіч) (December 2, 1886—March 26, 1967) was an American
lawyer
and political activist for Rusyns
in the United States
and Europe
.
He was the first governor of Carpathian Ruthenia
, the Rusyn autonomous province of Czechoslovakia
and the only American who was a governor of any territory that was or became part of the Soviet Union.
, Austria-Hungary
(now Svaliava Raion
, Zakarpattia Oblast
, Ukraine
) and emigrated to Pennsylvania
with his parents at age five.
His father, Paul Zhatkovich, was the founding editor of the leading Rusyn-American
newspaper, Amerikansky Russky Viestnik
.
Zhatkovich graduated from high school in Pittsburgh
, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1907, and his LL.D. from the law school at Penn in 1910.
In July 1918, Rusyn-Americans convened and called for complete independence
of Carpathian Ruthenia
. Failing that, they would try to unite with Galicia and Bukovyna; and failing that, they would demand autonomy, though they did not specify under which state.
Members of President Woodrow Wilson
's administration told Zatkovich and other Rusyn-Americans that "the only viable option was unification with the new state of Czechoslovakia
". Zatkovich accepted that the best he could do was work for creating a place for Rusyns in Czechoslovakia, and signed the "Philadelphia Agreement" with Czech President Tomáš Masaryk
, guaranteeing Rusyn autonomy upon unification with Czechoslovakia.
A referendum was held among American Rusyn parishes, with a resulting 67% in favor. In May 1919, a Central National Council convened under Zatkovich and voted unanimously to accept the Czechoslovak solution. An assembly held in the territory itself on May 8, 1919 "Endorsed the decision of the American Uhro-Rusin Council to unite with the Czech-Slovak nation on the basis of full national autonomy."
Zatkovich was appointed governor of the province by Masaryk on April 20, 1920. He resigned, however, less than a year later, on April 17, 1921, to return to his law practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, USA.
The declared reason for his resignation was dissatisfaction with the borders with Slovakia
.
As noted, his tenure is a historical anomaly as the only American citizen ever acting as governor of a province that later became a part of the USSR.
.
Hungarian left-wing writer Béla Illés
- whose plot takes place in Carpathian Ruthenia between the end of the 19th Century and the aftermath of WWI - is called "Gregory Zhatkovich's Kingdom".
The highly-partisan book presents Zhatkovich in a negative way, claiming that he was the dupe of American and French business and military interests, and that he had little contol of or interest in the territory placed under his charge.
The book also asserts that the imperial interests which placed Zhatkovich in charge were mainly interested in using the territory as a conduit for arms and ammunition to the anti-Soviet Polish forces fighting the Polish-Soviet War
of 1920, than going on directly to the north, and that Zhatkovich had to resign after failing to stop local Communists from holding strikes as well as repeatedly saboataging the railway line from Prague
, through which the munitions were passing.
Rusyn language
Rusyn , also known in English as Ruthenian, is an East Slavic language variety spoken by the Rusyns of Central Europe. Some linguists treat it as a distinct language and it has its own ISO 639-3 code; others treat it as a dialect of Ukrainian...
: Ґріґорій Жатковіч) (December 2, 1886—March 26, 1967) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and political activist for Rusyns
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
He was the first governor of Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
, the Rusyn autonomous province of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and the only American who was a governor of any territory that was or became part of the Soviet Union.
Early life and career
He was born in the village of Holuybne, Bereg CountyBereg (county)
Bereg is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in northeastern Hungary and western Ukraine...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(now Svaliava Raion
Svaliava Raion
Svaliava Raion is a raion in Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Svaliava. It has a population of 54 869.-External links:*...
, Zakarpattia Oblast
Zakarpattia Oblast
The Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) and emigrated to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
with his parents at age five.
His father, Paul Zhatkovich, was the founding editor of the leading Rusyn-American
Rusyn American
Rusyn Americans are Americans whose ancestors were born in Carpathian Ruthenia. Some Rusyn Americans identify as Russian Americans or Ukrainian Americans.-History:...
newspaper, Amerikansky Russky Viestnik
Amerikansky Russky Viestnik
Amerikansky Russky Viestnik was the longest-running Rusyn-American newspaper in the United States.The paper was the official publication of the Greek Catholic Union of Rusyn Brotherhoods, a fraternal benefit society based in Pennsylvania...
.
Zhatkovich graduated from high school in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1907, and his LL.D. from the law school at Penn in 1910.
Involvement in Rusyn Affairs 1918-1921
Following his father's involvement in Rusyn affairs, Zhatkovich was drawn in 1918 into the role of a spokesman for the American National Council of Uhro-Rusyns, at the time when the dissolution of Austro-Hungary placed their future - as that of many other peoples - on the international diplomatic agenda.In July 1918, Rusyn-Americans convened and called for complete independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
of Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
. Failing that, they would try to unite with Galicia and Bukovyna; and failing that, they would demand autonomy, though they did not specify under which state.
Members of President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's administration told Zatkovich and other Rusyn-Americans that "the only viable option was unification with the new state of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
". Zatkovich accepted that the best he could do was work for creating a place for Rusyns in Czechoslovakia, and signed the "Philadelphia Agreement" with Czech President Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , sometimes called Thomas Masaryk in English, was an Austro-Hungarian and Czechoslovak politician, sociologist and philosopher, who as an eager advocate of Czechoslovak independence during World War I became the founder and first President of Czechoslovakia, also was...
, guaranteeing Rusyn autonomy upon unification with Czechoslovakia.
A referendum was held among American Rusyn parishes, with a resulting 67% in favor. In May 1919, a Central National Council convened under Zatkovich and voted unanimously to accept the Czechoslovak solution. An assembly held in the territory itself on May 8, 1919 "Endorsed the decision of the American Uhro-Rusin Council to unite with the Czech-Slovak nation on the basis of full national autonomy."
Zatkovich was appointed governor of the province by Masaryk on April 20, 1920. He resigned, however, less than a year later, on April 17, 1921, to return to his law practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA.
The declared reason for his resignation was dissatisfaction with the borders with Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
.
As noted, his tenure is a historical anomaly as the only American citizen ever acting as governor of a province that later became a part of the USSR.
Death
Zhatkovich died in Pittsburgh in 1967, aged 80, and was interred there at Calvary CemeteryCalvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Calvary Catholic Cemetery is located at 718 Hazelwood Avenue in the Greenfield and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It was founded in 1886 with the purchase of a 200-acre tract. The first official interment occurred in 1888, though there are graves with earlier dates. As of...
.
In fiction
The third part of the novel "A Carpathian Rhapsody", by theHungarian left-wing writer Béla Illés
Béla Illés (writer)
Béla Illés Was a Hungarian left-wing writer and journalist, who spent much of his life in exile at the Soviet Union.-Publications:...
- whose plot takes place in Carpathian Ruthenia between the end of the 19th Century and the aftermath of WWI - is called "Gregory Zhatkovich's Kingdom".
The highly-partisan book presents Zhatkovich in a negative way, claiming that he was the dupe of American and French business and military interests, and that he had little contol of or interest in the territory placed under his charge.
The book also asserts that the imperial interests which placed Zhatkovich in charge were mainly interested in using the territory as a conduit for arms and ammunition to the anti-Soviet Polish forces fighting the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
of 1920, than going on directly to the north, and that Zhatkovich had to resign after failing to stop local Communists from holding strikes as well as repeatedly saboataging the railway line from Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, through which the munitions were passing.