Yevhen Petrushevych
Encyclopedia
Yevhen Petrushevych (June 3, 1863 in Busk
, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
, Kronland of Austro-Hungary — August 29, 1940 in Berlin
, Germany
) was a Ukrainian
lawyer
, politician
, and president of the Western Ukrainian National Republic formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918.
, of Galicia in the clerical family
of a Greek-Catholic priest. After graduating from the Academic Gymnasium he studied law at the Lviv University
, where he was one of the leaders of the student movement and headed the Academic Fraternity. After earning a doctorate
in law, he started a practice in Sokal
. He was regarded with favor by the people because of his professionalism in defending them from the self-will of powers. At the same time he headed the district Prosvita
educational society and was an organizer of the cultural and educational life. He became an active member of Ukrainian National Democratic Party formed in 1899.
In 1907 Yevhen Petrushevych was elected to the Austrian Parliament. He became one of the leaders and then a head of Ukrainian Parliament Club. In 1910 he was elected to the Galician Sejm in Lviv
from the Stryj
district. Being a leading figure of the Ukrainian Sejm Club, he headed the determined fight for a new election law and achieved the increase of the quota of Ukrainian mandates in the Sejm from 12 to 34, and then to 62.
During World War I
as head of the Ukrainian Parliament representation he struggled against the plans of Galicia annexation by Poland and was an adherent of the territory autonomy within Austria
. Being the head of the Galician delegation in Brest-Litovsk in February 1918, he favored the introduction of Austria’s liability of granting autonomy to Galicia into the secret appendix of the International conference resolution. Jointly with Czech and Slovakian parliamentarians he worked out a project about the formation of national states united with Austria on the Empires lands and submitted it for Kaiser consideration. The manifest of Kaiser Karl
on October 18, 1918 proclaimed the right of peoples to self-determination.
On October 19 the representative Ukrainian Constituent in Lvov approved the resolution on formation of the independent Ukrainian State in the western ethnic territory. To implement the resolution they elected the Ukrainian National Rada (Council); Yevhen Petrushevych became its president. Being an adherent of the peaceful power transfer to Ukrainians he carried out negotiations with officials in Vienna. But in connection with the threat on the part of Poles, Lvov delegation of the National Council headed by Kost Levytsky
seized power under arms and on November 1 proclaimed the formation of the Western Ukrainian National Republic (ZUNR). Levytsky’s government was formed on November 9 and started the construction of the national state.
After the outbreak of the Polish-Ukrainian War
and a defeat at Lviv, the ZUNR government remained in Stanislaviv. Being the president of the National Council, Petrushevych mainly performed representative functions, but owing to his political culture and parliamentary experience he had influence on making the most important decisions in the state. The National Council elaborated a number of necessary laws, which regulated the socio-political and economical life, laid the legal foundation of the state and guarded it from acute social conflicts and destructive manifestations.
On June 9, 1919 by decision of the top state authorities Petrushevych was granted the title of dictator, which meant that he acted both as a president and a head of the government. When in July 1919 the Galician army retreated over the Zbruch into the Ukrainian National Republic, the ZUNR government settled in Kamyanets-Podilskyi. The relations between Petrushevych and the chairman of Directory
Symon Petlura
deteriorated during this period, and Petrushevych was dismissed from the Directory
for his opposition to the Ukrainian-Polish alliance. In autumn 1919 Petrushevych left for Vienna
, where the exile government continued its diplomatic activity for the restoration of ZUNR independence. The president sent Ukrainian delegations to international talks in Riga
and Geneva, sent notes and messages in the address of the League of Nations
, got a resolution, which recommended a Council of Ambassadors
in Paris
to review the Galician problem. With the aim to determine the aspirations of Ukrainians he elaborated a fundamental draft of the Constitution of Ukrainian Galician Republic. In 1922 Petrushevych headed Ukrainian delegation to Geneva where the international conference took place.
But on March 15, 1923 the Council of Ambassadors approved a resolution according to which the West Ukrainian lands were annexed by Poland without reservation.
After the liquidation of the exile government Petrushevych continued diplomatic and propagandistic actions in defense of the oppressed Ukrainian Galician people, spread notes and protests, and continued publishing the ZUNR organ, Ukrainsky prapor (Ukrainian banner). As a result of his disappointment over the March decision he adopted an openly Sovietophile position. He maintained contacts with the Soviet representatives in Vienna and Berlin, where he had moved in 1923. In 1923 the Politburo of the Russian Communist Party
decided in favour of funding Petrushevych's activities, and two years later the Ukrainian Politburo made a similar decision. Petrushevych continued receiving financial support at least until the end of the 1920s.
In spite of the emigrant’s life difficulties, in old age he collaborated with Ukrainian National Association, maintained relations with Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky
.
Petrushevych died on August 29, 1940 and was buried at Berlin
cemetery of St. Hedwig's Cathedral
.
Busk, Ukraine
Busk is a city located in Busk Raion in Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city's population was 8,896 as of the 2006 Ukrainian Census.It is administrative center of the Busk Raion....
, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
, Kronland of Austro-Hungary — August 29, 1940 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) was a Ukrainian
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...
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...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and president of the Western Ukrainian National Republic formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918.
Biography
He was born on June 3, 1863, in the town of BuskBusk, Ukraine
Busk is a city located in Busk Raion in Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city's population was 8,896 as of the 2006 Ukrainian Census.It is administrative center of the Busk Raion....
, of Galicia in the clerical family
Western Ukrainian Clergy
The Western Ukrainian clergy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church were a hereditary tight-knit social caste that dominated western Ukrainian society from the late eighteenth until the mid twentieth centuries, following the reforms instituted by Joseph II, Emperor of Austria...
of a Greek-Catholic priest. After graduating from the Academic Gymnasium he studied law at the Lviv University
Lviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
, where he was one of the leaders of the student movement and headed the Academic Fraternity. After earning a doctorate
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in law, he started a practice in Sokal
Sokal
Sokal is a town located on the banks of the Bug River in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Sokal Raion , the city itself also ranks as a separate raion within the oblast.- History :...
. He was regarded with favor by the people because of his professionalism in defending them from the self-will of powers. At the same time he headed the district Prosvita
Prosvita
Prosvita is a society created in the nineteenth century in Ukrainian Galicia for preserving and developing Ukrainian culture and education among population....
educational society and was an organizer of the cultural and educational life. He became an active member of Ukrainian National Democratic Party formed in 1899.
In 1907 Yevhen Petrushevych was elected to the Austrian Parliament. He became one of the leaders and then a head of Ukrainian Parliament Club. In 1910 he was elected to the Galician Sejm in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
from the Stryj
Stryi
Stryi is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine . Serving as the administrative center of the Stryi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. Thus, the city has two administrations - the city and the raion...
district. Being a leading figure of the Ukrainian Sejm Club, he headed the determined fight for a new election law and achieved the increase of the quota of Ukrainian mandates in the Sejm from 12 to 34, and then to 62.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as head of the Ukrainian Parliament representation he struggled against the plans of Galicia annexation by Poland and was an adherent of the territory autonomy within Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Being the head of the Galician delegation in Brest-Litovsk in February 1918, he favored the introduction of Austria’s liability of granting autonomy to Galicia into the secret appendix of the International conference resolution. Jointly with Czech and Slovakian parliamentarians he worked out a project about the formation of national states united with Austria on the Empires lands and submitted it for Kaiser consideration. The manifest of Kaiser Karl
Karl I of Austria
Charles I of Austria or Charles IV of Hungary was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary, the last King of Bohemia and Croatia and the last King of Galicia and Lodomeria and the last monarch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine...
on October 18, 1918 proclaimed the right of peoples to self-determination.
On October 19 the representative Ukrainian Constituent in Lvov approved the resolution on formation of the independent Ukrainian State in the western ethnic territory. To implement the resolution they elected the Ukrainian National Rada (Council); Yevhen Petrushevych became its president. Being an adherent of the peaceful power transfer to Ukrainians he carried out negotiations with officials in Vienna. But in connection with the threat on the part of Poles, Lvov delegation of the National Council headed by Kost Levytsky
Kost Levytsky
Kost Levytsky was a Ukrainian politician. He was a founder of the Ukrainian National Democratic movement and the leader of the State Representative Body of the Ukrainian government declared on June 30, 1941-Biography:...
seized power under arms and on November 1 proclaimed the formation of the Western Ukrainian National Republic (ZUNR). Levytsky’s government was formed on November 9 and started the construction of the national state.
After the outbreak of the Polish-Ukrainian War
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
and a defeat at Lviv, the ZUNR government remained in Stanislaviv. Being the president of the National Council, Petrushevych mainly performed representative functions, but owing to his political culture and parliamentary experience he had influence on making the most important decisions in the state. The National Council elaborated a number of necessary laws, which regulated the socio-political and economical life, laid the legal foundation of the state and guarded it from acute social conflicts and destructive manifestations.
On June 9, 1919 by decision of the top state authorities Petrushevych was granted the title of dictator, which meant that he acted both as a president and a head of the government. When in July 1919 the Galician army retreated over the Zbruch into the Ukrainian National Republic, the ZUNR government settled in Kamyanets-Podilskyi. The relations between Petrushevych and the chairman of Directory
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory was a provisional revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian National Republic, formed in 1918 by the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Skoropadsky's regime....
Symon Petlura
Symon Petlura
Symon Vasylyovych Petliura was a publicist, writer, journalist, Ukrainian politician, statesman, and national leader who led Ukraine's struggle for independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917....
deteriorated during this period, and Petrushevych was dismissed from the Directory
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory was a provisional revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian National Republic, formed in 1918 by the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Skoropadsky's regime....
for his opposition to the Ukrainian-Polish alliance. In autumn 1919 Petrushevych left for Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where the exile government continued its diplomatic activity for the restoration of ZUNR independence. The president sent Ukrainian delegations to international talks in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and Geneva, sent notes and messages in the address of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, got a resolution, which recommended a Council of Ambassadors
Council of Ambassadors
Council of Ambassadors was an intergovernmental agency, founded in 1919 by decision of the states of the Entente. The Council was to implement the provision of the Treaty of Versailles. It comprised the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan in Paris and was chaired by foreign minister...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to review the Galician problem. With the aim to determine the aspirations of Ukrainians he elaborated a fundamental draft of the Constitution of Ukrainian Galician Republic. In 1922 Petrushevych headed Ukrainian delegation to Geneva where the international conference took place.
But on March 15, 1923 the Council of Ambassadors approved a resolution according to which the West Ukrainian lands were annexed by Poland without reservation.
After the liquidation of the exile government Petrushevych continued diplomatic and propagandistic actions in defense of the oppressed Ukrainian Galician people, spread notes and protests, and continued publishing the ZUNR organ, Ukrainsky prapor (Ukrainian banner). As a result of his disappointment over the March decision he adopted an openly Sovietophile position. He maintained contacts with the Soviet representatives in Vienna and Berlin, where he had moved in 1923. In 1923 the Politburo of the Russian Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
decided in favour of funding Petrushevych's activities, and two years later the Ukrainian Politburo made a similar decision. Petrushevych continued receiving financial support at least until the end of the 1920s.
In spite of the emigrant’s life difficulties, in old age he collaborated with Ukrainian National Association, maintained relations with Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi 3 May 1873, Wiesbaden, Germany – 26 April 1945, Metten monastery clinic, Bavaria, Germany) was a Ukrainian politician, earlier an aristocrat and decorated Imperial Russian Army general...
.
Petrushevych died on August 29, 1940 and was buried at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
cemetery of St. Hedwig's Cathedral
St. Hedwig's Cathedral
St. Hedwig's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral on the Bebelplatz in Berlin, Germany. It is the seat of the archbishop of Berlin.It was built in the 18th century as the first Catholic church in Prussia after the Protestant Reformation by permission of King Frederick II...
.