2

Editor in Chief: Sofiya Fedyna

Editorial Staff:

Taras Rad’

Mykola Mushynka

Mikaela Mushynka

Design: Viktor Dudiak

Translation: Lidiya Kalantyrenko

Herald of SFULO (c) Official edition of the World Federation of Ukrainian

Lemko Associations.

Published once a month.

The main goal of the magazine is to dynamically illuminate the activities of

all the subjects of SFULO.

You can download issues of the Herald from the SFULO site:

www.sfulo.com/biblioteka

Editor’s E-mail: visnyk.sfulo@gmail.com

Please send us your materials. The Editorial Council, however, reserves the final decision as to what to publish.

The World Federation of Ukrainian Associations (SFULO) is a

nongovernmental international public organization, which unites the Ukrainian Lemko Associations of Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia,

Croatia, Canada and the USA.

The main goal of its activity is to secure and protect the legitimate

social, economical, creative, ethnic, national-cultural and other interests of Lemkos; to develop and popularize Lemko cultural heritage and spirituality

according to the principles of legality, democracy, voluntarism and self-government.

Official website:

www.sfulo.com.

Contents

Statement of the head of SFULO on the 71st anniversary of the beginning of the

deportation.........................................................3

Our Affairs

International conference concerning Rusyn-Ukrainians of the Carpathian region in

Poland................................................................5

Presentation of the three-volume edition on the deportation.........................................................7

Migrants and the residents of

L’viv....................................................................9

Ivan Rozkladay: you should search for your roots on your own …………………………………………..10

Our People

We remember, honor and pray …......................17

Culture

Retrospective on the work of Oksana Teodorovych......................................................19

In the USA thieves replaced nine paintings of

Andy Warhol with forgeries................................21

Where to read the weekly Our Lemko................22

The prophecies in the book of a Ternopil’ writer fulfilled.............................................................23

“Return” of M. Horbal is key to the Ukrainian Future..............................................................24

Plunge into the poetic world of our

countryman......................................................28

Events. History. Life.......................................31

Three waves of migration to Serbia and

Croatia.............................................................31

Robber movement in Lemkivshchyna...............32

Advertisements and announcements............35

3 STATEMENT OF THE HEAD OF SFULO ON THE 71st

ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF THE DEPORTATION

OF THE UKRAINIANS FROM THEIR ETHNIC LANDS IN

POLAND

We have to know and remember so that this tragedy does not

occur again.

On September 9, 1944, the infamous agreement between the Polish Committee of

National Liberation and the Ukrainian SSR “on evacuation of the Ukrainian

population from the Polish territory and the Polish citizens from the Ukrainian Soviet

Socialist Republic” was signed, from which began the period of great

exile/deportation of the Ukrainians from their ethnic lands of Kholmshchyna,

Nadsiannia, Pidliashshia, Lemkivshchyna and western Boykivshchyna in 1944-1951.

According to historians, during 1944-1946 alone, 480,000 Ukrainians were resettled,

and in consequence of Operation “Vistula” – more than 170,000. Every second

Ukrainian family in the western lands experienced deportation during 1944-1947.

The last wave of the deportation took place in 1951, when, in consequence of the

agreement of February 15, 1951, concerning the exchange of territory between the

USSR and the Polish Republic, tens of thousands of Ukrainians lost their homes.

Volodymyr Sereda, the head of the “Zakerzonia” Union (and a member of a deported

family) tells: “Everything happened according to a scenario which was worked out in

advance: punitive troops came in the morning, when people were still asleep. At dawn

on the day of the evacuation, all the roads were closed, so that no one could escape.

People had only an hour or two to pack. They only could take some food and

clothing. All the rest – acquired goods, food stocks, seeds harvested for planting,

potatoes, stock and cattle they left on their abandoned homesteads, hoping to return

soon. They had barely walked away from the village when fiery flames rose over their

homes and churches. Women sobbed, understanding that they would never again

return to their homes. Subsequently they all were driven together to railway stations,

and then – to boxcars. The route to the destinations lasted for months. But in most of

the hundreds of devastated villages “the voluntary resettlement” was accomplished

according to another scenario – under the barrel of a submachine gun.” This tragedy

has various euphemisms: repatriation, evacuation, voluntary return to Ukraine; but

in reality it was a forced resettlement, first – to the territories of the Ukrainian SSR,

and then – to northwest Poland, the forcible deprivation of the right of Ukrainians to

live in the lands of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The first deportees

were dropped off in the steppe territories of Luhans’k oblast, Donets’k oblast, and

also Poltava oblast, Mykolayiv oblast, Kherson oblast, and Odesa oblast. As it turned

out, they were left without any means of survival, and without any support. But

when these people tried to go back, the border was closed to them. Those who did not

experience the exile of 1944 – 1946 had to survive Operation “Vistula” and the

Jaworzno Concentration Camp … Today not many people want to remember it: it is

not profitable to stir up the past, they are afraid to worsen relations with Poland, it is

4 wartime now – it isn't the right time to speak… But when will it be the right time? In

Soviet times the deportees were forced to remain silent, they were despised and

considered to be second-class people. They did not obtain any support from the State

or any empathy and solidarity from the community. Do we not deserve the truth

today? But again an unrecognized and uncondemned tragedy has happened, both

for the Crimean Tatars and the descendants of the deported Ukrainians. In August,

2014, exactly at the time of the 79th anniversary of the beginning of the deportation,

the Lemko villages in Luhans’k oblast, in particular the village of Peremozhne (where

a Lemko Vatra was even held) were covered with “grad” rockets; several families were

shot for helping the Ukrainian army; and again our people, who have just gotten

used to a new homeland, became exiles… And again, almost without any help…

The Revolution of Dignity was our struggle for truth and for our rights, especially

Human Rights. And the decent thing is to speak the truth – without political

speculation, without aggression, but with a desire to broadly demonstrate, in the

widest sense, the facts of the tragedy, so that it can NEVER and NOWHERE happen

again. September 9, 2015

Sofiya Fedyna the Head of the World Federation of Ukrainian Lemko Unions

In the photo: the head of SFULO Sofiya Fedyna, the head of LOO Lemkivshchyna Stepan Maykovych, the head

of the L’viv Oblast State Administartion Oleh Syniutka with Ihor Zinkevych and Andriy Khomiak, the activists of

public organization VARTA1, laying flowers at the memorial marker of the deported.

5 OUR AFFAIRS

International conference concerning Rusyn-Ukrainians of the Carpathian

region in Poland

On September 24-26, 2015, in the town of Słupsk in Polish Pomerania, occurred the Fifth

International Scientific Conference on the subject,“The history, material and spiritual culture of

Lemkos, Boykos, Hutsuls and Rusyns”, devoted to the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the

Ukrainians of Poland to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The organizer of the

conference was the Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk, the rector of which is a Ukrainian,

Professor Roman Drozd. He opened the conference. Sofiya Fedyna, the head of SFULO, and the

author of these lines greeted the participants on behalf of the foreign guests.

Eighty-three scientists from Poland, Ukraine, Serbia, the United States, and Slovakia took

part in the conference.

At the plenary session three reports were read, and between them – the joint report of

Bohdan Hal’chak from Zielona Góra and Mykhaylo Shmigel’ from Banská Bystrica, “The

attitude of Czechoslovakia towards the resettlement of the Ukrainian population from Poland to

the Ukrainian SSR in 1944 – 1946.” All other reports were delivered in four thematic sections.

In the historical section there were the following reports: Martyna Shkutova from Nitra,

“Life of the eastern Christians in Šariš in the 16th century”; Stanislav Konechny, “Carpathian

Rus’ and constitutional changes in 1918 – 1945”; Marian Gaydosh, “Political aspects of the

solution of the Ukrainian question in Slovakia after 1945” - both Konechny and Gaydosh are

from the Institute of Social Sciences of Slovak Academy of Sciences in Košice; Mykola

Mushynka, “Resettlement of Rusyns from Romania to the Czech – German frontier in 1947.”

In the section “Material and spiritual culture” (which was the largest), the report of

Yosyf Warhola from Svidnik, named “Bread in the customs and rites of the Rusyn-Ukrainians

in Slovakia” captured the listeners' attention.

There were interesting reports by the delegation of Rusyn scientists from Serbia, which

consisted of five members: Yanko Ramach (“The Writings of the Rusyns of southern Hungary

from the middle of the 18th

century to the end of the 19th

century”); Diura Hardiy (“About

Bishop Dionisiy Niaradiy”); Velimir Poplatsko (“The forced resettlement of the Rusyn-

Ukrainians from Vukovar in 1991”); Sasha Sabadosh (“Activity of the Rusyn section of the

Union of the Cultural – Educational Association in 1948 – 1952”) and Alexandr Mudry

(“Names of hemp products in the language of the Rusyns of Vojvodina”). Almost all the reports

were delivered in the Ukrainian literary language.

The Polish scientists presented mostly in the historic section. Their reports, built mainly

on recently discovered archival sources, dealt primarily with the resettlement of the Ukrainians

of Poland to the Ukrainian SSR in 1944 – 1946 and Operation “Vistula” of 1947. Two reports

by Polish scientists delivered at the plenary session set the direction in this regard: Jan Pisulinski

(“Resettlement of the Polish Population from the Ukrainian SSR and the Ukrainian Population

from Poland in 1944 – 1946”) and Tadeusz Sucharski (“Polish Prose on the Problems of the

Deportation”).

The report of Andriy Ksenych “The Church in the Poetry of Jerzy Harasymowicz” also

had a literary aspect.

6 Almost 30 speakers came to Słupsk from Ukraine, the majority of whom were scientists

from the Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in L’viv.

Almost all of them presented in the ethnographic section. The report of Yaroslav Taras

“Belltowers of the Ukrainian Carpathians” was dominant. Sofiya Fedyna from the L’viv

National University spoke about the manipulative aspects of the so-called “Rusyn question,”

Natalia Kliashtorna – about the Lemkos of Luhans’k and Donets'k oblasts during the present

military events, Roman Piniazhko – about the Hutsul and Komańcza Republics. Several

speakers came from Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Uzhhorod, and Kharkiv. Paul Best arrived from the USA

with a report on the representation of the Polish – Ukrainian conflicts of 1944 – 1946 in the

pages of the American press.

After each block of reports there were discussions, which sometimes grew into separate

supporting reports.

All the reports will be published in a separate digest.

28. 09. 2015.

Mykola Mushynka

7

A comment from Sofiya Fedyna, the head of SFULO

In Pomerania Academy, in Słupsk,

occurred the International

Scientific Conference “Lemkos,

Boykos, Hutsuls, Rusyns – history

and modernity,” devoted to the

70th anniversary of the deportation

of the Ukrainians. Despite the

discussion title, the scientific

reports were on a high level. The

scientists did not let themselves

descend to an offensive level, but in

fact, they aspired to seek for the

truth. I gave the report on the

manipulative aspects of “the Rusyn

question.” Meeting old and new friends was my biggest joy: Mykola Mushynka with

his wife, Bohdan Hal’chak, Roman Drozd, friends from Serbia and the great scholars

of this Conference.

IN KYIV THE THREE-VOLUME EDITION “FROM

DEPORTATION TO DEPORTATION” WAS PRESENTED ON

THE ONE HUNDREDTH

ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST

DEPORTATION OF UKRAINIANS

On September 19, in the Mykhaylo

Hrushevs’ky Memorial Historical Museum in

Kyiv, a Memorial Academy, “From

Deportation to Deportation,” was held. The

participants honored the 800,000 Ukrainians

who were deported from Kholmshchyna,

Pidliashshia, Nadsiannia, and

Lemkivshchyna in the 20th century.

During the First World War, the

Government of Tsarist Russia forcibly

removed over 300,000 Ukrainians from

Kholmshchyna and Pidliashshia to the

8 depths of Russia. During the Second World War, the Polish Committee of National

Liberation, together with the Government of the Ukrainian SSR, deported about

500,000 Ukrainians from Kholmshchyna, Pidliashshia, Nadsiannia, and

Lemkivshchyna to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

The witnesses of those events took part in this Memorial Academy, together

with prominent researchers of the history of Ukraine and in particular the

deportations of ethnic Ukrainians – Serhiy Kul’chytsky, Yuriy Shapoval, Volodymyr

Borysenko, Ihor Zhaloba, and Volodymyr Yevtukh.

“The deportation of the Ukrainians is a tragic page from history which should

not be forgotten. It is a crime, too, and it must receive a proper evaluation. After all,

hundreds of thousands of people have been deprived of their homes and forcibly

moved to other territories, where they often had to fight for survival. The history of

every deported family is a stream, which fills a strong river of national memory,” –

said Volodymyr Tylishchak, Deputy Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National

Memory, and a participant of the Academy.

The three-volume edition, “From deportation to deportation: Socio-political life

of the Ukrainians from Kholmshchyna and Pidliashshia (1915 – 1947), Research,

Memories, Documents” contains stories of the deported families and memories from

those who are still alive, and also photographs and copies of archival documents. The

epigraph of the entire large-scale research work is: “For the memory of the dead, for

the education of the living.” The book was published in the Bukrek publishing house

in Chernivtsi, supported by the Teodota and Iwan Klym Memorial Endowment Fund

from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta.

Publication of the third volume finished this large-scale research project, which

lasted for more than a decade (the first volume was published in 2011, and the

second one – in 2014). The authors are: Yuriy Makar, doctor of historical sciences,

author of more than five hundred historical works, and a native of historic

9 Kholmshchyna; Mykhaylo Horny, Deputy Head of the All-Ukrainian Public Union

“The Congress of the Ukrainians of Kholmshchyna and Podlasie”; Vitaliy Makar, the

director of the Ramon Hnatyshyn Center of Canadian Studies.

The main question, which cuts like a knife through the book as well as the

events commemorating the deportees, is why it was that in the first half of the 20th

century the westernmost branch of the Ukrainian ethnos lived in their native land as

if it were a transit point? The authors also discuss the imperial policy of Russia,

which in the struggle to extend its influence in Polish territories did not stop attempts

to assimilate the local Ukrainians, and sometimes saw them as a threat; the

complexity of Ukrainian-Polish relations; and the level of Ukrainian national identity.

The research of this painful page of history and the fact that Polish historians

take part in events devoted to this subject allows us to speak about progress in

mutual understanding between Ukraine and Poland. But the special tragedy and

symbolism of this history is that presently it is being repeated in Donbas: the

descendants of the families who once were deported to the East from Kholmshchyna

and Pidliashshia have now become the deportees.

Source: http://www.memory.gov.ua/news/u-kievi-prezentuvali-tritomnik-vid-

deportatsii-do-deportatsii-do-100-richchya-pershoi-deportats

MIGRANTS AND THE RESIDENTS OF L’VIV

We are a nation!

“The Festival of the Migrants and the Residents of L’viv,” which was held in L’viv from

the 1st to the 13th of September, served as a means of building cultural bridges as

well as a platform for dialogue, where both migrants from the east of the country and

Crimea, together with local residents, took part. Such an event took place in Ukraine

for the first time. Through this cultural exchange, the citizens of L’viv and the

migrants were able to learn more about each other. After all, during the period of the

occupation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine, more than 11,000 migrants

have had to resettle to L’viv oblast, and this number is only based on official

statistics. Along with social issues, one main concern is the question of integration

into a new environment and the building of mutual respect and trust between

residents of different regions of Ukraine who know very little about each other's

cultural traditions and peculiarities.

***

Already on September 1, in Muliars’ka Street, Victoriya Polishchuk opened the photo

exhibition "Faces of Migrants.” The exhibition included photographs taken during

the year in L’viv which are portraits of people whose faith has been changed by the

circumstances in Ukraine. The heroes are young families, children, adults, and

progressive youth. Born in Donets'k, Kyiv, Yalta or in Western Ukraine – all of them

have a common home – the city of Lev. On September 4th, one could attend a master

10 class in pottery by the Crimean Tatar ceramist, Rustem Skybin. He created his style

of polychrome painting of ceramics products, which includes the best features of the

traditional culture of the Crimean Tatars. He perfectly mastered the technique of

creating ornamental structures and created a series of unique products with

exquisite calligraphic compositions.

***

On the same day, on the square in front of Ivan Franko L’viv National University, all

could see the performance of “DzhanDuet” (Ukraine, Crimea, Azerbaijan).

“DzhanDuet” is a joint project of accordionist Shevket Zmorka and percussionist

Orhan Ahabeyli, who combine different styles, traditions and genres, taking as their

basis the Crimean Tatar and Azerbaijani folk styles combined with modern jazz. The

citizens of L’viv very warmly greeted the performance of the joint project of one of the

brightest singers of Crimean Tatar folk music, El’vira Sarykhalil, and the jazz team

“Acoustic Quartet” (Crimea, Kharkiv, Donets'k). I observed that the young singer (as

well as her countrywoman and colleague Dzhamala) in addition to her native

Crimean Tatar songs, gladly performed one or two Lemko songs. Is it a coincidence?

Or perhaps there is a certain logic? I was very grateful to El’vira, because as I always

emphasize, we will not have a better moment for combining efforts by these citizens

of Ukraine, deported in different times and from different territories. No man is an

island, and combining our efforts will give us a more significant result. The

experience of those formerly deported (the Lemkos and the residents of

Kholmshchyna and Nadsiannia) should be combined with the energy of youth - the

well organized Crimean Tatars and the residents of Donbas; the value of the latter is

that they know better than all the rest what a modern war is.

***

On September 5, unfortunately, due to the rain, they had to shift the scheduled

meetings from Lesia Ukrainka Street to the Museum of Ideas on Valova Street. I

immediately paid attention to a remarkable photo: a large lake against a background

of mountain scenery. It looks like Crimea, but where in Crimea are there such big

lakes? I talked with the photographers, Ihor Sal’nykov and Victoria Temna. They

explained that it was a reservoir (they named the location, but I have forgotten it)

where a lot of water accumulates in spring. And it turned out to be such a good

photo. Almost a Crimean Baikal! Unfortunately, the pond becomes almost dry in

summer. It turned out that Ihor and Victoria are also migrants from Crimea. They

departed Crimea immediately, but the atmosphere on the sunny peninsula still

seems unbearable. Although they visited their native places not long ago, they

returned again to L’viv. “The sensible Crimeans left, and the rest have 'Kiseliov TV' in

their heads…”, says Victoria. She believes that such meetings as today's provide a

lot: “Now we need communication and mutual support very much. If people have

moved far away, they must live among strangers, and they almost do not know their

environment. But here, at the Festival, we will take a closer look at people and find

good friends."

***

11 Here is Khalil Khalilov (co-founder of the Crimean Tatar Culture Center “Crimean

Home” in L’viv. In the past he conducted his own musical program in Crimea, on the

“ATR” channel). I asked him, “What benefit will there be from this meeting? There

are not many people yet…” “We do not have many people here, but we had to prepare

thoroughly,” says the organizer. “There were difficult organizational moments, acts of

God – the rain… If it had been sunny, the event would have been held on Lesia

Ukrainka Street. Here, in the Museum of Ideas, it is cramped, and I think that this

will affect attendance in some way. In L’viv we have held the Festival of Crimean

Tatar Culture for eight years now. For two years I have personally taken part in it.

After the tragic events of the past year, many people were forced to leave Crimea, and

we realized and felt that people trust us here. Our previous festivals played a

significant role. We realized that these are a very good mechanism by which to

integrate into the life of L’viv. After all, the residents of L’viv will see clearly that the

Crimean Tatars are a creative people; in effect, they have the same values as the

Galicians do. We are all Ukrainians, and we live in one big country; we have common

troubles and common joys. This year we do not hold the Festival of the Crimean

Tatars, but “The Festival of the Migrants and the Residents of L’viv”. Many people

from Donbas are here, and the Crimeans are not only Crimean Tatars… The Festival

will last for a few days. Yesterday there was a very interesting concert, where the

people from many regions of Ukraine – Donets'k, Kharkiv, and Crimea – joined their

forces; they presented a very good program…”

Here I interrupted Khalil Khalilov and reminded him that yesterday El’vira Sarykhalil,

besides Crimean Tatar songs, also sang a Lemko song. And Dzhamala also likes to

perform the well-known “Oj, Vershe, mij Vershe.” Lemkos and Tatars are united by

the fact that they have both experienced a brutal deportation. Now they better

understand each other. Isn’t it worth it to establish closer contact now? After all,

contacts between creative youth give rise to interesting ideas. Khalil agrees: “Yes,

there is very much in common. The difference is only in the fact that Crimean Tatars

are the southernmost, and Lemkos are the westernmost children of Ukraine…” To

please my companion, I emphasize that despite the fact that there are many more

refugees from Donbas than from Crimea, the Crimean Tatars are the ones who have

obtained the most benefit from the organization of this event. Khalil replied: “Our

culture looks very bright, because we could preserve our deep identity. That is why it

seems that we dominate in a cultural sense. The slightly increased activity of the

Crimean Tatars can be explained by the fact that it is not the first such tragedy (the

involuntary resettlement of a part of the people), and that is why we almost

automatically activate the mechanisms of preservation of our native culture and our

identity…”

I asked Khalil’s opinion about whether the Crimean experience also reflects that of

the people from Donets'k. He responded: “Donets'k and Luhans’k oblasts are regions

of Ukraine which were inhabited and formed in their present state only relatively

recently. It is difficult to talk about some profound identity there. It has to be sought

and found, but… it is important to understand that, despite everything, we are truly

united by only one fact: we are Ukrainians. So, the Donets'k inhabitants should

12 preserve primarily Ukrainian values. All the deportees (both now and in the past) –

Lemkos, natives of Kholmshchyna and Nadsiannia, Crimean Tatars, people from

Donets'k and Luhans’k oblasts, have to communicate with each other. Each has his

own bitter experience and his own model for solving the problems, and it should be

shared…”

***

When the ethnic duet “Olenky” (Marichka Chychkova and Victoria Titarova) sang,

people from the street began approaching the event. That was perhaps because even

casual passers-by felt a certain exoticism. After all, the girls perform both Ukrainian

songs (Lemko and Polissia), and songs from the Balkans – Serbian and Macedonian. I

talked a little with Marichka Chychkova. I asked her if she has been to the republics

of the former Yugoslavia? She answered that it is possible to fall in love with the

Balkans in absentia. After all, the musical culture of these lands is extremely rich. At

the same time, this lover of Balkan folk music emphasized that, despite everything,

she cares about Ukrainian affairs most of all. And she stressed that there is a

tendency in Ukraine to focus attention on one region and forget about the others.

Polissia now is in such a shambles! Old women do not sing; nobody records anything.

The younger generation does not want to sing these songs, and the old women

gradually depart… She mentioned that there are basic “folklore points”:

Hutsul’shchyna, Lemkivshchyna, and Central Ukraine. But Ukrainian collectors of

folklore somehow forget about Polissia. Oh, well… It is good, though, that while we

are worried about the faith of the people from Crimea and Donbas, we at the same

time recall some of the cultural problems of other regions.

***

Many people approached the scene when Refat Chubarov showed up. The journalists'

questions immediately took the conversation outside the cultural context. The

subject of modern politics was broached. One of the reporters put the question

bluntly: Will Crimea be a part of Ukraine again during the lifetime of our generation?

The well-known politician, answering the question, said, at first glance, a strange

phrase: he would not like to see so many displaced Crimean Tatars in L’viv. To visit

friends among Galicians is another matter. And the more, the better! But they have

to think about returning home. As for the timing of their return, he said the

following:

“It depends on many factors. I will name the main ones: the strengthening of

international sanctions and the weakening of Russia; strengthening of the defense of

Ukraine; solving questions of internal development, including the question of the

economic development of Ukraine…”

Everybody was listening with great interest to what Refat Chubarov said about the

efforts of the world community to return Crimea. The politician said that Crimea

should be returned without weapons, and in a legal way, with the help of the

international community. Refat-aga told about the role of the Crimean Tatar Diaspora

in the world, including in the USA, Canada, Turkey, and Western Europe; some

aspects of the law; for example, who can be classified as traitors in Crimea; the

13 summoning of some criminals to the Office of Public Prosecutor, for instance,

Aksionov. Though it is impossible to fulfill them now, still such subpoenas are important. After all, it is

a signal for patriots: Crimea is not forgotten… The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar nation also

spoke about the events in Eastern Ukraine; the fact that Europe and the USA can be tired of our

troubles, that not only we need their support, but they also need something positive from our side,

and clear messages that we are taking wise and ordered steps. People listened to Refat Chubarov with

pleasure, and he, completing his presentation, said that he likes to visit L’viv and the audience there.

***

Later I met a painter, Serhiy Zaharov, who for six weeks was under the bondage of the separatists,

survived beatings and tortures, and was several times taken out to be shot… At the Festival in L’viv

Serhiy presented “a card house” (the characters of the cards were caricatures of the personalities of

DNR and LNR); and about the event he said the following: “It is good that the resettled came together,

and even more so, in such a beautiful city, with which they frighten the Russian speakers in eastern

Ukraine. L’viv is great! And the joint activity of the residents of L’viv and the resettled from Donbas and

Crimea is also extremely good. Despite the heavy destruction and economic losses, now we have a

chance to unite the nation. And what happens in the so-called “republics” tells us about the

approaching collapse of their house of cards. They consume each other like spiders in a jar. But the

ordinary people who have remained there are well aware that these pseudo-state “entities” have no

future…” At the conclusion I took a few pictures and admired a rapidly built wall (or symbolic

“fortress”), which parents made with their children from small wooden bars. Of course, there was

meaning in this action, because the whole process reminded us of the building of our common

Ukrainian House.

Serhiy Lashchenko

L’viv

Source:

http://www.svitlytsia.crimea.ua/index.php?section=article&artID=15909

“YOU SHOULD SEARCH FOR YOUR ROOTS ON YOUR OWN”

– IHOR ROZKLADAY

“My passion for genealogy began at school. There we

drew family trees, but there were no relatives further back than three or four

generations. These memories of my childhood are deep inside of me,” says

the lawyer Ihor Rozkladay.

Author: Yaroslav

Tymchyshyn

Ihor began doing genealogy research eight years ago. In

this time work on the law “On access to public

information” started. This law opened access to the government and the archives.

“At first I applied to the Central State Archive in Kyiv. There I got a different date of

birth for my great grandmother. That was the beginning of my search,” says Ihor.

14 During eight years he has been able to explore his family to the tenth generation, including lateral branches.

According to Ihor, the search should be started, first of all, with a birth certificate or metrical record. All data on births and deaths for the last 75 years are stored in the organs of civilian registrars. Older documents are kept in the state archives in oblast centers. However, there may be surprises: in particular, the documents may be not transferred at the correct time, or the archives may not have any free space to store them. We can speak about the congestion of the archives.

But the hindrances do not end here. For example, in the 1930s archives were destroyed, especially in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. In such cases we have to appeal to secondary sources. These may be court cases, land records and so on.

Older documents are stored in oblast archives, except in Kyiv and L’viv. Here, in addition to the oblast archives, there are Central State Historical Archives. But sometimes documents can be located in several archives. For example, documents from Pidliashshia are located in the archives of Poland, Belarus, and Russia.

“Actually, genealogy is a reconception of history. When you go down to the level of these people, you stop dividing history into black and white,” continues Ihor. “For instance, one of my ancestors fought in the Russian Imperial Army, and another one fought against him. So the vicissitudes of human life are more difficult.”

Parish registers are universal, but in different parts of Ukraine they had unique features. For example, Catholic parish registers contain a house number, but Orthodox ones do not have it.

Regional peculiarities influence archival work today. In particular, in modern Polish archives it is permitted to take pictures of the documents for free. It makes research work much easier. At the same time, in Ukrainian archives photographing is a paid service.

In addition, the Polish archives are actively being transferred to a digital format. For the researcher, the search should begin with the portal szukajwarchiwach.pl. It is a consolidated portal of Polish archives, which contains a description of all books and gives an idea of where they are located. Some documents concerning Volyn’, Podillia and L’viv oblast are in a digital format: www.agad.gov.pl/inwentarze/testy.html.

However, Ihor says that we have to work with these documents very carefully. First, he advises that we should conduct the search ourselves, as the archives can provide incorrect information; and, secondly, several variants of writing Ukrainian last names are possible. So, we should try all possible variants.

If the parish registers are not preserved, we should turn to the confession lists. In the Russian Empire all the inhabitants had to go to

church for confession. In the confession lists they may often have written down the family members of those who confessed: a wife, children. It makes the search much easier. This group also includes revision lists - descriptions which were drawn up for

15 taxation. Here you can find information about family members. Extremely valuable sources are also “marriage searches.”

Ihor Kulyk speaks about the Internet as an important source of genealogical

research, especially for the 20th century.

Photos by Yaroslav Tymchyshyn

In Ukraine the state

oversees issues

concerning the

organization of the

information about

the repressed; in

Russia this is an

initiative of public

organizations.

Ihor Kulyk notes

that this information

can be scattered and

located in many archives,

but first he advises to

consult the Archive of the

Security Service of

Ukraine.

16

Source: http://gazeta.ua/articles/history/_svoye-korinnya-treba-shukati-

samostijno--igor-rozkladaj/648027

Author: Natalia Miniaylo

17 OUR PEOPLE

WE REMEMBER, HONOR AND PRAY…

On September 19-20, 2015, occurred a trip by a

delegation of the “Lemkivshchyna” L’viv Oblast Union to

the village of Krasna (Korostenka), powiat Krośnieński,

województwo Podkarpackie, Poland. The purpose of the

trip was to raise and consecrate the Cross of

Remembrance on our Greek Catholic cemetery.

The delegation consisted of about 25 people, including

one of the most respected residents of the village of

Krasna – Eugenia Les’kiv (from the Uhryniak family),

who was born in 1932; Mitred Protopresbyter Fr.

Anatoliy Duda – Kvasniak, Svitlana Savych from

Luhans’k oblast with her daughter Anhelina, presently

resettled and who lives in Krakow (from the family of

Dmytro and Yustyna Kobasa); the family of Ivan Syn’ko:

daughter Halyna and son-in-law Taras Khrushch and

others.

These people, natives of the village of Krasna, visit the

land of their ancestors every year: they remember,

honor and pray for them; and they involve their children and grandchildren on these trips.

In 1945, before the mass resettlement of our people, the village of Krasna had 320 numbered

houses, and now, on the 70th anniversary of the deportation, there are about 190 of them.

When we arrived in Krasna, our priest, Anatoliy Duda-Kvasniak, served a panakhyda and

consecrated the memorial cross in the cemetery; the attendees prayed at the tombs of four

priests who are buried near the cross, including Alexandr Pryslops’ky, the builder of our

church, where he served as pastor for more than 55 years (1885 – 1942).

I want to emphasize once again that only Greek Catholic parishioners were buried in the

cemetery at Krasna,

and the Roman

Catholic villagers were

buried in the parish

cemetery in the village

of Lutcza. They did

not have a Roman

Catholic Church in

the village of Krasna.

18

After the consecration in the cemetery, everybody came to the church where Fr. Anatoliy

recited a litany. Our Mitered Archpriest, Anatoliy, is a pastor of the true Ukrainians of Lemko

origin and it is not for the first time that he has visited the village of Krasna, prayed in the

church, called for tolerance, love and unity.

At a communal dinner the natives of Krasna and their

descendants shared their memories, remembered

their families and their parents’ homesteads; Dr.

Lukáš Uram, who was present there, told Svitlana

Slavych and her daughter Anhelina, who were there

for the first time, about their great-grandfather and

great-grandmother who had lived in Krasna.

On Sunday morning, all the members of the

delegation went to the village of Korczyna to the grave

of Stanislav Sheptytsky, a brother of Andriy

Sheptytsky, where the priests Anatoliy Duda and

Myron Mykhalyshyn served a panakhyda. After that,

all came to the church in Krasna, where they recited

a litany and all of us stayed for the Sunday service to

God.

During the trip, rain constantly accompanied us, but

when we were consecrating the memorial cross in the

cemetery, or walking among the village, it stopped.

This trip will stay in our memory for a long time,

especially, for those who were there for the first time.

Till we meet again! Myroslav Dmytrakh

19 CULTURE

RETROSPECTIVE ON THE WORK OF OKSANA

TEODOROVYCH

Oksana Teodorovych

The art form of enamel managed to

develop in the Diaspora due to the efforts of

the Ukrainian artist, Oksana Teodorovych.

The Ukrainian National Museum for the first

time presents the paintings, “Born of Fire.” I

speak of their retrospective on enamel,

created during the different periods of the

artist's life, who managed to transfer the

noble tradition of the aesthetic environment,

once widespread in Ukraine, to a new land.

In the history of fine art there are few

people with awareness of the technology and method of creating works in enamel.

With this exhibition the poetic emergence of an extraordinary personality comes to

light, as well as an artistic perspective on the research of this subject.

Fifty years have passed since Oksana

Teodorovych, with a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Chicago and the School of the Art

Institute of Chicago, presented her graduate

work at the graduate exhibition. This success

of the young artist was the first step in her

Ukrainian modernism, which was

simultaneously so universal. She dabbled in

various techniques, but she settled on

enamels. “I do not know how it began. Did

somebody come and persuade me?” – as if the

poetess Oksana Liaturyns’ka in the collection

“Enamels of Princes” had her in mind. In

“Carpet of Flowers” and “The Virgin of

Tenderness” the imagery is consonant with the

language of Liaturyns'ka's poetry, as well as

with the enamels of Olena Kul’chyts’ka, Maria

Dol’nyts’ka, and Yaroslava Muzyka. “Night in

the Meadow,” “After the Font,” and “Fantasies

of the Sea” are saturated with femininity.

20 These little masterpieces capture the physical dimension of beauty.

Many of them are in private collections, and the enamel work “The Mother of

God with Child” was presented to the Blessed Patriarch Josyf Slipyj in 1974, and is

now kept in the collection of the gallery of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Rome.

Together with other Ukrainian artists she took part in the group exhibitions which

took place in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Philadelphia. Some emphases are

consciously made on the aesthetic of Biblical themes, which are drawn out with the

talent of an icon painter. Not many people know that Oksana Teodorovych, with

Lialia Kuchma, helped the head master Ivan Dykyj, a native of Kharkiv oblast, paint

the SS. Volodymyr and Ol’ha Cathedral in Chicago. Composite and stylistic features

of the decorative-applied arts of Old Rus' are emphasized in her works: “Silent Night –

Holy Night,” “Blue Fish” and “Under the Cross.” The enamel “On the Shore of Life”

can be called autobiographical. Here green colors dominate, gilded with the rays of

hope. These are the colors of childhood; the green Sambir region and

Lemkivshchyna's unforgettable landscapes, which continue to awaken the

imagination of this Boyko.

Oksana Teodorovych was born in a family of teachers in the town of Sambir,

L’viv oblast. Here she passed her childhood. During the first Bolshevik occupation

(1939-1941) she was in Lemkivshchyna. The nature, environment, and Lemko

traditions influenced the character formation of the young Ukrainian woman.

She used to go to May Day, celebrated Christmas and Malanka…

“Unforgettable mornings

in the silence of the forest,

when we wandered all together

among the trees as if in some

sacred place, looking for

mushrooms. The din, the

singing, the entertainments at

the fire and the expectation of

a freshly-baked potato. During

long fall evenings our hostesses

were spinning, and we made

straw decorations for the

Christmas tree. Even to this

day the wonderful fairy tales

from Lemkivshchyna move me

to tears, and it seems that I

can see those events and people. In front of me there are the smiling faces of my

Lemko friends; Ol’ha Yarema with her brother Levko is among them. What happened

to them? I want to believe that they did not become victims of the brutal “Operation

Vistula”, says Ms. Teodorovych, remembering the village of Gludno (Glidno), where in

1939 she went to primary school.

21 And then – the war, the camps for the displaced people, the school in

Regensburg, PLAST, the migration to the USA, the completion of secondary education

here… She easily found a common language “with fire”; studying enamel practically,

she experimented with metal, paints, and struck a hit with her creation. Each

product must be heated in the oven at a temperature of 600-800 degrees Celsius. To

achieve the desired result, you have to do it several times. In 2005, in Chicago, MB

Financial Bank published a calendar with reproductions of the enamel paintings of

Oksana Teodorovych.

History tells us that the

Eastern Slavs produced various

ornaments with color and precious

metals. Golden tiaras, necklaces,

hryvnia necklaces, kolts (parts of a

headdress), and book casings

decorated with filigree cloisonné,

came to us from the epoch of

Kyivan Rus’. In the times of the

destruction of Kyiv by the Tatars

(1239-1240), metaloplastics

underwent irreparable damage.

Only after many centuries, in the

modern epoch, the technique of hot

enamel was revived in Europe; in particular, the term “art of fire” spread from France

(French “Groupe des arts du feu”). This is a very complicated form of art, which both

men and women can practice. The most important thing is to feel positive energy

which gives optimism for the future. The exhibition “Retrospective on the work of

Oksana Teodorovych” will be held from the 6th to the 29th of November in the

Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago. We invite admirers to the opening on Friday,

November 6th, at seven o’clock in the evening. With this exhibition we will add to the

history of the development of the art form of enamel in artistic Chicago and will

personally greet the artist.

10/08/2015

Author: Maria Klymchak, Chicago, the curator of the Ukrainian National

Museum. Special for “Time and Events”

Source: http://www.chasipodii.net/article/15939/

IN THE USA THIEVES REPLACED NINE PAINTINGS OF

ANDY WARHOL WITH FORGERIES

September 11, 2015

Nine paintings of Andy Warhol were stolen from the office of a cinema company in

Los Angeles and replaced with forgeries.

22 The stolen prints and stamps on silk, signed by Warhol, belonged to the series “Ten

portraits of Jews of the 20th century” and “The species which disappears” and cost

about $350,000.

The theft remained undetected for several years, because the paintings of Warhol

were replaced with forgeries.

The crime was detected only when one of the paintings was sent to change the frame.

The experts found that the image was blurred and the artist's signature was not on

it.

The police assume that at least one of the works was sold at auction.

Andy Warhol, who was born in the USA, in a family of migrants from Ukraine

(Lemkos), became famous in the 1960s; he became one of the key figures in the

history of the pop-art movement in modern art.

Source:

http://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/news_in_brief/2015/09/150911_ak_pictures_wa

rholl_fake

WHERE TO READ THE “OUR LEMKO” WEEKLY?

Source: http://diasporiana.org.ua/ukrainica/12058-dvotizhnevik-nash-lemko-

1934-1939-rokiv-vibrana-publitsistika/

23 THE PROPHECIES IN THE BOOK OF A TERNOPIL’ WRITER

FULFILLED

In Ternopil’, as it was already

reported by “Teren,” the

presentation of Mykola

Horbal’s book “Return”

occurred. With this novel our

countryman causes a 180-

degree change in many

people's world views, or at least

makes them think.

This is, first of all, about

atheists and religious fanatics.

The time in which events

happen in “Return” is post-

Soviet Ukraine, distorted with communist propaganda and clogged with KGB

collaborators and imperial agents. One of the main characters, the journalist Oleh,

receives a mystical task: to clear the land from filth with the light of truth.

In the novel there is another character – Father Valerij. Through him, the writer

transmits the prophesies of God’s providence to the readers. They are impressive if

we take into account the fact that the book was written before the Revolution of

Dignity. I quote: “Ukraine has become an epicenter of the clash of demonic forces

with God’s providence … God entrusted to Ukraine some universal mission of light.

What the current President of Ukraine (Yanukovych) does is definitely marked with

the seal of the Evil One, because the commandments of God 'Do not steal,' 'Do not

kill,' and 'Do not bear false witness' are violated. Judicial proceedings are

transformed into the obedient executive organs of the criminal President. The

criminal President appoints the general public prosecutor, and this prosecutor is his

owner's faithful dog. The Minister of Defense is an agent of Moscow, the head of the

Security Service is a Moscow KGB officer and the Minister of Education is a Kremlin

servant. In such circumstances the life of Ukrainians becomes unbearable.

…Ukrainians of God’s essence… cannot stand it for long. The people will rise. And we

will be the witnesses, when the millions of people come to the squares with prayers to

God. Obviously, the people’s need to clean the filth from the state will activate all of

the evil spirits against them. To frighten the people, the crowds of heartless

organisms, with the support of the authorities`, will do terrible things: kidnap the

activists of the resistance, torture and kill them, shoot at people. They will execute

Satan’s orders. The entire world, surprised and delighted, will observe the Ukrainian

uprising against the Evil One. And all the Russian worlds are demonic structures.”

The writer and political prisoner, Mykola Horbal’, during his communication, said

that Ukraine has already passed the time of repentance and redemption. Now the

next process of transformation is happening – the process of ablution. Ukraine is in

the epicenter of opposition to planetary evil. The next phase is God’s blessing.

24 By the way, the novel ends with the fact that all of those who ever migrated from

Ukraine (and these are millions of people) start returning to their homeland. If these

above-mentioned predictions have already come true, and some are being fulfilled

now, then there is hope that everything predicted by the author in his book will come

true as well. It gives peace and inspires optimism.

Valentyna Semeniak

Source:

http://teren.in.ua/article/prorotstva_u_knyzhtsi_ternopilskoho_pysmennyka_zd

iysnylysya

“RETURN” OF M. HORBAL IS KEY TO UKRAINIAN FUTURE

Recently I had the pleasure to

read a fascinating artistic-

documentary novel by Mykola

Horbal, a native of

Lemkivshchyna, a former

dissident and political

prisoner, later a politician,

and now a writer. In contrast

to his previous books, this is

not an autobiographical story.

This is an exciting story about

a group of young Kyivan

nonconformists, who have

been searching for their place

in a world which is deeply

imbued with sin.

The book, which has 358 pages (which is traditional for book publications in a B-5

format) and was published at the beginning of this year in the Kharkiv publishing

house “Human Rights,” is read from the first pages in one breath. Even such flaws (or

rather features of our times) as attempts to squeeze the maximum amount of text on

the minimum amount of pages, cannot stop it. This is not only my impression.

Accordingly, this book deserves the attention of those who are looking for the key to

the future of Ukraine.

The tension, inherent in detective stories, begins at the scene when a pretty girl, who

is wet through and barefoot, and who looked like an angel, was running along the

Andriivs’ky Descent during a hard rain. But “Return” by Mykola Horbal is not a

detective story. It is not a memoir either, as Oksana Zabuzhko wrote in a brief article

where she mentioned that lately she had to read many memoirs “for work,” among

which she referred to the novel “Return.”

25 To the category of memoirs belongs Mykola Horbal’s first book, “One of the Sixty”,

which was published in 2001. His second book, “Presentation of life,” can also be

partly called a memoir. And this book is a profound touchstone for reflections on the

cause and source of evil which prevails in the world now. It was given not in the form

of a philosophical treatise, which is usually boring for the reader, but as an artistic

canvas. In the dialogues the heroes, who are tired of a lack of spirituality, are looking

for their place in the Ukrainian world. Their conversations contain short excerpts

from documents, scientific and philosophical works. That is why I attribute Horbal’s

“Return” to the category of artistic and documentary novels.

In this book, the author mentions the name of the Russian writer-mystic and

philosopher Daniil Andreyev, who now is almost unknown in Ukraine. In Russia his

books started being published in 1991. He was the first who brought the term

“demon of great power” into Russian philosophical use! This term permeates the

novel “Return,” which shows that all sorts of Russian worlds are demonic ideas which

will be overcome by truth. To show that the demons of great power and the forces of

truth are not a figment of human imagination or an abstract philosophical concept,

but rather a part of human beings, Horbal mentions the Swedish scientist and

politician, Emanuel Swedenborg, who later became a mystic of the 18th century, with

his clairvoyance, with which he was able to see in dreams the evidences of the

existence of the soul.

The novel “Return” shows that at first glance the random people who gather for the

Kyivan actress Roksoliana (as it is written by the author) Lukashevych’s party

already had a specific role, often a very unexpected one, which was assigned to them

by Providence. As an example which confirms this view, the author writes about the

painter Petro Zabarylo. On the first pages of the novel he is shown as a cynical and

dismissive person for whom nothing is sacred. Cheating was his way of life. During

the last years of Soviet power, the district propagandist, pretending to be an

instructor of the District Committee of the Communist Party, forced the village

councils to buy his “heads” (Lenin busts). Under the influence of Roksoliana’s party,

however, this man becomes entirely different – he realizes that the Lord has given

people talents to serve their nation. And this is not only the author’s dream. Life

shows that the course of a person’s existence depends on the environment in which

he or she lives. But it is another thing whether small groups of nonconformists will

be able to change a world which has been destroyed for decades?

At first, the banal social gathering at Roksoliana’s eventually transformed into

regular, intellectual weekly meetings of the nonconformists, which attracted greater

and greater numbers of people. As we can see in the novel, the reason that the

meetings developed into an intellectual club was a dream of the Kyivan painter Vasyl’

Rozputenko; he had a dream in which his grandfather, a loyal follower of Stalin, had

a fatal heart attack. The attempt to understand whether this was just a coincidence,

or a sign from the world of souls, develops into a discussion among Roksoliana’s

society, and encapsulates a greater range of historical moral and spiritual problems.

Furthermore, the protagonist of the novel also had a strange dream which changed

her. In the dream, she saw her groom, Denys, who was killed by Russian jingoists.

26 He told her that in her life she would play a different role than she currently played

in the theater. According to his words, three rains are predicted for the Ukrainians.

The first, heavy rain of expiation is already over. The second one is going to come

soon – the rain of clearance from filth. And the third one will be the rain of the joy

and grace of God. The heroine reminds everybody about the third rain during the

entire novel. At first, this mysterious term was not very clear, not only to the reader,

but even to the heroine. However, the last chapter of the novel depicts an image of

Ukraine during the third rain.

The attempts to understand the meaning of the third rain and the words from the

dream “about the entirely different role” in preparing for this rain lead the members

of the society to the conclusion that they should align their lifestyles with those of the

great figures in their dedication to the service of Ukraine. All the company which

gathers at Roksoliana’s concurs that they want to emulate Metropolitan Andrey

Sheptytsky. Just like Metropolitan Andrey, at first, they all were indifferent to

Ukrainian affairs; they all came by different, often complicated roads, to sacrificial

service to Ukraine. This, in fact, also applies to the protagonist, Roksoliana, who

naively agreed to become a beautiful addition to the wealth of a mysterious

businessman (who was, in reality, a Russian spy). However, she did not have

happiness in a marriage in which she was assigned the role of an appendage and was

ordered not to interfere in affairs which were not her business. But, as her late groom

Denys said, she had to play an entirely different role…

There is a nuance in the novel, which, at first glance, may seem to have been

adjusted for the current situation. This is the prophecy of one of the main characters

of the novel, Fr. Valeriy Lukashevych, that the time will come when prayer will be

heard on the squares, and with the power of this prayer the criminals in power will

flee to godless Russia. We all were witnesses as this prayer sounded during the

Maidan of Dignity, especially, in its most dramatic moments; and as Yanukovych and

his henchmen fled to Russia. The author of “Return” assures that there are not any

substitutions here, because the book was finished before the start of the Maidan of

Dignity. Why more than a year was needed for this book to be published, is a

question which goes beyond this review…

It turns out that the story about the Fr. Valeriy’s prophecy concerning the prayer on

the squares and the flight of the thieves from the government to godless Russia is

based on a real fact. Although, in the novel, the author describes it as occurring

during the time of independence, it actually refers to the mid-1980s. During his

imprisonment for human rights activity, Mykola Horbal’s life path crossed with that

of a deeply religious man who was punished for his faith, because he openly spoke

out that evil would fall, and Ukraine would be free and cleansed with the rain of the

grace of God, and that the forces of evil would be overcome, because it is the

Providence of God. So, it is not surprising that the author reproduces for the reader

many of these prophetic thoughts (the prayer on the squares and the flight of the

authorities are only two of them), which were heard in prison, as historical and moral

precepts of Fr. Vasyl’.

27 Mykola Horbal ends the novel with a chapter from the not too distant future. With

the collapse of Russia, all the threats hanging over the world will recede into the past.

Ukraine will rise from her decay; many of those who in their time left Ukraine will try

to return. Hence, the title of the novel, “Return,” for which the Minister Liana

Rozputenko (Roksoliana Lukashevych) is responsible.

A lot of people, based on current realities, can say that this is fiction. In the

announcement of the book, the author wrote: “The prophecies of the Providence of

God give the author a reason to finish the novel optimistically.” After all, if we use the

law of God as the basis of earthly law, then that which seems to be fiction can

become reality in the nearest future.

The book has two illustrative storylines. The events of both stories occur in one of the

district centers of Kharkiv. The first one is in the mid-1980s. A Ukrainian teacher has

done everything to educate students to hate the Ukrainian language, demonstrating

to the students its “second-class status”, “artificial status” and “uselessness” in life.

Her successor, the daughter of a Kharkiv scholar who had to flee to Leningrad before

the repressions, radically changes the situation with her work, faith and love. Those

who made the most fun of the language eventually become its greatest defenders.

However, this story ends tragically. The punitive machine of Russian jingoism

brutally kills first the teacher, and later – her most consistent student.

The second story, which shows that faith and love can work wonders, concerns the

construction of a church. In the same town which was the subject of the preceding

paragraph, at the turn of the century, the people were able to mobilize; they built a

new church and protected Father Valeriy, though at first glance it seemed that the

initiative had no chance for success, because both the church and political power

there were non-Ukrainian.

Since it is presently a very easy and quick matter to label people as “traitors,” I would

like to address this question, too, because it is raised in the novel “Return.” The hero

of the novel, Father Valeriy, who graduated from the Leningrad Theological Academy,

is the son of a Greek Catholic priest from Galicia, whose spirit was broken and forced

by the authorities to associate with the official Russian Church. Valeriy often faced a

dilemma as to whether his father was a traitor. He never found the answer to this

question. The author of the novel shows that without his father’s “betrayal” Fr.

Valeriy could not have done that which he subsequently had to do. He revived the

Ukrainian Church and language in a very difficult environment. He looked for ways to

unite the Churches. By the example of Fr. Valeriy’s faith, the author shows us how

astonishing can be the paths along which the Lord leads a man.

The novel of Mykola Horbal “Return” is closely related to his previous novel

“Presentation of Life”. Those who had an opportunity to read it will have a fuller

picture of the era about which the author writes. Especially in the stories which

illustrate the subversive activity of KGB agents who, from the first day of the

proclamation of the Independence of Ukraine, acted under the guise of “Ukrainian

businessmen.” Father Valeriy, his daughter, the actress Roksoliana Lukashevych and

the Russian spy Vladimir are the main characters of both books. Vladimir, posing as

28 a patron of the arts, is assigned the task to spy, or rather overhear, Ukrainian

intellectual conversations. How he does it and when he is exposed is one of the

intrigues of the book “Return.”

In conclusion I want to say that now there are a lot of books in the book stalls.

Unfortunately, some of these books cannot even be one-third read, because they have

neither a light thought, nor do they describe a path forward for modern humankind.

These are books such that you have to force yourself to read through to the end.

Reading Mykola Horbal’s novel “Return,” I also had to force myself… to take a break

for lunch and dinner. The book shows not only the sources and the nature of evil,

but also a deep belief that it can be defeated. I responsibly declare: those who will

begin reading this novel will have a unique intellectual and moral pleasure, and will

better understand from where these “Russian worlds” come from…

Myroslav Levyts’ky

Source: http://litforum.com.ua/index.php?r=18&a=6920

PLUNGE INTO THE POETIC WORLD OF OUR COUNTRYMAN

“Since that time a lot of water has flowed in the river of time. Roman Varkhol

became a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, the author of 40

digests of poetry and the laureate of the prestigious Panteleimon Kulish and Markian

Shashkevych awards… 2015 can be considered as a productive year for him, too.

Earlier this year his book of poems “Sea of Rus’” was published, which was warmly

received by the magazines “Golden Pectoral” and “Bukovyna Journal” and one of the

sites. And now “Children of Cyrillic” came to the readers…”

Recently I received in the mail a peculiar greeting from my friend from student

years; it was a book of poems “Children of Cyrillic” by Roman Verkhola from Zymna

Voda near L’viv. And right away my memory flew back to the fall in distant 1957,

when we first met at one of the meetings of the literary studio “Franko’s Smithy” in

L’viv University. He was then a sophomore of philology, and the author of these lines

was beginning to study journalism. It seems that from the first communication we

found a common language. And not only because at that time we both were young.

We had a common place of birth, too, because we considered ourselves natives of

Ternopil’ oblast. (Roman was born in the Chortkiv region in a family of natives of

Lemkivshchyna, and I – in the Zboriv region.)

And also we were both captivated by a thirst for knowledge of the poetic

universe. His first poetical book “Mosaic,” which came to readers in the totalitarian

era, demonstrated that. Incidentally, it showed the author’s concern for poetic

miniature and Lemko motifs, which were noticed by literary critics.

Since that time a lot of water has flowed in the river of time. Roman Verkhola

became a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, the author of 40

digests of poetry and the laureate of the prestigious Panteleimon Kulish and Markian

29 Shashkevych awards… 2015 can be considered as a productive year for him, too.

Earlier this year his book of poems “Sea of Rus’” was published, which was warmly

received by the magazines “Golden Pectoral” and “Bukovyna Journal” and one of the

sites. And now “Children of Cyrillic” has come to readers.

It would be reasonable to demonstrate the considerations underlying this

publication in two commonplace remarks. As to the first one, I will remark as follows.

“Sea of Rus” as well as “Singing Bird in the Tree of Thoughts” and “Scribe of the

Great Hors” show that the author tends to describe the princely epoch and the

Cossack era. I will recall that in her time Oksana Liaturyns’ka, who is also a native of

Ternopil’ oblast, devoted her work to this theme, too. Perhaps there is some

commonality in their coverage of this subject. At least, it may seem so when we

compare the texts. But this is not the point. Speaking about our countryman’s poetry

on this subject, we can affirm, based on an analysis of achievements of his modern

versification, that Roman Verkhola certainly found his true self through constantly

digging into the given subject. And it may seem that with this background the

author should not dive into other poetic worlds. You must agree that there is a

certain logic here. But our countryman, remaining true to himself, tried his hand at

other subjects and convinced everybody with his logical mixture of the ancient and

modern. It is a strange symbiosis, isn’t it? I do not deny that there is some generality

in these thoughts. But is it a problem? It should be! Certainly! But along with it

should be at least a little something that is concrete.

Thus, the book “Children of Cyrillic” begins with the chapter “Legend of the

Danube Sich.” It is a kind of homage to the memory of Lemkivshchyna. Such

thoughts arise when you read only the first verse “Perhaps, I am the Last Lemko

Poet.” The phrases “grey stones” and “nest of wasteland” here strike the reader. I bet

that your heart will begin to beat faster when you stumble on the phrase

“Grandfather’s spirit will tell us this.” Let us do some simple arithmetic. The section

has 195 works. And all of them express the poet’s longing for his lost homeland as a

result of unfair historical cataclysms, because every moment the reader stumbles

across lines such as “voice and bird are halfway frozen,” “the moon will bloom as a

silver tulip,” “the stars serve the enamored mountains” etc. Thank God, we could

continue this list, because there are plenty of them here. But I think that the story

about this chapter would be incomplete without mentioning one concept from the

poem “Antonych.” These lines strike: “the wind leaned as an old man leans on a

stick,” “the morning is as fine as a Lemko in a straw hat,” “the guilty look of a song,”

“young foxes momentarily turn into fireflies.” As we can see, the work does not lose

its charm and originality despite its background in the famous poems by Roman

Lubkivs’ky, Ihor Kalynets, Mykola Petrenko, Pavlo Hirnyk, Mykhaylo Levyts’ky and

other authors of poems about Antonych.

Why am I talking about all of this? I think that the aforesaid is another

reiteration of the importance to strive for that which is native. The Lemko

interpretations of Roman Verkhola would not be so fascinating if the author had not

written the poems about his Podillia roots. This is what I thought when I saw the

chapter “Podillia Elegies.” It consists of 56 works. “I will give a memory to my soul to

30 drink,” "I transport my sadness, I transport my joy from the right bank to the left,”

“grey millstones are tired of grinding the harvest of the years…” It should be noticed

that the “Podillia Elegies” are unique because they contain the theme of the grief of

the Lemko who is forced to live in Podillia. This charm can be seen from the poems,

“My Parents are from the Lemko Carpathians” and “To the country of childhood

memories.”

The third chapter of the book, “On the Black Horse” is notable. If the first two poems

are written in the modern Ukrainian literary language, this one contains the Lemko dialect.

Is it originality? We can say so, certainly, together with the fact that this dialect is not very

widespread in literature. Let us recall that Bohdan-Ihor Antonych (of Lemko origin) wrote in

the Ukrainian literary language, though he knew the Lemko dialect very well. With the

benefit of hindsight we have reason to affirm that he did this to try to prove that Lemkos

belong to the Ukrainian nation. Today we have a radically different situation: we sincerely

welcome every attempt to use dialects, considering this as a step towards self-identity.

Clearly, this idea can be developed further. But let us not speak in a circumlocutory manner

about obvious things regarding this subject. Moreover, this is a very interesting moment. We

have received an opportunity to think about the importance of dialects in the modern

Ukrainian literary process. But now we should leave aside theoretical thoughts and instead

appeal to examples. For some reason the names of Vasyl’ Shkurhan and Petro Midianka

came to mind, each of whom is self-sufficient. If the poems of the first one (perhaps even all

of them) are written in the Hutsul dialect, then the second poet remains true to the literary

language, though he often uses the dialect of Zakarpattia in his poems, which gives his

rhymes a unique charm. And Roman Varkhol against this ground is special, because he has

shown that in his poetry he can masterfully manage both the literary language and the

dialect. In my opinion, the idea of that this method is organic to the structure of this author's

poems seems expedient. Frankly speaking, nothing else comes to mind when I read the

poems “Letter,” “Hey, Olena, Olena” and “Conversation.” The miniatures from this chapter

charm the reader. But I also have some suggestive remarks after engaging with this chapter.

The dialecticisms in the poetic language will be surely understood in western Ukraine, where

Lemkos and people from Lemko families remain, who in their time were forcedly resettled

from their native land. But still it would be good to put in the book a small glossary of these

infrequent words for readers from Western Ukraine. And it is needless to say that this should

be done for the sake of enthusiasts of this poetry from other regions.

…A new book by the poet. It is interesting. It is authentic. And shows that the author

puts his heart and soul into his poems. And we believe that we will have an opportunity to

be certain of this many more times. In his new books. Isn’t it his calling?

Ihor Faryna, a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, the town of

Shums’k http://zolotapektoral.te.ua/zanuryujmosya-v-poetychnyj-svit-krayanyna.html

31 EVENTS.HISTORY,LIFE.

THREE WAVES OF LEMKO MIGRATION TO SERBIA AND

CROATIA. PART 1

The natives of the Lower Beskid region (in Eastern Slovakia and Southern

Poland), who since the 18th century began to settle in Bachka, which is now in

Serbia, and in Srima, which now belongs to Croatia, also must be considered as

Lemkos. After the expulsion of the Turks from the southern borders of Austria-

Hungary in 1718, the Viennese court decided to settle these abandoned regions, to

strengthen them not only economically, but also politically.

The resettlement of Ruthenians (Ukrainians) to the East began already in the

1730s along the Tisza River. In the town of Mako the Ruthenians founded a church

organization already in 1728. The chronicles say that the people moved here from

Hajdúdorog, Szabolcs and Zemplén counties. In the course of time, however, these

settlers, spread in many villages among the Magyars, quite quickly assimilated.

Princess Maria Theresa provided the main impetus for the colonization of the

abandoned lands in southern Austria-Hungary. In the mid-18th century, according to

a program developed by the Viennese court, a certain number of free peasant families

(not serfs) who were Greek Catholic Ruthenians received an opportunity to settle in

the empty villages of Velyky Kerestur and Kotsur in Bachka (Vojvodina). These

settlers were from Zakarpattia oblast (now Ukraine), from southern Lemkivshchyna

and from the village of Múcsony, which is near Miskolc in northeastern Hungary.

The greatest number of people from the lands of Lemkivshchyna, on both sides

of the Beskids, who moved to the southern borders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire –

to Vojvodina in Serbia and Srima in Croatia, did so during the second wave – in

1848-1880. According to M. Zhyrosh, a researcher of the history of the Ruthenians of

former Yugoslavia, these migrants came from such villages in the Šarišská region as

Malcov, Kurov, Livov, Kružlov, Lukov, Bogliarka, Krivé, Snakov, Lucina, Ruská Voľa,

Petrová, Gerlachov and others.

The third wave of the migration of Ruthenians (Ukrainians) to the South took

place in 1890-1914 from the regions of northern Lemkivshchyna and from Galicia in

general. They settled in Srima, Slavonija, which is in Croatia and in Bosnia. The

settlers were from the villages of Leluchów, Męcina Wielka, Bartne, Myscowa,

Krempna, Pielgrzymka, Małastów, Muszynka, Bednarka, Klimkówka, Uście Gorlickie

and others. It was the first time in history when a population migrated from

Lemkivshchyna. We should add to this that the Ruthenians on the southern borders

of Austria-Hungary preserved their Ruthenian-Ukrainian national consciousness and

their Greek Catholic religion. They even now proudly recognize the heritage of their

ancestors in the Carpathians and the common origin of all Ruthenians – from the

territory of modern Ukraine. However, among the settlers in Serbia and Croatia the

name “Lemkos” did not develop. This is understandable, because even among the

Ruthenian population throughout Lemkivshchyna the name “Lemkos” was first

32 mentioned only in 1831 and was accepted reluctantly at first. It was established only

in the early 20th century and then mainly in Poland. Instead, the Ruthenian-

Ukrainian population of Slovakia did not take this name and remained true to the

initial name – Ruthenians/Rusyns.

Author: Ivan Hvat’

Source: Hvat’, I. Historical development of Lemkivshchyna until 1918, Scientific

Digest of the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidnik, Issue No. 27.

History and culture of Lemkivshchyna, editor in chief and compiler M.

Sopolyha. – Svidnik, 2013. – pages 59-60

THE ROBBER MOVEMENT IN LEMKIVSHCHYNA

One of the forms of the peasants' struggle against the growing exploitation by the

owners of manors and estates was the spontaneous rioting by the enslaved peasants,

their escape from the feudal lords (szlachta) and the robber movement - the movement

of the "opryshky."

We have information about the robber movement in Lemkivshchyna on both

sides of the Beskids from the first half of the 15th century. The Polish researcher K.

Peradzka cites a document from 1413, which speaks not only about the obligation to

defend from Tatar invasions, but also from latrones Beskidenses in montibus

Carpathicis (robbers of the Beskids from the Carpathian Mountains). However, we

cannot conclude from this that she was writing about an organized movement. More

likely, it was the case that these were predatory attacks of groups of the Czech

Taborites (the United Brethren), who settled in Slovakia. They fought against the

Hungarian landowners, the Catholic Church and German patricians from the cities.

In the mid-15th century the scattered and demoralized Brethren established

independent bands which were engaged in robbery in Lemkivshchyna.

Rather, according to the sources, the movement of the “opryshky” in the

Beskids started growing in the middle of the 15th century and gathered momentum at

the end of that century. The Ukrainian historian B. Barvins’ky, who is cited by O.

Stavrovs’ky, writes that in the Sanok mountains the robbers (he calls them the

“beskydnyky” of the Beskid Mountains) appeared in 1452. There is a reference from

1456 about gangs of robbers in the neighborhood of the Castles of Kamenice near

Sabinov and Plavcha near Stará Ľubovňa.

The robber movement or the movement of the Carpathian opryshky particularly intensified at the end of the 15th century. According to historians, a big impetus for

its escalation in the Carpathians was a peasant uprising, led by Mukha in Galician Pokyttia in 1490-1492, in which about 10,000 peasants participated. After the bloody

suppression of this rebellion, gangs of robbers began to function throughout the

33 territory of the Galician-Polish-Hungarian border. Most robbers were of local origin – from the Makovytsk, Humenné and Stropkov areas on the Hungarian side, and in the North –peasants from the Sanok and Przemyśl areas. There were Orthodox priests

among them. This was due to their socio-legal condition which did not differ from that of the dependent peasants. Overall, the national structure of the robber units was very diverse.

In the historical literature there is a "Threatening letter from the opryshky to the town of Bardejov” dated July 25, 1493. The authorship of the letter is ascribed to

the leader of the opryshky, Fedir Holovaty (in Latin sources Fedur Hlawathi, Fedor Hlavati or Hlavata), who was born in the village of Ruská Volová (now in Snina district of the Prešov region.) His group of robbers, numbering 50 members, operated

throughout Lemkivshchyna. With this letter, Holovaty declared vengeance for the death of his brother Vasyl’, who was executed, probably in Bardejov.

The letter, as Mykola Mushynka demonstrates, is an artifact of the Ukrainian

language and an important document of Ruthenian customary law. In short, the

letter has the following form: “You are evil and unjust, people of Bardejov, you

permitted our brothers to hang, good and innocent people, who did not do any harm

to you or anyone else. If you do not put 400 golden coins in the Monastery … near

Krakow or… in Lechnica, then … we will avenge them… The letter is from the

mountains, on the Day of St. Jacub.” The Day of St. Jacub (Jacob) is on July 25th.

Among other famous robbers we can find the names of Vasyl’ Pitrovs’ky, Vasyl’

Chepets, Vasyl’ Bayus, Marko Hatal and in particular, Andriy Savka, a native of the

village of Stebnik near Bardejov.

Already in the 1690s, the Polish szlachta required the founding of a joint

commission with the Hungarians to resolve the disputes and armed attacks on the

territory of the Polish-Hungarian border; however, the activity of this commission did

not have any success.

The movement of the “opryshky” grew considerably during the 16th and the

17th centuries and received support from the peasants of Lemkivshchyna. In the first

half of the 17th century, the robber band of Sypko from Męcina Wielka, near Gorlice,

was popular around the Polish-Hungarian border. In 1635-1648, in Lemkivshchyna

the band of Vasyl’ Bayus from Leszczyny was well-known. Ivan Krasovs’ky,

Lemkivshchyna researcher, writes that when in Muszyna V. Pitrovs’ky and his son

Ivan were condemned as members of the Bayus’ band, the defendants admitted that

“the robbers threaten to burn Muszyna – the place where their brethren were harshly

treated.” In mid-1648 the robbers committed two attacks on the Nowotaniec and

Sanok Castles. In both cases, a lot of inhabitants from the surrounding villages took

part together with the robbers.

In the 16th century, correspondence between the Polish border towns became

more frequent, in particular between Sanok and Bardejov, the purpose of which was

to rectify the growing armed attacks of the robbers on the estates of the szlachta. The

collections of materials, called Regestr zloczyncow grodu Sanockiego 1554-1638,

Cirna kniha mesta Levoce or, for instance, “Kronika” of the town of Sabinov, contain

rich material on the robberies in the territory of Lemkivshchyna. These records show

34 that the majority of the accused robbers came from Šariš, Szepes and partly Zemplén

counties. These materials contain requests and petitions for the prosecution and

punishment of the guilty peasants and reports of interrogations of robbers who were

caught. The Polish documents show that the Polish citizens who chose the path of

robbery came from different villages in Lemkivshchyna and Pidhallia. The robberies

on the territory of the Polish-Hungarian border stopped at the end of the 18th

century. This was also the time of the first partition of Poland (1772).

If the sources of that time (Polish and Hungarian) and, thus, the researchers of

the 19th century interpreted robbery as the activity of ordinary criminal gangs, then

the historians of the second half of the 20th century, who were forced to adhere to

the canons of Marxist-Leninist ideology, idealized the robberies to some extent and

showed them as a manifestation of class struggle. But the truth is somewhere in the

middle. Perhaps Yulian Tselevych, a Ukrainian ethnographer and historian of the

second half of the 19th century, approached it the most closely; O. Stavrovs’ky writes

that Tselevych distinguished between idealistic and predatory robbery. He considered

that the main reason for the rise of robbery was serfdom and exploitation by the

managers, podstarości and feudal lords, and also misfortune – the hunger and

captivity of the peasant masses. The robbery had an apparent social character, but at

the same time, it often was simple thievery.

In 1557, in the Sanok Court the Orthodox priest, Roman from Karlików,

testified about a band which contained 24 people, including three Orthodox priests,

including himself. They robbed the “cerkiew ruska” (Ruthenian Church) in

Nowosielce (Sanok region) and brought the stolen loot to an Orthodox priest in the

village of Svetlice. According to O. Stavrovs’ky, there were more of these cases. In

fact, they show the typical criminal actions of some of the robber bands.

The history of the robber (opryshky) movement demonstrates the sense of

social solidarity among its participants in the Carpathians. Among other things, their

bands were united by a common language and belonging to the Ruthenian

(Urkainian) people. In addition to social enslavement, a religious factor also played a

significant role – the long and sometimes rough oppressions of the believers of the

Eastern rite. In the territory of Lemkivshchyna there was a national enslavement of

the Ruthenian Orthodox people, and then (after the Uzhhorod Union of 1646) – of the

Greek Catholic religion. The Polish historian A. Kersten noticed that the complaints

of the Polish szlachta often contain the mention of the fact that the peasants who

rebelled belonged to the “Greek religion” or that they were against the people of the

“Catholic religion.”

Author: Ivan Hvat’

Source: Hvat’, I. Historical development of Lemkivshchyna until 1918, Scientific

Digest of the Museum of Ukrainian Culture in Svidnik, Issue No. 27.

History and culture of Lemkivshchyna, editor in chief and compiler M.

Sopolyha. – Svidnik, 2013. – pages 71-73

35 ADVERTISEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church: The Parish of the Protection of the Most Blessed Theotokos,

Second Festival, "The feast of the Protection," Sunday, October 18, 2015, 3:00, 36 Shchyrets'ka street, L'viv

36

THE EXHIBITION OF THE WORKS OF NIICHOLAS

BERVINCHAK IS OPEN TILL NOVEMBER 6!

For all interested – the Lemko art exhibition, “From Black Diamonds to Church Art: Unusual Work of the Coal

Region” of the work of the realist Nicholas Bervinchak.

Where: The Ukrainian Museum and Library in Stamford

161 Glenbrook Rd, Stamford, CT 06902 Time: Wednesday – Friday from 13:00 to 17:00. Free entrance.

Nicholas Bervinchak was born in northeastern Pennsylvania (the coal region) in a family of migrants

from the Lemko village Rzepedź. He was a miner who became an artist, and his works were exhibited all over the world, including the Whitney Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution and the White House.

The exhibition is organized by the Lemko Museum and the guest curator Michael Buryk in coordination with the Lemko Research Foundation, the Ukrainian Museum and Library in Stamford, the Ukrainian Museum in New York and the Ukrainian Historical and Educational Center of New Jersey.

For additional information contact Diana Howansky-Reilly at diana_reilly@hotmail.com or 347-992-9038.

On October 22, at 5:00 - Nikifor from Krynica - Epifaniy Drovniak, Dedicated to the 120th anniversary of his birth, with the participation of Father Ivan Pipka from Krynica (Poland), Volodymyr Tymets, Roman Varkhol, Natalia Kuhar, and others. Religious History Museum, 1 Muzeyna Square, L'viv. Free Admission. Organizer “Etra – Public Association of Natalka Krynychanka, ” Petro Kohut Club of the patriots of Lemkivshchyna,” telephone 097 323 11 93

37

The Third Chapter of the Organization for the Defense of Lemkivshchyna in Passaic, New Jersey invites you to The Fall Zabava on November 14, 2015, at 9 p.m., in the Ukrainian Center, 240 Hope Ave., Passaic, New Jersey, Entrance $25, (Includes sandwiches, coffee and sweets)