Unknown manuscript of the history of Zorya branch in Drohobych: text of the source and context of events

Abstract

Introduction. Among researchers of the institutional component of the Ukrainian socio-economic movement in Habsburg Galicia of the autonomous era, the belief in the importance of paying attention to the provincial aspect of the problem is growing. It is necessary to study the central Lviv centres and their branches, which appeared in the towns and villages of the region and were often the first manifestations of organized Ukrainian life in the province. At the same time, it is right to point out the most significant difficulty in implementing such a task: the modesty of the source base. Therefore, we want to draw attention to the document circulation of Galician socio-economic institutions deposited in the archives of the Western Ukrainian region, which often contains little-known materials about the activities of provincial centres and, more importantly, sometimes unique first attempts to write their stories.

To this end, we publish a manuscript history of the branch of the Society of Ruthenian Craftsmen and Industrialists “Zorya” in Drohobych, which was deposited in the fund of this institution in the State Archives of Lviv region. The purpose of the article is to introduce into scientific circulation the manuscript history of the Drohobych branch of the Society of Ruthenian Craftsmen and Industrialists “Zorya”.

Results. According to the above material, the Drohobych branch of Zorya, becoming the first Ukrainian society in the foothills of the Carpathians, soon became the leading moderator of the social and cultural life of Ukrainians in the city. Initiating numerous cultural and educational events, the Drohobych Zorya launched various activities, which united previously disparate Ukrainian forces. Their solidary cultural work to benefit local Ukrainians contributed to the significant strengthening of national life in Drohobych, once almost entirely dominated by Polish and Jewish cultural influences. Such a symbolic mastery of urban space had a significant mobilizing effect on the Ukrainian community of the city. Therefore, studying the activities of regional branches of other Ukrainian economic institutions should become an essential task for modern researchers.

Conclusion. The study showed the importance of working on the archival collections of Galician public institutions to find materials to reconstruct the peculiarities of economic life in the province. The study will help recreate a broad panorama of Ukrainian economic life, taking all its local variations into account.