Menu Close
Center for Urban History
6 Bohomoltsia Str. Lviv 79005, Ukraine

Ruthenian assemblies (viche)

Many of the mass events held by Ukrainians in Lviv during the period of autonomy were called viche (assembly). It was a kind of response to the numerous Polish demonstrations and historical celebrations. A viche could also be called to mark a historical date. For example, the First National Ruthenian Viche was organized on the anniversary of Emperor Joseph II, the "Liberator of Ruthenia," in 1880. There were also annual viches dedicated to the anniversaries of the abolition of corvee labor — the so-called freedom celebrations. The Polish administration blocked them as undesirable events, because they discussed "liberation from Polish slavery." While the Ukrainians criticized the Poles for "fictitious anniversaries," the Poles denounced the Ruthenian demonstrations as ideological indoctrination of ill-informed peasants.

This criticism was based on the fact that the idea of a viche at that time implied a certain form of behavior. In particular, there were supposed to be "delegates" authorized by someone to vote, as well as "speakers" and thus some kind of discussion or debate. Obviously, in conditions where several thousand people gathered at a viche, it is difficult to imagine dialogue or voting.

>>> Read more

facebook icon twitter icon email icon telegram icon link icon whatsapp icon
post picture

Ruthenian Viches: Ukrainian Demonstrations

 Many of the mass events held by Ukrainians in Lviv during the period of autonomy were called viche (assembly). It was a kind of response to the numerous Polish demonstrations and historical celebrations.
post picture

First National Ruthenian Viche (1880)

 In 1880 an event took place that became the first step in the process of transforming Lviv into the "capital of the Ukrainian movement" in Galicia. The Ruthenians began their All-National Viche dedicated to the centenary of the reign of Emperor Joseph II on the same day that the Poles celebrated the 50th anniversary of the November Uprising.
post picture

Second National Ruthenian Viche (1883)

 The main task set by the organizers was to demonstrate mass popular support for Ruthenian politicians despite their recent defeat in the elections. The essence of the 1883 assembly was to demonstrate the power of the Ruthenian political movement.
post picture

Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the abolition of corvee labour held in Lviv (1898)

 The anniversary of the "liberation of the peasantry", which was marked by a celebration in the capital of the crown province, was a confirmation of the status of Lviv both as a place where public policy was made and as a symbolic city for which national projects competed. The large-scale character of the "Ruthenian action" was, as usual, to be provided by peasants from throughout the province.
post picture

Honoring Ukrainian "poet-prophets"

 As in the case of the Polish poet-prophets, the Ukrainians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries began to actively form their "national pantheon". And as with the Poles, there was a conflict in the Ukrainian environment between the secular intelligentsia and the Catholic Church.
post picture

Shevchenko's Sokil's Rally (1914)

 On June 28, 1914, a large-scale celebration of the 100th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth, known as “Shevchenko's Rally,” took place in Lviv. According to the organizers' plan, this event was supposed to demonstrate the organizational and physical readiness of Ukrainians in Galicia for the upcoming war against the backdrop of growing Ukrainian-Polish tensions.