Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko Society in the Socio-Political Life of Kharkiv

The article discovers the circumstances of creation and activity of Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko Society in Kharkiv in 1912–1916. The article analyzes the political situation in Kharkiv before the WWI and the Revolution. It stresses the meaning of the Society in the formation of national consciousness and crystallization of views of those who supported the direction of Ukrainian independent political movement. The documents of the Gendarmerie and the Department for Protecting the Public Security and Order (Okhranka), which are kept in the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, have been used for writing the article. This paper discloses first events organized by the Society. In particular, there was an attempt of creating the Ukrainian theatre in Kharkiv, which was not realized due to the lack of resources. Before the WWI, the Society worked as a literary and art club, organized musical, dance, and literary evenings. The role of Mykola Mikhnovskyi and Hnat Khotkevych for development of the Society was huge. With the beginning of WWI, the Society’s members manifested their pro-Ukrainian position more often. In 1915, the most politically active youth of the town, which was united by the Ukrainian Student Community (Hromada), joined the Society. At this time, the Society became the place to present lections in Ukrainian history, exchange the experience about the organization of Ukrainian school and cultural life with people from Galicia. The meetings were dedicated not only to literature and art but also to the question of the political future of Ukrainians. This was obvious also for the police of tsarist Russia. They organized searches and arrests of Ukrainian activists in Kharkiv at 22 January 1916. Among the prosecuted were also the members of the Association. Hnat Khotkevych, one of the prominent figures of Society, was expelledoutside the Ukrainian lands. Despite the persecution, the Society continued its activity till 1916. However, the actions of its members increasingly radicalized. After the explosion of the February Revolution, political issues came to the forefront of the agenda. However, the importance of the Society for the development of the Ukrainian movement in Kharkiv before the Revolution cannot be overestimated. The article attachment contains a document in which officials of the Kharkiv Provincial Gendarme Department commented on the development of the Ukrainian movement in Kharkiv in 1912.