STANDING FOR «THE UKRAINIAN SCHOOL»: VOLHYNIAN AMBASSADORS AND SENATORS IN DEFENCE OF UKRAINIAN SCHOOLING (1930s)

The article examines the educational activities of Volhynian parliamentarians aimed at protecting Ukrainian-language schooling in the 1930s. It is proved that the activities of Volhynian ambassadors on educational issues were conditioned by the difficult situation of Ukrainian-language schooling with regard to the language of instruction, high illiteracy rate, and the lack of Ukrainian schools. For the first time, archival documents and interwar periodicals were introduced into scientific circulation, which made it possible to analyse the main demands for the development of education of moderate Ukrainian ambassadors and senators from the Volynia Voivodeship and to trace the reaction of the Polish administration. It is found that the Volhynian parliamentarians of the III–V cadences elected in the 1930s were largely influenced by the political situation in the Voivodeship, in particular, by the «Volhynian Programme» of Henryk Józewski. The author analyses the political views of Volhynian ambassadors and senators, substantiates their practical actions, including memoranda, inquiries, and appeals on educational issues. The parliamentarians, representing Volhynia systematically emphasised the need to repeal the law of 31 July 1924, known as the «Grabski Law», to increase the number of primary schools in Volhynia, to ensure the right of Ukrainian children to study in their native language, to improve the financial situation of Ukrainian private gymnasiums and their maintenance, and to ensure the rights of Ukrainian teachers. It is stated that despite the systematic actualisation of educational problems by Volhynian parliamentarians, the attack on Ukrainian education in the Second Polish Republic had a governmental character, intended to integrate Volhynia into the Polish state and lasted throughout the interwar period. Despite the governmentʼs pressure on Ukrainian education, moderate-minded parliamentarians did not question the idea of Polish-Ukrainian coexistence. It is found that all attempts to legitimately defend the educational rights of Ukrainians in the context of Polish discriminatory policy remained unrealised, although the work of teachers in private Ukrainian gymnasiums and the socio-political situation in the region led to the emergence of a young generation of Ukrainians who were determined to radically address the national issue in Poland.