"From the Sejm and the Senate": parliamentary activities of the "Selianskyi Soyuz"("The Peasants’ Union") of 1924-1925 on the pages of the newspaper "Nashe Zhyttia"("Our Life")

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"From the Sejm and the Senate": parliamentary activities of the "Selianskyi Soyuz"("The Peasants' Union") of 1924-1925 on the pages of the newspaper "Nashe Zhyttia"("Our Life")

Tetiana Bortnik

Applicant of Department of Contemporary History ofI. Krypiakevych Institute of Ukrainian Studies of the National Academy Sciences of Ukraine, 4 Kozelnytska Street, Lviv, Ukraine

Yuliia Artymyshyn

PhD (History), Junior research fellow of Department of Contemporary History of I. Krypiakevych Institute of Ukrainian Studies of the National Academy Sciences of Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the study. To analyze comprehensively the parliamentary activities of the Ukrainian Socialist Association "Selianskyi Soyuz” ("The Peasants' Union”) in 1924 - 1925, to identify the key areas of activity, relations with other Ukrainian parties that were the part of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Representation during this period. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, the use of general scientific (generalization, typology) and special scientific research methods, in particular comparative and historical, historical and systemic, critical analysis of sources. The Scientific Novelty of the Research. On the basis of a comprehensive study of the newspaper "Nashe Zhyttia” ("Our Life”), all aspects of the political activity of the association "Selsoyuz” have been traced fully. These aspects include the activities of the "Selsoyuz" group as the part of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Representation, interaction during parliamentary sessions with other parties, organization of congresses at local places, reporting to voters (the so-called "reporting chambers") in Kholmshchyna (Chelm land), Pidliashia (in Polish - Podlasie), Volhynia and Polissia.

Based on the studied materials of the press and historiography, the authors came to the conclusions. During the period of 1924 - 1925 "Selianskyi Soyuz", despite criticism and ideological differences within the Ukrainian Club, supported a number of constructive appeals and amendments to bills initiated by the UNDO activists. During this short period of time, the Ukrainian parties consolidated against the introduction of the utraquist school system, and for the implementation of a number of comments on draft laws on parcelling, land reform, which aimed at providing the Ukrainian landless peasants with allotments free of charge, orfor a reasonable payment. Comprehensively, these measures were aimed at solving urgent problems of the Ukrainian community, as well as to resist the polonization of the territories mentioned above.

Key words: Ukrainian Socialist Association "Selianskyi Soyuz", Ukrainian Parliamentary Representation, UNDO, Pavlo Vasynchuk, Serhiy Kozytsky, Maksym Chuchmai.

Анотація

“З СОЙМУ ТА СЕНАТУ”: ПАРЛАМЕНТСЬКА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ “СЕЛЯНСЬКОГО СОЮЗУ” 1924 - 1925 рр. НА СТОРІНКАХ ГАЗЕТИ “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”

Тетяна БОРТНІК

здобувачка відділу новітньої історії Інституту українознавства імені Івана Крип'якевича Національної академії наук України

Юлія АРТИМИШИН

кандидат історичних наук, молодший науковий співробітник відділу новітньої історії Інституту українознавства імені Івана Крип'якевича Національної академії наук України

Мета дослідження. Цілісно проаналізувати парламентську діяльність Українського соціалістичного об'єднання "Селянський союз" у 1924 - 1925 рр., виокремити ключові напрями роботи, відносини з іншими українськими партіями, що входили до складу Української парламентської репрезентації у зазначений період. Методологія дослідження базується на принципах історизму, застосуванні загальнонаукових (узагальнення, типологізація) та спеціально-наукових методів дослідження, зокрема, порівняльно-історичного, історико- системного, критичного аналізу джерел. Наукова новизна. На основі комплексного вивчення часопису "Наше життя" цілісно прослідковано ключові ланки політичної діяльності об'єднання "Селянський союз". Це, зокрема діяльність групи "Сельсоюз" як частини Української парламентської репрезентації, взаємодія під час парламентських засідань з іншими партіями, організація з'їздів на місцях, звітування перед виборцями (так звані "справоздавчі віча") на теренах Холмщини, Підляшшя, Волині та Полісся. Висновки. "Селянський союз" протягом 1924 - 1925 рр., незважаючи на критику та ідеологічні розбіжності всередині Українського клубу, підтримував низку конструктивних відозв та поправок до законопроектів, які ініціювали діячі УНДО. Цей невеликий період українські партії консолідовано боролись проти впровадження утраквістичної системи шкільної освіти, та за втілення низки зауваг до проєктів законів про парцеляцію, земельну реформу, які мали на меті забезпечити українських безземельних та малоземельних селян наділами на безкоштовній основі, або ж за посильну виплату. Комплексно ці заходи мали на меті розв'язання нагальних проблем української спільноти, а також протистояти полонізації окреслених теренів.

Ключові слова: Українське соціалістичне об'єднання "Селянський союз", Українська парламентська репрезентація, УНДО, Павло Васиньчук, Сергій Козицький, Максим Чучмай.

The Problem Statement

parliamentary ukrainian socialist association

The elections of 1922 were quite successful for the Ukrainian politicians of Kholmshchyna, Pidliashia, Volhynia and Polissia, as a result of which 20 Ukrainian deputies entered the Sejm and 6 - the Senate (Zajtsev, 1993, p. 73; Kramar, 2010, p. 122), and further formation of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Representation (the UPR) became an opportunity to solve the problems of the Ukrainian community legally. At the same time, ideological contradictions within the UPR, the arrests of the Ukrainian activists and the closure of the USDP by the Polish authorities led to the creation of a new political force, the Ukrainian Socialist Assossiation “The Peasants' Union”, which was organized in Chelm, in August of 1924 (Bortnik, 2020, p. 11).

The initiators of a new organization and at the same time its presidium were P. Vasynchuk, A. Bratun, M. Chuchmai, S. Makivka, S. Kozytsky, S. Nazaruk and V Dmytriuk, the Ukrainian ambassadors to the Polish Sejm (Grunberg, Sprengel, 2005, р. 454). In the spring and summer of 1924, after preparatory and organizational work, it was decided to hold the Constituent Assembly in Chelm on August 17, 1924 (Torzecki, 1989, p. 68). During the congress, the delegates listened to reports on the socio-political situation of the Ukrainian peasantry, their economic and cultural problems, approved the party's programme, its charter, and elected a chairman - P. Vasynchuk (Kholms'kyj povitovyj Z'izd, 1924, nr. 33, p. 2).

In the programme “The Peasants' Union” was defined as a class political association of peasants, which seeks to eliminate “exploitation” of the latter, as well as to increase its role in a socio-political life. “The Peasants' Union” set itself the main goal of completely replacing social capitalist relations with the socialist “labour” system. “Therefore, the party stood for the restructuring of a political, economic and cultural life, and the main thing was “the struggle for land, this main machine of peasant labour” (Prohramovi tezy i orhanizatsijnyj, pp. 1-2).

The Sejm sessions of 1924 and 1925 were marked by the consideration of a number of bills, among which there were the projects on the housing of troops, land reform and the organization of schooling. In this context, it is important to study the parliamentary activities of “The Peasants' Union”, its interaction with other political forces, work at the local level - the organization of mass reports at meetings, congresses of the Ukrainians from Kholmshchyna, Pidliashia, Volhynia and Polissia. These areas of “The Peasants' Union” activity are covered in detail on the pages of the weekly newspaper “Nashe Zhyttia”, which was the Union's publication and is an important source in the study of the mentioned organization mentioned above.

The Analysis of Recent Research and Publications

The Soviet-era publications covered the activities of the parties during the interwar period, the majority of which belonged to the left-wing camp. These are the works of М. Herasymenko and B. Dudykevych (Herasymenko & Dudykevych, 1955), І. Zabolotny (Zabolotnyj, 1964), І. Vasiuta (Vasiuta, 1988), H. Syzonenko (Syzonenko, 1971), S. Makarchuk (Makarchuk, 1983), польських дослідників S. Krzykala (Krzykala, 1961), R. Szaflik (Szaflik, 1964), V M^drzecki (M^drzecki, 1988).

Many researches published after 1991 covered the elections of 1922 and 1928 to the Polish Sejm and Senate, the consolidation of the Ukrainians, in particular, from Volhynia, Polissia, Kholmshchyna and Pidliashia, their further activities (Zajtsev, 1993, pp. 72-84; Kramar,2010, pp. 115-124; Tsetsyk, 2010, pp. 125-132). Some, review stories of the national and political activities of the Ukrainian community of Kholmshchyna and Pidliashia during the interwar period are found in the works of Ye. Pasternak (Pasternak Ye., 1989), М. Hornyj (Hornyj, 2010), Yu. Makar (Makar, 2003; Makar, Hornyj, Makar V., Saliuk, 2011). Instead, more significant are the works devoted to the activities of the Ukrainian parties of various ideological orientations, including the left-wing, for example: І. Behej (Behej, 2015), H. Kuprianowicz (Kuprianowicz, 1995, pp. 171-210), Yu. Perha (Perha, 2014), pp. 95-100; Perha, 2016). М. Pyrih (Pyrih, 2016; Pyrih, 2020, pp. 61-71), І. Soliar (Soliar, 2010), Ya. Tsetsyk and М. Kucherepa (Kucherepa & Tsetsyk, 2011), М. Szumilo (Szumilo, 2006) and the others. However, there is still no comprehensive work on the activity of the Ukrainian figures who were the members of the Ukrainian Socialist Association “The Peasants' Union”, their participation in a political life, especially based on the materials of the newspaper “Our Life”, which was published in Chelm during 1921 - 1928. The newspaper covered in detail the activities of various political groups in the UPR, the speeches by the Ukrainian parliamentarians and senators, the reports on the party congresses at local places, expressing the ideological view of “The Peasants' Union” with a special emphasis after 1924.

The purpose of the article is comprehensive analysis of the activities of the Ukrainian Socialist Association “The Peasants' Union” in 1924 - 1925 through the prism of its activity as the part of the Ukrainian parliamentary representation and intra-party relations in the Ukrainian Club, reflected in the columns of the newspaper “Our Life”.

The Main Material Statement

After the organization of “The Peasants' Union”, the newly formed party joined the UPR. In September of 1924, in the process of discussing the budget of the Ministry of Land Reform in the Senate on behalf of “The Ukrainian Club” spoke a deputy M. Chuchmai, a member of “The Peasants' Union”. The deputy made public the statement of the UPR about the refusal to support the budget of the Ministry of Land Reform, because of ignoring the needs of “the non-Polish population”, i. e., the lack of a procedure for allocating plots of land, the policy of Polonization-colonization (Z Sojmu ta Senatu. Promova posla M. Chuchmaia, 1924, nr. 36, p. 1).

On October 15, 1924, a meeting of the Land Commission was held to agree on the law on parcelling and settlement, a project to implement land reform. During the debate, the rightwing of the Sejm passed a resolution to withdraw the debate on the law, as the government had requested, until a government draft was submitted to the Sejm, which was to be agreed within three weeks. The right-wing party voted in favour of the resolution, while the leftwing of the Sejm and representatives of national minorities, including the Ukrainian one, opposed it (Z Sojmu ta Senatu,1924, nr. 42, pp. 1-2).

At the same time, during the session of the Sejm on October 29 - 30, 1924, representatives of the UPR, including the members of “The Peasants' Union”, criticized the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Olexandr Skryzynski, who during the signing of the Protocol on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes of October 1, 1924 at the Conference of the League of Nations in Geneva said, that the policy of the Government of the Second Commonwealth on national minorities was aimed at “building and strengthening European peace” (Wnioski w sprawie polityki zagranicznej, 1924, pp. 10-11).

On November 4, 1924, the Sejm continued the discussion of the budget of 1925 and addressed the Prime Minister V Grabsky and the Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Skryzhynsky. On behalf of the Ukrainian Club, Ambassador S. Khrutsky made a speech accusing the government led by the Prime Minister of ignoring the problems of the national minorities, especially the Ukrainian one. On November 11, representatives of the Ukrainian and Belarusian parliamentary clubs introduced two resolutions: a vote of no confidence in the Grabski government and a refusal to support the draft budget of 1925. However, the first resolution was supported only by the Ukrainian and Belarusian deputies (52 votes in favour) (Z Sojmu ta Senatu,1924, nr. 46, p. 1).

In 1924, the autumn session of the Sejm was marked not only by a consolidated vote of the UPR activists of various ideological orientations against Poland's statements in the international arena about the satisfactory conditions of the national minorities in the country, the state budget, but also significant personnel changes within the Ukrainian club. In October of 1924, Anton Vasynchuk (a brother of the head of the “The Peasants' Union” - Pavlo) left the membership in the UPR. In a long speech on this occasion, the Ambassador noted that the decision to leave was made due to ideological differences between different groups that were the part of the Club and impossibility of developing a joint programme of action, which, according to A. Vasynchuk, should be based on a negative attitude to the Soviet Union while supporting the idea of a broad Ukrainian autonomy within the Second Commonwealth (Vasyl'chuk, 1924, nr. 45, p. 2). A. Vasynchuk's position was condemned by the editorial board of the “Nashe Zhyttia” (“Our Life”), calling his approach inexpedient (Dva kroky, 1924, nr. 47, p. 1).

On November 28, 1924, during the session the bill on the housing deployment of troops was discussed in the third reading, which provided for the possibility of occupation of public and private buildings by the military of the Second Commonwealth (including school premises, private premises) in the so-called “eastern frontiers territories”. The resolution was criticized by the Belarusian and Ukrainian deputies, including the representatives of “The Peasants' Union”. Later on December 4, during a discussion of the Ministry of the Interior's budget, the UPR condemned the increase in spending on the police, as well as on the Polish government in general (Z Sojmu ta Senatu, 1924, nr. 49, p. 1).

At the same time, from the first days of its existence, “The Peasants' Union” tried to establish a network of local branches alongside its activities in Parliament. Thus, on October 5, the county congress of “The Peasants' Union” took place in Brest, and on December 7, in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. During the meetings, the district committees of the party were formed, the adoption of programme theses and the organizational statute of the party were agreed upon, and the Ukrainian ambassadors were called upon to defend the elimination of civil and military housing before official Warsaw, prohibition of unregulated parcelling of land and its division for the local peasantry, reduction of taxes for the landless peasantry, provision of loans and agro-technical assistance from the state budget for the reconstruction of farms, elimination of difference in prices for agricultural and factory products (Povitovyj z'izd “Selians'koho Soiuzu”, 1924, nr. 49, p. 3.; Vitaiemo, 1924, nr. 39, p. 1).

The end of 1924 was also marked by a lawsuit against the ambassadors - members of “The Peasants' Union”. On December, 18, after the session of the Sejm, Pavlo Vasynchuk, Serhiy Kozytsky, and Maksym Chuchmai were to be extradited to court due to the speech at the meeting on August 26, 1923. According to the indictment, the mentioned ambassadors “called on the Ukrainian population to take part in the anti-state action, not to pay taxes, but even to “various masacre and setting on fire the Polish estates”. The Ukrainian ambassadors were accused of the anti-state activities because of their statements against the Polish government and its policy (Vlasiuk, 2011, p. 151). Such decisions were opposed by the accused ambassadors, as well as representatives of all Ukrainian parties, who made a joint appeal. As a result, the Ukrainian ambassadors were not arrested, but were under 24-hour surveillance by police and secret agents. Subsequently, on February 11, 1925, P. Vasynchuk was summoned for questioning in the case of the “Chamber in Pochaiv 6 / VIII 1923”, and the search was conducted in his apartment, where S. Nazaruk also lived. Responding to this situation, the ambassadors headed by S. Pidhirsky prepared an appeal to the Minister of Internal Affairs with questions whether he was informed of these cases, after all, the search was carried out without a warrant, and whether this case was carried out on his direct instructions (Z Sojmu ta Senatu. Interpeliatsiia, 1925, nr. 8, p. 1).

Activists of “The Peasants' Union” also did not stay away from the problem of the Ukrainian schooling. The party closely followed the state policy in this area. On January 7, 1925, the Minister of Education issued an order on the previously adopted law “on the organization of schooling”. According to it, the national minorities were allowed to open schools on the same basis as the Polish private schools. In ethnically mixed regions, the main type of the state school was defined as an educational institution common for children of the Polish and non-Polish nationalities. However, if 25% of the Ukrainians, the Belarusians or the Lithuanians lived in the commune, they had the opportunity to teach their children in their native language, if 40 parents who lived in the same school district expressed such wish. In response, on the pages of the newspaper “Our Life” the call for action was made by S. Kozytsky, the Ukrainian Ambassador of the “The Peasants' Union”, who emphasized that applications to school inspectors to conduct the Ukrainian language lessons must be submitted by March 31 (Domahajmosia shkoly, 1925, nr. 6, p. 2).

However, the Ukrainian community encountered considerable difficulties in organizing schooling. The Ukrainian deputies received a number of complaints about the abuse of office by school inspectors who refused to accept declarations on the opening of schools by the Ukrainians. For example, such cases took place in Tovmach, Liubomyl, Kovel, Dubno, Horokhiv, and Brest. After the complaints of Ambassadors S. Kozytsky and V. Dmytriuk to the Department of General Schools of the Ministry of Education, the head of the Department promised to tackle the problem, but the process was constantly delayed (Z Sojmu ta Senatu. Interpeliatsiia posla S. Kozyts'koho, 1925, nr. 14, pp. 1-2).

In the spring of 1925, local deputies intensified their activities, despite the government's ban on organizing meetings. On March 1, 1925, “The Peasants' Union” held a county peasant congress with the participation of 97 delegates in Lutsk. On its agenda there were issues on economic activity of peasants, their self-organization, demands to change the policy to the one that would meet the interests of “labour peasantry”. The delegates also discussed the issue on educating the Ukrainians, noting that the key problems in this regard were: lack of a proper level of education of the community, the Ukrainian teachers and schools, deliberate obstacles in the organization of the Ukrainian schooling by the Polish authorities. In this regard, the delegates demanded a proportional allocation of funds in accordance with the number of the Ukrainians, the establishment of schools of all levels and types at which the language of teaching was the native language, legalization and transfer to the state maintenance of the Private Ukrainian Secret University in Lviv, and in Volhynia - all functioning private Ukrainian secondary schools there (Selians'kyj Z'izd u Luts'ku, 1925, nr. 11, p. 3). On June 21, 1925, the Congress of “The Peasants' Union” took place in Dubno. The delegates of the Congress decided to join the ranks of “The Peasants' Union” and called on the authorities: to reduce the state and municipal taxes; to postpone their payment by victims of hostilities for 3 years; to provide credit assistance for reconstruction; to eliminate the price disparity between industrial and agricultural goods. The Congress also condemned the practice of military and civilian housing on the Ukrainian lands. The next congress of “The Peasants' Union” took place in Horokhiv, on September 6, 1925. Participants passed resolutions in support of the Ukrainian schooling and also opposed Polonization, the ban on opening “The Prosvita Society”, and the law on parcelling and settlement (Rezoliutsii pryjniati, 1925, nr. 38, p. 3).

Meanwhile, the court against the members of “The Peasants' Union” P. Vasynchuk, S. Kozytsky, M. Chuchmai did not end in December of 1924, and continued - on May 6, 1925, in Rivne as it was scheduled for another hearing. This case resonated. Thus, well- known Ukrainian lawyers (L. Hankevych, D. Levytsky, etc.) agreed to defend the accused in court. On May 10, the court sentenced Chuchmai to 2 years in prison, and - Vasynchuk and Kozytsky to 1 year in prison. After the bail of 500, 300 and 100 zl., respectively, the Ukrainian activists were released, but their case did not end there, because an appeal was filed. It is worth noting that the lawsuit against the Ukrainian ambassadors became not only local but also international, because after the court P. Vasynchuk received letters of support and sympathy from Paul Penleve, the Prime Minister of France, and Cachene, Ambassador of the French Parliament, and Canworth, Member of the British Parliament Canworth (Pislia protsesu, 1924, nr. 21, p. 2).

Finally, on October 29, 1925, the Court of Appeal in Lublin considered the case against the Ukrainian deputies P. Vasynchuk, M. Chuchmai, and S. Kozytsky. Lawyers O. Karpynsky, V. Krynytsky, E. Smyarovsky, and G. Lieberman defended the accused. The court again listened to the evidences of 9 witnesses who repeated their previous testimonies, i. e., confirmed their evidences in Rivne. Among them there were the following people: M. P. Vyzhykowski from the Polish People's Liberation Party, B. Kozubsky (a chairman of the council in Pochaiv), Ya. Voytiuk (a chairman of the Communist Ambassadorial Faction, which was the part of the Ukrainian Club in 1923). Prosecutor Khodetsky rejected the charge against the ambassadors of “collapsing the existing order”, and instead he confirmed all other charges. However, the court gave the verdict that the Ukrainian ambassadors were innocent (Protses ukrains'kykh, 1925, nr. 44, p. 1).

Another important activity area of “The Peasants' Union” in the Polish parliament was the defense of the economic interests of the Ukrainian peasantry. On February 19, 1925, at the plenary session, the first reading of the governmental project on land reform took place, which had been the fourth such project since 1919. The Ukrainian club represented by S. Makivka, the representative of “The Peasants' Union”, protested against this bill. The Ambassador prepared a detailed essay on this subject, in which he stated that such law did not contribute to resolving the land issue, it only contributed to Polonization. However, despite the criticism of the Ukrainian deputies, the majority of the Sejm voted for a further consideration of the law (Z Sojmu ta Senatu. Promova posla S. Makivky, nr. 9, p. 2).

In May of 1925, in the Sejm, P. Vasynchuk, the chairman of the “The Peasants' Union”, made his speech on economic issues in the context of the state budget discussion of 1925. He noted that the government had neglected to assist the Ukrainian population in rebuilding the region after World War I, and had not established effective work of “The Committee on National Minorities from the Frontier Territory”, which operated under the Council of Ministers, and in every way limited the scope of the Ukrainian language functioning. Therefore, the Ukrainian representation in Parliament decided to vote against the budget of 1925 (Z Sojmu ta Senatu. Promova pos. Pav. Vasyl'chuka, 1925, nr. 21, pp. 1-2).

On July 9, 1925, the Sejm began voting on the draft law on “land parcelling”, which consisted of 93 items and 603 amendments. The bill was supported by the Polish right faction, the PPS and Piast. On July 14, 1925, a separate paragraph of the draft was to be voted on, and the Ukrainian deputies submitted amendments so that peasants could receive landlords' lands without any compensation. Instead, the Sejm Commission included the following items into the bill: the landlords were to receive compensation, the church lands were left to the Polish settlers, but parceled lands were not to be handed over to military colonists (Maiesh khlope, 1925, nr. 28, pp. 1-2).

The rhetoric of the Ukrainian ambassadors, as it can be seen from the press materials, was directed against the bill in which land plots were to be given to the Polish settlers and military colonists. The essence of this project, as Ambassador Stepan Makivka said, was “looting of the Ukrainian population in Volhynia, Chelm, Pidliashia, Polissia and Eastern Galicia” (Sojmova promova posla Step. Makivky, 1925, nr. 31, p. 2). 70% of the Ukrainian population in these territories, as A. Bratun, the deputy of “The Peasants' Union”, pointed out, were landless or had few plots of land, therefore, they especially hoped to improve their situation after the introduction of the new law, but its Polonization orientation was intended to increase the influence of the settlers, which only contributed to the deepening of misunderstandings among the Ukrainians and the Poles. Article 51 of Part 3 of this bill was of a particular concern, which deprived those who “were punished for crimes against the Polish state” of the opportunity to receive land plots. However, despite the protests, the bill was passed by 200 votes in favour, only 90 members of the Sejm voted against it (including members of the Ukrainian Club) (Sojmova promova posla A. Bratunia, 1925, nr. 33, pp. 1-2).

In the autumn of 1925, a regular session of the Polish Parliament began. Illustrative for the description of the situation of the Ukrainian community in interwar Poland was the speech of S. Kozytsky, the representative of “The Peasants' Union”, proclaimed in the Sejm on October 6, 1925, and this speech was paid special attention in the newspaper “Our Life”. The Ambassador, highlighting many problems in the national policy of the Polish state towards the Ukrainians, noted that the biggest problem, in his opinion, was the authorities' neglect of the principles of self-determination of the national minorities who suffer from “national oppression”. According to his observations, during the period of 1919 - 1924 there was a planned, semi-legal transition of the Ukrainian schools to the Polish language of instruction. As a result, 80% of the Ukrainian school educational institutions were liquidated. At the same time, the adoption of the law on language in schooling on July 31, 1924, according to S. Kozytsky, created, de facto, legal grounds for the polonization of education. To confirm his words, the Ambassador cited statistics: according to official Polish statistics, in 1921 and 1923 there were 261 secondary schools, of which only 6 were Ukrainian; there were no Ukrainian schools at all among vocational and special schools; the resolution on the opening of the Ukrainian university was not implemented either. The Ukrainian university was one of the guarantees of granting the Ukrainian cultural autonomy by official Warsaw, announced during the meeting of the Council of Ambassadors in 1923. At the same time, Ambassador S. Kozytsky also considered the subordination of the Orthodox Church to the authorities to be another tool for Polonization, closing of churches, their transfer to the Catholic Church, or conversion into warehouses, archives, etc. (Z Sojmu ta Senatu, 1925, nr. 44, p. 2).

Further consistent defense of the Ukrainian interests under the conditions of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was hindered by permanent conflicts within the UPR itself. After a long break, a meeting was scheduled for November 18. It was especially insisted on by the activists of “The Peasants' Union” faction, who were also supported by Ambassador S. Pidhirsky and Senator I. Pasternak. During the period of 18 - 19 November 1925, the meetings of the UPR in the Sejm and the Senate continued. The left-wing faction and S. Pidhirsky criticized “the actions of the presidium”, inaction of some ambassadors at local places, paying special attention to the organization authority decline and the inclination of the presidium (formerly non-party) to the party of the right-wing UNDO (the members of which they became). Therefore, taking into account the diversity of the UPR, “The Peasants' Union” members and S. Pidhirsky, in order to balance the positions of all activists, proposed to re-elect the party leadership. The left-wing representatives nominated their candidates to be elected to the presidium: S. Kozytskyi, an active member of “The Peasants' Union”, as a chairman, and I. Pasternak, a non-party representative, and B. Kozubskyi, a member of the UNDO, as deputies. I. Pasternak joined the right-wing faction and withdrew his candidacy. Thus, owing to the votes of the UNDO deputies and non-party figures, the elected presidium was formed only by the UNDO members: S. Khrutsky (a chairman), M. Cherkavsky and B. Kozubsky (deputies) (Burkhlyve zasidannia, 1925, nr. 47, pp. 2-3). But already on December 19, 1925, new elections of the leadership of the UPR took place due to the so- called “agreement” with the Polish authorities of the previous leadership, as outlined by the members of “The Peasants' Union” (Turchyn, 2019, pp. 85 - 86). Such accusations were made mainly due to the lack of critical remarks by the UNDO politicians in the case of Roman Smal-Stotsky's appeal to Stanislaw Grabski, the Minister of Education of Poland, on behalf of Kyryl Studynsky, the head of NTSh, on the loyalty of the Ukrainian scholars concerning Poland (Vchena khruniada, 1925, nr. 51, p. 1). Ambassador S. Kozytsky (a chairman), M. Chuchmai and S. Nazaruk (deputies) won at the new elections of the Ukrainian Club leadership (Vid Ukrains'koi Parliamentarnoi, 1925, nr. 51, pp. 1-2).

Thus, December of 1925 was a turning point in the functioning of the UPR - re-election of the leadership took place, the leading positions from the UNDO passed to the Ukrainian Socialist Assossiation “The Peasants' Union”. At the same time, such personnel changes marked the end of the joint coordinated activities of the right and left-wings factions of the Ukrainian Club in the Polish Parliament, the relations between which only worsened.

The Conclusion

During the period of 1924 - 1925, despite the political and ideological disputes, the Ukrainian Socialist Assossiation “The Peasants' Union” acted in a consolidated manner with the right-wing faction of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Club, which had represented the UNDO since 1925. The political trial against the leaders of “The Peasants' Union” increased the level of trust and their popularity at local places, as evidenced by a number of large gatherings in Kholmshchyna, Volhynia and Pidliashia during the period under analysis. However, “The Peasants' Union” lacked the political weight to make independent decisions or to implement the declared postulates during the Sejm sessions.

Acknowledgement. We express our sincere gratitude to all members of the editorial board for valuable recommendations provided in preparing the article for publishing.

Funding. The authors did not receive any financial assistance for the research and publication of this scientific work.

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