The Ruslan newspaper ID: 116

The newspaper Ruslan was a Ukrainian daily socio-political periodical published in Lviv in 1897-1914; the mouthpiece of conservative and clerical circles, it was an unofficial print of the Ukrainian Christian-social movement.

The founding of the newspaper Ruslan in Lviv was a direct consequence of the institutionalization of the Ukrainian Christian-social movement, which was the conservative wing of the Galician populists led by Oleksandr Barvinsky. After the creation of the first political organization of this environment (the Catholic Ruthenian People's Union) in October 1896, the issue of its own periodical appeared on the agenda. Despite significant difficulties in adapting Galician conservatives to the realities of mass politics, they were aware of the key role of the press in shaping public opinion. Considering the intensity of discussions surrounding the new conservative organization and its active criticism by political opponents, as well as the oncoming elections to the State Council, Barvinsky insisted on the immediate publication of the Ruslan starting in November 1896. However, due to organizational problems, the first issue was published only on January 1, 1897.

The Ruslan’s ideology reflected the theoretical foundations of the Christian social movement. The leading focus in the newspaper's columns was the popularization of "organic labour", i.e. abandoning high-flown slogans and making maximum efforts for the comprehensive development of Galicia’s Ukrainian society, its cultural and educational level. The Ruslan publishers defended the key role of the Greek Catholic Church in all aspects of the Ukrainian society’s life in the province, condemning the newest ideologies (socialism, national radicalism) and supporting the need for Polish-Ukrainian mutual understanding along the lines of the "new era" policy. The opposition tactics of Ukrainian politicians belonging to the national-democratic camp were invariably criticized and contrasted with "real politics" based on compromises.

The clerical slogans in the Ruslan were also dictated by the intention to enlist the support of the Greek Catholic clergy. Many of its representatives were disappointed by anti-religious articles often published in the most popular Ukrainian Galician newspaper, the national-democratic Dilo. The Ruslan was also supported by the Bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn of Stanislaviv. However, the general unpopularity of the conservatives, their political failures and their opponents’ resistance stood in the way of these plans being implemented.

Throughout the periodical's existence, it was edited by Teofil Baranovsky (1897), Stefan Kulchytsky (1897-1900), Lev Lopatynsky (1900-1907) and Semen Horuk (1907-1914), although Oleksandr Barvinsky and Kyrylo Studynsky had a decisive influence on the editorial policy. The frequent changes of editors in the first years of the periodical's existence were most likely related to financial problems causing debts to Władysław Szyjkowski's printing house and even a case of financial abuse in the editorial office. Only in the first years of the 20th century did the material condition stabilize, the newspaper volume increasing in 1911. The exact origin of the funds is unknown, but some sources indicate the support on the part of the Galician governor’s office (at the time of the governors belonging to the so-called stańczycy) and government institutions in Vienna, achieved due to Barvinsky's personal contacts.

The location of the Ruslan editorial office was not stable either. In 1897-1914, it was alternately located on ul. Kopernika 9 (1897-1898 and 1899-1901), ul. Lindego (now vul. Ferentsa Lista) 5 (1898-1899), pl. Dąbrowskiego (now pl. Yevhena Malaniuka) 1 (1902-1908), ul. Ossolińskich (now vul. Stefanyka) 11 (1908-1911) and ul. Chmielowskiego (now vul. Hlibova) 15 (1912-1914). Also, the newspaper’s permanent representation functioned in the Hausman Passage.

In spite of the predominance of socio-political topics, the Ruslan published materials of various genres like prose, dramatic and poetic works by Ukrainian authors, scholarly researches (most often of a historical and economic nature), memoirs. It contained many texts by authors connected with the Christian social environment institutionally or ideologically, e.g. Ivan Verkhratsky, Bohdan Lepky, Osyp Makovey, Lev Lopatynsky, Kyrylo Studynsky, Anatoliy Vakhnianyn, Oleksandr and Bohdan Barvinsky, etc.

Although the circulation of the Ruslan was not high (in the editorial correspondence there are references to 500 and 1,000 copies, while the Dilo had a circulation of 6,000 copies in 1913), and the political environment represented by it was gradually declining, the newspaper was an important subject of socio-political, cultural and socio-economic discussions that took place in the Lviv and Galician press in general. A review of columns published in Ukrainian or Polish periodicals of that time shows that the Ruslan was not only a polemizing periodical, but also one that was constantly polemized with by the opponents. The beginning of the First World War and the mobilization of most of the editorial staff members put an end to this role and to existence of this newspaper in general. The last issue of the Ruslan was published on August 29, 1914.

People

Kyrylo Studynsky (1868-1941(?)) — a Ukrainian literary critic, a Slavologist, a public figure, a professor at Lviv University, the head of the National Academy of Sciences in 1923-1932.

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