DE PUBLICIS ET PRIVATIS OF UKRAINIAN GALICIAN STUDENTS IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY: CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN IVAN KRYPIAKEVYCH AND MYROSLAV SICHYNSKYI IN 1908–1909

Abstract

At the beginning of the twentieth century, which simultaneously was the continuation of the long nineteenth century, amid transformations in political ideas that declared not only autonomy but also the creation of a national state, a new intellectual milieu formed in Galicia. It was in this environment that Ivan Krypiakevych and Myroslav Sichynsky grew up, crystallised their values and developed their convictions. As gymnasium graduates, they continued their studies at the Franz Joseph I University in Lviv (and, in Sichynsky’s case, also previously at the University of Vienna) – and thus entered the realm of public life. As characteristic representatives of the Eastern European intelligentsia within the Habsburg Empire, they regarded education not merely as preparation for a professional career-whether in teaching or law-but as a means of fulfilling a broader social mission. The context in which they pursued their aspirations was equally significant: in the climate of demonstrations and protests of the 1900s, students more than any other group sought to accomplish what previous generations had not succeeded in doing. This article examines the process of forming political ideas among Ukrainian youth in Galicia and the collaboration between Ivan Krypiakevych and Myroslav Sichynskyi through a new historical source: their correspondence from 1908–1909. These texts reflect not only the interests of young people and their plans, but also broader trends in Ukrainian intellectual life. These letters demonstrate a combination of private and public spheres. In them, the authors, along with their personal experiences, reflected on the goals and tasks of the student movement, the failures of political strategies chosen by Ukrainian Galician politicians, events in the public sphere, and the development of scholarship, literature, and journalism. An analysis of these documents reveals how they viewed the role of intelligentsia in the development of national identity among broad segments of the population, most often peasants and urban workers. The use of this epistolary material allows us to look at the figures of Ivan Krypiakevych and Myroslav Sichynsky in a new light, to gain a deeper understanding of the peculiarities of the formation of their worldview, and to trace the mechanisms of intellectual interaction among the Ukrainian youth of Galicia. This information allows us to better understand the biographical aspects of both historical figures and will be useful to researchers of the history of the Ukrainian student movement and everyday life in Galicia at the beginning of the 20th century.