ПРОСВІТНИЦЬКА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ЯРОСЛАВА РОЗУМНОГО У КОНТЕКСТІ ШИРЕННЯ ТВОРЧОЇ СПАДЩИНИ ІВАНА ФРАНКА СЕРЕД УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ЕМІГРАНТІВ

Abstract

The article analyzes the pro-Ukrainian activities carried out by Yaroslav Rozumnyi, the renowned Canadian Ukrainian emigrant, linguist and literary scholar, a doctor of philosophy and Slavic studies. It was primarily the third of four waves of Ukrainian emigration to North America that was marked by a high percentage of migrants with an intellectual and scholarly background. These emigrants, among them Yaroslav Rozumnyi, gathered in nonprofit non-party organizations that represented and supported the Ukrainian community, contributed to the development of Ukrainian organizations, to the cultural, religious and political vitality of Canada's Ukrainians. Their major goal was the representation of Ukrainians in the diaspora, the establishment and coordination of international relations, the development of a civic society among Ukrainians with their Ukrainian national identity, spirit, and language. These people were united by their commitment to the idea of an independent Ukrainian state and the renovation of Ukraine's sovereignty. They did not cease to protest against the ongoing Russification of Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian language, stood up against arrests or the physical destruction of Ukrainian dissidents. Yaroslav Rozumnyi, who was forced to leave his native country for political reasons, devoted his entire life to his major principle “to carry on the burden and one‟s duty for the Motherland.” As a consequence, he, in the period from 1990 to 1992, became a co-founder and chairman of the Manitoba branch of the supporters of the party “Narodnyi Rukh Ukraiiny” (“National Movement of Ukraine”). While living and working in Canada, Rozumnyi's heart kept beating for Ukraine. While analyzing various aspects of Franko's texts in German-language scholarly organs, Rozumnyi used them for a broadening of the perception of Ukrainian culture in the world and disseminated Ivan Franko's creative legacy among Ukrainian emigrants. Although Yaroslav Rozumnyi was a resident of Canada he contributed a lot to the revival of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. In 1992, he became the representative of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Canada and, subsequently, a member of its International Consultative Counci. In 1996, Yaroslav Rozumnyi was awarded the title of honorary professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.