Khust yak stolytsia Karpatskoi Ukrainy u vidobrazhenni zakhidnoukrainskoi presy 1938—1939 rr.

Abstract

The West Ukrainian press publications spanning 1938―1939s about the Khust town (the capital of the Carpatho-Ukraine) reflecting its symbol as a struggle for unity have been analyzed. The questions of the Khust nominative origin have been studied, as well as the popular sentiments of the people and a socio-political atmosphere of that time, have been characterized. The publications in the mentioned topics of the leading Ukrainian scientists, public figures, specifically, V. Birchak, M. Braschaik, B. Buri-Voskresenskyi, M. Vozniak, V. Zheltvai, A. Zhyvotko, V. Komarysnkyi, V. Koroliv-Staryi, I. Nevytska, A. Patrus-Karpatskyi, V. Pachovskyi, O. Pritsak and others, have been introduced in the scientific circulation. It has been argued that the Khust town will remain a symbol of the struggle of the most western branch of the Ukrainian people for its independence and freedom in 1919 and 1939s forever, in the annals of the Ukrainian history. The first vivid manifestation of this struggle was a general rally of the Transcarpathian Ukrainians (with participating 420 delegates) on Jan. 21 1919 in Khust. They elected the Central People’s Council and adopted a unanimous decision about joining Transcarpathia to Ukraine. Next time Khust became a symbol of the Ukrainian unity when the Carpatho-Ukrainian government officially recognized the town as a new capital of the young state on 10 November 1938, and the first Soim (the parliament) declared the independence of the Carpatho-Ukraine on 16 March 1939. Aspirations to unity and independence of the Transcarpathian Ukrainians, in M. Braschaik’s statement, were natural. The latter’s relevant reasoning is that the people’s integrity comprises its language and common origins, i.e., its blood, mentality, temperament, culture, folk traditions and customs. In the analyzed publications, the image of Khust town has been vividly reflected. It was a symbol of the struggle of the Transcarpathian Ukrainians for their unity, their blood affinity with the Ukrainian people. At the same time, this article presents a comprehensive history of foundation and derivation of the Khust town’s name, its external and internal changes, sentiments of the residents, as well as the then sociopolitical atmosphere of the time of the proclamation of the Carpatho-Ukraine’s independence (1939). Keywords: Khust, capital, Carpatho-Ukraine, publications, unity, state independence.