THE IMAGE OF RUTHENIANS AND UKRAINIAN LANDS AS PART OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY IN THE REPRESENTATION OF THE AMERICAN NEWSPAPER «THE NEW YORK TIMES» (1870–1900)

Abstract

The image of Western Ukrainian lands and Ukrainians (Ruthenians) in the American press is revealed based on the materials of the newspaper «The New York Times». The article shows how this American newspaper covered the events related to Eastern Galicia, Bukovyna and Transcarpathia in the last third of the 19th century. There was traditionally no analysis in such news, which prevented readers from forming a full-fledged image of the western Ukrainian lands. It was found that the American newspaper most often focused attention on Lviv among all other Ukrainian cities. Other cities were mentioned much less frequently. It was found that western Ukrainian lands were most often mentioned in materials related to politics, crime, education and various disasters. In addition, the reader could learn something about Galicia and Bukovyna from notes devoted to interesting facts and comic incidents. Analyzing the representation of Ruthenians and their political life in the newspaper's columns, it was found that «The New York Times» published news that mainly related to political life. The editors of the American edition were hardly interested in the subjects of Ruthenian culture, life, history, and religion. Among the political news related to the Ruthenians, the topic of elections in Austria-Hungary dominated. It was found that the American press did not write about the Ukrainophile movement, and the information about the RURP (the first Ukrainian political party) was limited to only one mention. The emphasis was mainly on the Russophile movement and its conflicts with the Austrian authorities. The news concerning the Russophiles was devoted to their arrests and the pan-Slavist agitation they were conducting. It is important to note that the political programs and ideas of Galician Russophiles were not described. The article concludes that the reader, based on the materials published in «The New York Times», could learn that the Ruthenians (Ukrainians) are a separate nation with its own political elite. Despite this, the newspaper did not provide enough factual materials, as well as analytical articles for the reader to form an objective and complete image of the western Ukrainian lands. It is shown that «The New York Times» did not provide information about the cultural and political contacts of Galician Ruthenians and Dnieper Ukrainians. In addition, the contemporary social problems of the Ruthenians, as well as their causes, were not sufficiently covered. All the previously mentioned factors contributed to the formation of an unreliable and patchy image of the Ruthenians of Galicia, Bukovyna and Transcarpathia. Keywords; «The New York Times», press, Bukovyna, Galicia, Transcarpathia, Western Ukrainian lands, Ruthenians (Ukrainians).