Bochkovsky, Olgerd Ippolit

Bochkovsky, Olgerd Ippolit [Бочковський, Ольґерд Іпполіт: Bočkovs'kyj, Ol'gerd], b 1884 in Dolynske, Kherson gubernia, d 9 November 1939 in Prague. Ukrainian sociologist specializing in the study of nationalism, publicist, and political figure. He emigrated to Czechoslovakia in 1905 and during the struggle for independence (1917–20) he served as a member of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Prague. He was active in the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers' party. He lectured at the Ukrainian Free University in Prague and the Ukrainian Husbandry Academy in Poděbrady. In 1933 he headed the so-called Famine Committee, which aided victims of the Famine-Genocide of 1932–3 in Ukraine, and wrote an ‘Open Letter’ on 5 September 1933 (published in Dilo, 9 September) to the former French premier, E. Herriot, who denied that there was famine in Ukraine. Bochkovsky’s main works are Ponevoleni narody tsars'koï imperiï, ïkh natsional’ne vidrodzhennia ta avtonomne priamuvannia (The Captive Nations of the Tsarist Empire: Their National Rebirth and Striving for Autonomy, 1916), Natsiolohiia i natsiohrafiia (‘Nationology’ and ‘Nationography,’ 1923), Borot'ba narodiv za natsional'ne vyzvolennia (Nations’ Struggle for National Liberation, 1932), and Vstup do natsiolohiï (Introduction to ‘Nationology,’ 1934). He wrote many other works, which were published in various languages. His selected works in 3 volumes were published in Kyiv in 2018–20.

[This article was updated in 2020.]