Lemko Association

Lemko Association (Lemko-Soiuz). A social fraternal society established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1929 as Lemko-Soiuz and assumed its present name in 1931. The association was formed by Lemkos in the United States (with some Canadians) who were not satisfied with the existing Ukrainian, Galician Russophile, or Carpatho-Rusyn fraternal societies in North America. The association assumed publication of the Lemko-dialect (see Lemko dialects) newspaper Lemko (1930–8) and brought out its own publication, Karpats'ka Rus’ (1938–). Throughout the 1930s the group expanded the number of its branches, and in 1938 it moved its headquarters to Yonkers, New York State. In 1959 the association established a summer resort in Monroe, New York State, where the organizational headquarters were again relocated. Initially dominated by Russophiles, the group had strong pro-Soviet sympathies. More recently its members have come out in favor of a separate Carpatho-Rusyn identity. The organization has also launched English-language publications in an effort to appeal to an American-born membership.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]