Ukrainska Shkola

Ukrainska Shkola (Українська Школа; Ukrainian School). A Ukrainian pedagogical association in Bukovyna, originally called Ruska Shkola (to 1910). Founded in 1887 as an offshoot of the Ruska Besida in Bukovyna society, the group developed as a regional counterpart to the Galician Ridna Shkola society. It pursued the formation of state-supported Ukrainian schools, established private schools and courses, made efforts to upgrade the qualifications of Ukrainian teachers, and provided financial assistance for needy students. It sponsored a private teachers' seminary for girls in Chernivtsi, a (Realschule) gymnasium in Vashkivtsi, and a people’s university in Chernivtsi. By 1914 it had 12 branches, with a total of 965 members. It published various journals (including Nasha shkola in conjunction with the Lviv-based Teachers' Hromada), school texts (30 titles by 1914), and two series of popular books for children, Kreitsarova Biblioteka (The Kreutzer Library; 1902–8) and Dytiacha biblioteka (Children’s Library; 1909–14). After the Romanian occupation of Bukovyna, Ukrainska Shkola’s undertakings suffered considerably as branches were closed down by the authorities, the central office was harassed, and Ukrainian schools were closed. After 1918 the group managed to print only three school texts. One successful aspect of its work was the summer courses in Ukrainian studies which it sponsored during the 1930s. Ukrainska Shkola was liquidated after the Soviet occupation of Bukovyna in 1940. The association’s leaders included Stepan Smal-Stotsky (1887–91), Omelian Popovych (1891–1914), and A. Kyryliv (1919–40); among the prominent members were Yerotei Pihuliak, I. Danylevych, Iliarii Karbulytsky, Ivan Syniuk, Mykola Haras, and V. Yakubovych.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]