Milena Rudnytska ( uk, Мілена Рудницька: 15 July 1892 – 29 March 1976) was a Ukrainian educator, women's activist, politician and writer. One of the most influential voices in the interwar period of the Galician women's movement leadership, she published articles in various periodicals. As a member of the
Polish Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
between 1928 and 1935, she brought issues of suppression by government authorities to the world stage, including the Polish regime's efforts to repress the culture of minority Ukrainians and the Soviet regime's denial of starvation in Ukraine during the
Holodomor. With the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Ukraine, Rudnytska fled the country and remained an exile for the remainder of her days, publishing books and articles as she moved throughout Europe and the United States.
Early life
Milena Rudnytska was born on 15 July 1892 in
Zboriv
Zboriv ( uk, Зборів, pl, Zborów, yi, זבאָרעוו, Zbarav, russian: Зборов) is a town in Ternopil Raion of Ternopil Oblast, west Ukraine. It is located in the historical region of Galicia. Local government is administered by Zb ...
,
Galicia in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire to Olga (née Ida Spiegel) and Ivan Rudnytsky. The third child and only daughter in the family of intellectuals. Rudnytska's father descended from the Ukrainian gentry and after finishing a law degree at
Lviv University
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
, worked as a notary in western Ukraine. Her mother, was from a
Galician Jewish family of merchants. Their union had been opposed by both of their families and the couple delayed marrying for almost a decade, because one could not marry before age twenty-four without parental consent. When Ida left home, converted to Christianity and changed her name to Olga, the two finally married and subsequently had five children: (1889–1975), a
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
; Volodymyr (1891–1975), a lawyer; Milena; (1896–1995) a
publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...
and
essayist
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...
; and Antin (1902–1975) composer and conductor of the Kyiv opera.
Rudnytska's family spoke
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
at home and her mother never gained a proficiency with
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
, though she raised her children as Ukrainian nationals. Close to her father, Rudnytska was profoundly affected by his death in 1906, which precipitated the family move to
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
. She undertook her primary lessons at home, but then attended the Classical Gymnasium of Lviv and then in 1910 entered Lviv University to study philosophy, later graduating with a teaching degree in philosophy and mathematics. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the family lived in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, where Rudnytska studied at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
until 1917 receiving a degree in
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
and though she began work on a doctoral program, she did not complete it.
Career
Rudnytska began working as a journalist on the biweekly editorial ''Наша Мета'' (Our goal) in 1918. The following year, she married a lawyer politician who had also studied at Lviv and was living in Austria. By the end of the year, the couple had their only child,
Ivan
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
and their home quickly became a gathering place for leaders of the Ukrainian intellectual community living in Vienna. Back home in Galicia the
Polish–Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War, from November 1918 to July 1919, was a conflict between the Second Polish Republic and Ukrainian forces (both the West Ukrainian People's Republic and Ukrainian People's Republic). The conflict had its roots in ethn ...
had resulted in a territorial transfer to the Polish state and adoption of policies to suppress minority populations. Though Rudnytska supported the Ukrainian national movement, she felt that women had been assigned inferior roles. She began to focus her attention on organizing women and involving them in raising the civic consciousness of a Ukrainian Nation. Returning to Lviv in 1920, Rudnytska and her husband soon separated. Her son, raised among her family, subsequently adopted her surname as his own.
Rudnytska became one of the leading activists of the
Ukrainian Women's Union
The Ukrainian Women's Union ( uk, Союз українок) (1920–1938) was the most influential women's organization operating among Ukrainian women outside of Soviet Ukraine. Because they represented Ukrainian nationals living in other sovere ...
( uk, Союз українок), which she helped found in 1920 and along with other members of the leadership, including , Iryna Sichynska, and others, organized women's journals, conferences, and cooperatives. Around the same time, in 1921 she began working in the
Teacher's Seminary and later worked at the Higher Pedagogical Institute, both in Lviv, but in 1928, she stopped teaching and turned her focus entirely to social and political issues. Having joined the
Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance
The Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance, (UNDO) ( uk, Українське національно-демократичне об'єднання, УНДО, ''Ukrayin'ske Natsional'no-Demokratichne Obyednannia'', pl, Ukraińskie Zjednoczenie Naro ...
, Rudnytska was elected to serve in the
Polish Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
in 1928 as a party representative, serving through 1935. That same year, she was elected as president of the Woman's Union and served in that capacity until 1939. Until 1939, she continued her journalistic endeavors as well publishing with several feminist journals like, ''Woman'' ( uk, жінка), ''Woman-citizen'' ( uk, Громадянина), ''Ukrainian Woman'' ( uk, Українка) and edited the woman's page of the Ukrainian daily newspaper ''Action'' ( uk, газета дію).
In Parliament, Rudnytska was a staunch advocate for Ukraine and criticized the Polish authorities for suppressing Ukrainian culture including their schools and religious institutions. Serving on committees for education and foreign affairs, she gave many speeches and was known as a charismatic orator. In 1931, she was one of three delegates from Ukraine to present the case against the Polish officials to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
, calling the suppression a "pacification campaign" to silence the Ukrainian minority population. She was also invited to speak on the issue at the
British House Of Commons. During the
1932-1933 famine she was elected vice chair of the Public Rescue Committee, and organized meetings including politicians, scientists, and educators to address the issue and provide famine relief. Through her international ties with women's organizations, Rudnytska was selected to seek international aid support and bring the situation to the attention of the League of Nations.
![Milena-rudnytska-es](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Milena-rudnytska-es.jpg)
On 29 September 1933, in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
14 countries met and Rudnytska along with the other members of the Ukrainian delegation presented their findings about the famine and the need for international assistance. After several hours, the League decision was that the famine was an internal problem of the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, which was not a member of the League and therefore no help would be forthcoming. The delegation then turned toward the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
(ICRC) with a plea for help. ICRC officials contacted Soviet officials to gain approval for the Red Cross to organize international aid for Ukraine, but the head of the Soviet
Red Crescent Society
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
,
Avel Yenukidze denied that there was any famine in Ukraine. Rudnytska spoke at another international conference held in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in December 1933 urging that the international community pressure the
Stalinist regime to admit there was a crisis and allow aid. Denial continued and information about the nature and scope of the famine was suppressed. In 1958, Rudnytska's book, ''Боротьба за правду про Великий Голод'' (Fighting for the truth about the Great Famine) took the stance that the famine was a result of organized pressure by the Kremlin to "fracture Ukrainian peasants using collectivization to curb the rebellious Ukrainian people".
In the
interwar period, Rudnytska was one of the strongest voices in the Ukrainian women's movement. When
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
came to power in 1933, she evaluated the changes which almost immediately were made restricting women's lives. Laws passed by the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
barred women from employment in the civil service, enacted quotas for the number of women who had access to higher education, refused women admittance to the legal profession, among other changes. In response to these actions, Rudnytska wrote a satirical article which appeared in the magazine ''Women's Voice'' characterizing the regime's view of women as monsters, who had no purpose other than to cook, clean and bear children. At a time when Ukrainian women had developed a premise that the ideal woman was one committed to political awareness and social enterprise, who made a conscious choice when or if motherhood should occur, the German view caused serious reservations and attempts to organize motherhood schools in German-occupied territories were resisted. Rudnytska helped organize the First Ukrainian Women's Congress in 1934 which was held in
Stanyslaviv and then in 1937 was elected as president of the World Union of Ukrainian Women. During the late 1930s, the Polish government closely watched members of the Women's Union, arresting some of the leadership and trying to ban the organization entirely.
In 1939, during the
Soviet invasion of Poland
The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...
, the
regime annexed Galicia forcing national-oriented activists to flee. Fearful of repressions by the Soviet regime Rudnytska moved to
Nazi-occupied Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. Later, in 1940, she moved on to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, where her son was finishing his studies, begun already in Lviv. In 1943, she arrived in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, where she published her book, ''Zakhidna Ukraina pid bolshevykamy'' (Western Ukraine under the Bolsheviks) in 1944. Continuing to write in exile, she moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and then directed the Ukrainian Relief Committee in Geneva between 1945 and 1950. In 1950 moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, where she remained for eight years, before returning to Europe, first moving to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and finally settling in Munich. Some of her most known publications include: "''Ukraïns’ka diisnist’ i zavdannia zhinochoho rukhu'' (The Ukrainian Reality and the Tasks of the Women's Movement, 1934), ''Don Bosko: Liudyna, pedahoh, sviatyi'' (Don Bosco: Man, Pedagogue, and Saint, 1963), and ''Nevydymi styhmaty'' (The Invisible Stigmata, 1971)".
Death and legacy
Rudnytska died on 29 March 1976 in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
and was buried on 2 April 1976 in the Ukrainian section of the
Waldfriedhof Cemetery on Lorettoplatz in Munich. Her remains were reburied in Lviv in 1993 in the Lychakiv Cemetery, beside other family members. In 1994, Irene Martyniuk published a book, ''Milena Rudnytska and Ukrainian Feminism: The Art of the Possible'', evaluating Rudnytska's role in the women's movement in Ukraine. In 1998, ''Мілена Рудницька. Статті. Листи, документи'' (Milena Rudnytska. Articles. Letters, documents) were edited by Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak, Miroslava Dyadyuk and Jaroslaw Pelenski and published with the support of the Union of Ukrainian Americans.
References
Citations
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudnytska, Milena
1892 births
1976 deaths
Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery
People from Zboriv
20th-century Ukrainian women politicians
Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance politicians
Polish politicians
20th-century Ukrainian educators
Ukrainian women's rights activists
20th-century women writers
20th-century Ukrainian writers
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930)
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935)
Ukrainian women educators