Supreme Ruthenian Council ( uk, Головна Руська Рада, Holovna Ruska Rada) was the first legal Ruthenian political organization that existed from May 1848 to June 1851. It was founded on 2 May 1848 in Lemberg (today

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 Ukraine ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

as the result of the 1848 Spring of Nations and in response to the earlier created by the local Polish community Central National Council which claim itself as the representative body of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. In its manifest of 10 May 1848 the council declared about the unity of all 15 million

Ukrainian people Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ortho ...

and expressed its support for all people of the

. The organization had three main political requests. * Divide Galicia into two separate administrative units: western for Poles and eastern for Ukrainians * Unite into one province all Ukrainian lands of Galicia, Subcarpathia, and Bucovina * Lectures in schools and publishing of government statements need to be conducted in

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...

Supreme Ruthenian Council consisted of 30 members who were representatives of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

and

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...

. Head of the council was elected bishop of Premissel

Hryhoriy Yakhymovych Hryhoriy Yakhymovych ( uk, Григорій Яхимович, pl, Grzegorz Jachimowicz; 16 February 1792 – 29 April 1863) was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and also a leading figure in the Ukrainian Na ...

, later canon . Yakhymovych's assistants were Mykhailo Kuzemsky and . The council contained several departments. Three members of the organization attended the Prague Slavic Congree in June 1848. On 18 May 1848 the council decided the problem with national symbols declaring that "the flag of local Ruthenian land consists of the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, and the colors of Ruthenia are yellow and blue" (Ruthenian: знамя земли рускои тутейшои єсть левъ, а цвѣты руски жовтый и синый).Andriy Hrechylo.
Ukrainian flag (Український прапор)
'. 100krokiv.info. On 25 May 1848 on tower of the

Lviv Town Hall The city of Lviv, Ukraine has had a series of town hall buildings since approximately 1357. These have for centuries been recognized landmarks of the community. The modern building located at Market Square, 1 is the residence of the Lviv City Cou ...

('' Ratusz'') was hanged "a banner of Ruthenian colors, and next to it, on the left side, a Polish banner" (Ruthenian: хоруговъ рускои барвы, а при ней зъ лѣвои стороны хоруговъ польску), while the Supreme Ruthenian Council were disassociating themselves from the event and in the newspaper "Zoria Halytska" printed "it was not Ruthenians who have done it, and we even do not know who did" (Ruthenian: то не Русини оучинили, и наветъ не знаютъ, кто тоє оучинивъ). Next year, the Supreme Ruthenian Council ordered to held festivities in Lviv Town Hall, including hanging " Ruthenian blue-yellow and Austrian black-yellow" banners.

External links

Ruthenian Congress in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993)

References

{{reflist History of Lviv 1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire 1851 disestablishments in the Austrian Empire Ukrainian political parties in Austria-Hungary Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire Establishments in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria History of Ruthenia

See also

External links

References