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OUR ENGLISH COLUMN THE UKRAINIAN WOMAN IN PUBLIC LIFE A distant road has protracted from the first strugglers for wo man’s freedom to the women leg islators and ambassadors of the present time. History has many times impos ed the heavy task of governing on the women, and there can be no denial that they have equaled tihe men in their responsible positions. We are all aware how much Great Britain is indebted to Elizabeth and Victoria, or Austria to Maria Theresa. Ukraine likewise had had her foremost leading woman on the throne one thousand years ago, the princess Olga, who had been a good commander not only but also a master of diplomacy and administration. She introduc ed a fair taxing system and pre pared tihe ground for Christianiza tion of Ukraine having embraced Christianity at a venerable age. For her virtues and merits she has been sanctified by the Ghurch. Later on the history of Ukraine did not grant the women an op portunity to -evolve their .political aptitude. The invasion by Mongol hordes brou'ght disaster to Uk rainian princedom, and thereupon the ‘expansion of Turkey has been f or a long time menacing the pro gress of statehood of Cossack Uk raine. In the atmosphere of con stant military operations there developed a type of a ruling war rior who exercised his authority over Cossack Ukraine. The wives of those hetmans had some rela tionship to the affairs of the State and no doubt 'Cooperated in nu merous important decisions. Still there appeared no leading politic al personage from among women during that period o.f time. Not until the reawakening of our national cons'ciousness, at the beginning of the 19th century, there appeared, along with other political slogans, the Ukrainian feminist movement. Ukraine was then divided into two parts—the larger one with Kiev, its capital, was occupied by Russia, and the smaller one, the western provinces, belonged to Austria-Hungary. Under two dif ferent regimes the development of suffrage progressed in the fa shions widely apart. In Great Ukraine, as the larger part of our country is being call ed, there had been no constitu tional democratic regime under the czars. This caused the crea tion of progressive underground organizations which were strug gling against the reactionary czarist government, using even terroristic methods. The best known underground group of "Narodna Vola” (people’s free dom) which effected an attempt on the life of the czar Alexander II. Among those punished for this act was one woman, Sophia Per- ovska, who was but little known as an Ukrainian. Similarly many an Ukrainian youth took part in illegal political groups in Great Ukraine. Many Ukrainians who had carried on the strife for the ideal of liberty and against the reactionary czar ist regime, had been, then impris oned or exiled. Not all of their names have been preserved for the posterity, yet they performed a great tas'k. When in 1917 the revolution brought forth the restoration of Ukrainian statehood, the consti tutional right of suffrage for wo men wais granted without any re servation. There had been 11 wo men in the first Ukrainian parlia ment and they proved their politi cal and social proficiency in the sphere of legislation. Sophia Rus- sova, in particular, ought to be mentioned as she was the one who subsequently had been represent ing the Ukrainian women at vari ous international congresses and gatherings. There was also the well known author Ludmila Sta- r it ska Chernyakhivska who play ed an out standing part in the struggle for liberation of the Uk rainian people. The third out standing Ukrainian woman was Zinaida Mirna, a devoted patriotic and efficient social worker and or ganizer. / The Russian comnlunist aggres sion interrupted the activities of Ukrainian women for the reborn Ukrainian nation. Under bolshe vik regime there has not been the slightest chance for any free poli tical movement to survive. The Ukrainian way of life, suddenly blocked from its national endeav or, had then made progress in art, literature and learning./ Still the Ukrainian leading circles refused to terminate their striving for freedom and independence of Uk raine, and consequently they formed the League for Liberation of Ukraine which continued the struggle for the ideal of indepen dent Ukraine. In 1929 the bolshe- viki uncovered and exposed it and then arranged a display trial in Kharkiv with 45 defendants, the renowned Ukrainian leaders and scholars.' One of the accused was the above mentioned Ludmila Staritska Chernyakhivska who stood her ground splendidly in ah investigations and accusations. The Ukrainian people who know the system of bolshevik trials, ap preciate her posture and hold her individuality in high respect. As far as it is known she was killed by bolshevik і. Foil owing that trial a horrify ing terror ensued in Ukraine, bent on destruction of all Ukrainian national life. In that terror per- U K R A I N I A N W O M A N
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