ACTIVITIES OF THE "UNION OF THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE" BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE "VOLYN DIOCESAN GAZETTE"

Abstract

The article analyzes the activities of the "Union of the Russian People" (hereinafter: NRC) in the Volyn province, which is reflected in the "Volyn Diocesan Gazette", the official publication of the Volyn Diocese. It is known that Volhynia became one of the main strongholds of the Black Hundreds throughout the Russian Empire. Members of the Pochaiv and Volyn branches of this organization were representatives of the Orthodox clergy, who often headed local branches. Volyn Black Hundreds often published their appeals and announcements in the Orthodox press, especially in the "Volyn Diocesan Gazette" and "Pochaev Leaf". Spreading the all-Russian imperial ideology among the local population, they took into account local conditions. NRC members initiated the study, preservation and promotion of certain historical monuments and events among the people of Volyn, primarily Ostroh Castle, the activities of the Ostroh princes (especially Constantine of Ostroh and St. Theodore) and the Cossack Tombs in Berestechko. With their participation, the Brick Tower of Ostroh Castle was restored and a museum was opened, and a monastery-monument in honor of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious was erected at the Cossack Graves on the site of the Battle of Brest in 1651. The initiator and organizer of the creation in Ostroh at the Epiphany Cathedral of the Brotherhood named after the Princes of Ostroh under the auspices of St. Theodore was the district leader of the NRC, the priest Mykhailo Tuchemsky. In the struggle against the Polish national movement and the Catholic Church, the Volyn Black Hundreds did not hesitate to use the Ukrainian language in their official appeals, calling it "Little Russian"; at the same time they were guided by the concept of the existence of the "triune Russian people." In order to ideologically influence the population and increase their political weight, the Black Hundreds also engaged in the creation of "union" public reading rooms-libraries, filling them with relevant literature. The activities of the NRC members in Volyn were not limited to propaganda work. To strengthen their economic independence, they tried to participate in the cooperative movement, widespread in the early twentieth century.