The centenary of “Rusalka Dnistrova” in the interwar publishing context
Authors: Pirko Maria 
Published: December 2022

Based on the books edition of Ukrainian publishing organizations of Galicia, the author is analyzed the place of the 100th anniversary of “Rusalka Dnistrova” — the first literary and folk issue of native language in the western Ukrainian territory, in the publishing practice of the interwar period. An attempt was made to find out the influence of the almanac on the cultural development of the region, the idea of the unity of the people on the both coasts of the Dnieper, and the formation of the national consciousness of Ukrainians throughout the century.
Almanac “Rusalka Dnistrova” is a book that was destined to start a new vernacular, folk literature in Western Ukrainian, and at the same time, the Ukrainian cultural and political revival of the region. This book, on the eve of the appearance of Shevchenko’s “Kobzar”, was compiled by the Lviv romantics, theological seminarians Markiyan Shashkevich, Ivan Vahylevych and Yakiv Holovatskyi, named “Rus’ka Triitsia”. The issue was printed in Budapest in 1837. Although the title states “Rusyn folk songs”, the compilers submitted not only recordings of folk songs from different regions of Galicia, but also their original poetry, prose and examples of translation work. In the introductory comments to individual chapters of the almanac, M. Shashkevich and I. Vahylevych review the content of the publication retrospectively and prospectively, presenting the historical genesis of the material, its thematic and genre stratification, and its lexical and stylistic features. The book is filled with love for Ukrainian folklore, antiquity and everything native. It has a strong spirit of conciliarism of Ukraine.
Almost all Galician magazines in one form or another responded to the jubilee almanac, including historical, literary and journalistic articles and artistic works. The 100th anniversary of the first book in the Ukrainian vernacular was commemorated by a lot of public organizations in Galicia. In addition to publications in the columns of periodicals about the celebration of the anniversary of “Rusalka Dnistrova”, new book editions have appeared for a wide Ukrainian audience.
Literary scholar and folklorist Mykhailo Wozniak favorably evaluated the movement work of the “Rus’ka Triitsia” and on the occasion of the anniversary period (1833–1837) prepared new information about the activities of the group under the name “In the century of “Zoria” by Markiian Shashkevich (1834–1934)”. The content of the “Calendar for everyone for 1937” edition of the Ivan Tiktor publishing house is almost entirely dedicated to the centenary of “Rusalka Dnistrova” as evidenced by the thematic art cover by Edward Kozak and the anniversary publication of the collection. And in general it can be said that the calendar is dedicated to the national revival of Ukrainians.
The support of the national idea of M. Shashkevich is evidenced by a considerable list of donors, placed on the last page of the illustrated one-day magazine “In the century of “Rusalka Dnistrova”, which on the occasion of the solemn celebration of the anniversary on August 1, 1937 at Bila Hora in Pidlyssia and in the artistic thematic cover of the work of the artist Myron Levytskyi was issued by the Zolochiv branch of the “Prosvita” society. For the centenary of the almanac, the jubilee collection published a circle of “Ridna Shkola” named after Markiyan Shashkevich in Sambir, which became the first printed publication of the society and another printed issue.
The appearance of “Rusalka Dnistrova” was a significant event in the development of the literary process in Western Ukraine in the conditions of social and national oppression of the Ukrainian people. The collection defended its right to exist, to develop language and culture, and over the centuries the almanac has not lost its relevance.
Keywords: almanac “Rusalka Dnistrova”, “Rus’ka Triitsia”, Markiyan Shashkevych, Ukrainian folklore, national consciousness.