Maslosojuz or Maslosoiuz (real name: Association of Dairy Cooperatives) was a Ukrainian dairy cooperation, founded in Stryj in 1904/05. At the beginning it was a branch of

Prosvita Prosvita (), since 1991 officially known as All-Ukrainian Prosvita Society named after Taras Shevchenko () is an enlightenment society aimed to preserve and develop Ukrainian culture, education and science, that was created in the nineteenth cen ...

, and in 1907 it was renamed into ''National Dairy Union Maslosojuz''. By 1914, it united around 100 smaller dairy cooperations, which handled around 7.5 mln liters of milk from Ukrainian farmers in eastern Galicia. The founders of Maslosojuz were: Yevhen Olesnytsky, Ivan Bachynsky, Ostap Nyzhankivsky, and Lev Horalevych. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Maslosojuz was recreated in 1924, within boundaries of newly created

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. The cooperation quickly grew, with several professionals being employed. Its turnover was around 12 million zlotys (as for 1938), and export of butter reached 423,000 kilograms (as for 1935). Products of Maslosojuz were available across whole territory of the Second Polish Republic. In the city of

Lwow Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

itself, in the 1930s, Maslosojuz had five stores. As leading Polish daily

Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny ''Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny'' (, ''Illustrated Daily Courier''), abbreviated ''IKC'' or ''Ikac'', was a Polish daily newspaper as well as a publishing house. Founded in 1910 in Kraków by Marian Dąbrowski, under the Second Polish Republic IK ...

wrote on 15 January 1937: "The products of Maslosojuz are well known across the nation, and the corporation itself controls all dairy markets of former Eastern Galicia". In 1939, Polish authorities incorporated Maslosojuz into the so-called ''Dairy Cooperation''. After

Polish September Campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

, it ceased to exist. Maslosojuz returned in 1941, and was active during

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

occupation. Finally, it was closed by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

in 1944. Before the Second World War, "Maslosoyuz" already united 500,000 of all 800,000 Western Ukrainian farms, that is almost every Ukrainian farm.

References

{{Authority control 1900s establishments in Ukraine Cooperatives in Ukraine Society of the Second Polish Republic History of Lviv Oblast