The Shevchenko Scientific Society (), founded in 1873, is a Ukrainian scientific society devoted to the promotion of scholarly research and publication. Unlike the government-funded National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the society is a public organization. It was reestablished in Ukraine in 1989 during the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, after being exiled from Ukraine since 1940. The society now has branches in several countries around the globe, such as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The organisation is named after the famous Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure,

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

History

It was founded in 1873 in Lemberg (today

Lviv 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 ...

), at that time the capital of the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

, as a literary society devoted to the promotion of

Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...

literature initially under the name Shevchenko Society. It was established soon after another cultural society, better known as

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 ...

(Enlightenment). At that time any publication in

was prohibited in the Russian-controlled Ukraine ( Little Russia), from the beginning it attracted the financial and intellectual support of writers and patrons of Ukrainian background from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The Shevchenko Scientific Society was created on an idea of a writer Oleksandr Konyskyi and the Shevchenko's contemporary Dmytro Pylchykov with a financial support of Yelyzaveta Myloradovych-Skoropadska. In 1893, due to the change in its statute the Shevchenko Scientific Society was transformed into a real scholarly multidisciplinary academy of sciences with its periodical the ''Zapysky NTSh'' (Notes of the Shevchenko Scientific Society), yet continue to be specialized in the Ukrainian Studies. Throughout most of its history it had three sections: history-philosophical, philological, and mathematically-medical-natural scientific. Under the presidency of the historian, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, it greatly expanded its activities, contributing to both the humanities and the physical sciences, law and medicine, but most specifically once again it concentrated on Ukrainian studies. At the turn of the century the Cultural and Historical Museum, Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Society took an interest in the history and the archaeology of Ukraine. Leading archaeological experts in this work were Bohdan Janusz, Kateryna Antonovych-Melnyk and Volodymyr Antonovych. One of its most prolific contributors was the poet, folklorist, and literary historian Ivan Franko who headed the philological section. Also during that period the society created several museums, libraries, and archives. By 1914, several hundred volumes of scholarly research and notices had been published by the society including over a hundred volumes of its ''Zapysky''. The

First World War 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 ...

interrupted the society's activities, particularly during the Russian occupation in 1914-1915, when the society's collection of works and its print shop were destroyed. After the war and the Polish-Ukrainian conflict, the

West Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

belonged to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. During that time, the society lost its government subsidies, but managed to carry on a precarious existence. Its major contributors were the literary historians, Vasyl Shchurat,

Kyryl Studynsky Kyrylo Studynsky, also known as Kyrylo Studynskyi (; 4 October 1868 – 1941), was a western Ukrainian political and cultural figure from the late-19th to the mid-20th century. One of the principal figures within the Christian Social Movement in Uk ...

, and the historian Ivan Krypiakevych. One of the most important projects of the society was the publication of the first general alphabetic encyclopedia in the Ukrainian language. The

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

annexed the eastern part of the

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 ...

including the city of

, which capitulated to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 22 September 1939. Upon their occupation of Lviv, 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 ...

dissolved the society. Many of its members were arrested and either imprisoned or executed. Among the perished members were such academicians as R. Zubyk, a former Ukrainian minister I. Feshchenko-Chopivsky, a Ukrainian parliamentarian Petro Franko,

, and many others. During the Nazi occupation, the society still was not able to function openly. In 1947, on the initiative of the geographer and one of the major collaborators with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Volodymyr Kubiyovych, it was re-founded as an émigré scholarly society in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

; the Society's European center was later moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Other branches were also founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(1947),

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(1949) and

(1950), and throughout the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

it functioned as a federation of semi-independent societies. During its period in emigration, the major project of the society was again an

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

. Under the editorship of Volodymyr Kubiyovych, it published the great ''Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva'' (''Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies'') consisting of four major series: the Ukrainian-language thematic encyclopedia in three volumes, the Ukrainian-language alphabetic encyclopedia in 11 volumes, the English-language thematic encyclopedia in two volumes, and the English-language alphabetic one in five volumes. The last compilation, published in

under the title ''

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

'', is available on-line. In 1989, the society was reactivated in the Ukrainian homeland (in

) and once again undertook a large-scale research and publication program. Branches were soon founded in other Ukrainian cities and membership exceeded a thousand, including 125 full voting members.

Presidents

Ukraine

* 1873–1885 Kornylo Sushkevych * 1885–1887 Sydir Hromnytsky * 1887–1889 Demian Hladylovych * 1889–1891 Sydir Hromnytsky * 1891–1892 Demian Hladylovych * 1892–1893 Yulian Tselevych * 1893–1897

Oleksander Barvinsky Oleksandr Hryhorovych Barvinsky () (June 8, 1847 – December 25, 1926) was an important western Ukrainian cultural figure and politician, a founder of the Christian Social Party in western Ukraine. He also was a member of the Austrian parlia ...

* 1897–1913 Mykhailo Hrushevsky * 1913–1918 Stepan Tomashivsky * 1919–1923 Vasyl Shchurat * 1923–1932 Kyrylo Studynsky * 1932–1935 Volodymyr Levytsky * 1935–1940 Ivan Rakovsky * 1940–1989 ''Soviet occupation and World War II'' * 1989–2005 Oleh Romaniv * 2005–2014 Oleh Kupchynsky * 2014– Roman Kushnir

Europe

* ????–1952 Zenon Kuzela * 1952–1985 Volodymyr Kubiyovych * 1985–1997 Arkadiy Zhukovsky * 1997–1999 Danylo Husar-Struk * 2000–2011 Arkadiy Zhukovsky * 2011– Stefan Dunikovsky

United States

* 1947–1952 Mykola Chubaty * 1952–1969 Roman Smal-Stocki * 1969–1974 Matthew Stachiw * 1974–1977 Osyp Andrushkiv * 1977–1990 Jaroslaw Padoch * 1990–2000 Leonid Rudnytzky * 2000–2006 Larysa Zaleska Onyshkevych * 2006–2012 Orest Popovych * 2012–2018 George G. Grabowicz * 2018– Halyna Hryn

Canada

* 1949–1973 Yevhen Vertyporokh * 1974–1994 Bohdan Stebelsky * 1994–2000 Vladimir Mackiw * 2000– Daria Darevych

Society press media

''Literaturno-naukovy visnyk'' () was published 1898-1906, 1922-1932 in Lviv and 1907–1914, 1917-1919 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. The chief editor was Ivan Franko, since 1905 - Mykhailo Hrushevsky.

References

Notes

External links

Shevchenko Scientific Society
in Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Diaspora(Ukrainian)
Literary Scientific Herald
at

Shevchenko Scientific Society
at

Shevchenko Scientific Society

Shevchenko Scientific Society
(English) {{Authority control Organizations established in 1873 Ukrainian studies 1873 establishments in Austria-Hungary Establishments in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria