Supreme Ruthenian Council () was the first legal Ruthenian political organization that existed from May 1848 to June 1851. It was founded on 2 May 1848 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 ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

as the result of the 1848 Spring of Nations and in response to the earlier created by the local Polish community Central National Council which claim itself as the representative body of the

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 ...

. In its manifest of 10 May 1848 the council declared about the unity of all 15 million

Ukrainian people Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the second largest ethno-linguistic community. At around 46 million worldwide, Ukr ...

and expressed its support for all people of the

. The organization had three main political requests. * Divide Galicia into two separate administrative units: western for Poles and eastern for Ukrainians * Unite into one province all Ukrainian lands of Galicia, Subcarpathia, and Bucovina * Lectures in schools and publishing of government statements need to be conducted in

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 ...

Supreme Ruthenian Council consisted of 30 members who were representatives of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

and

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

. Head of the council was elected bishop of Premissel Hryhoriy Yakhymovych, later canon . Yakhymovych's assistants were Mykhailo Kuzemsky and . The council contained several departments. Three members of the organization attended the Prague Slavic Congress in June 1848. On 18 May 1848 the council decided the problem with national symbols declaring that "the flag of local Ruthenian land consists of the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

, and the colors of Ruthenia are yellow and blue" (Ruthenian: знамя земли рускои тутейшои єсть левъ, а цвѣты руски жовтый и синый).Andriy Hrechylo.
Ukrainian flag (Український прапор)
'. 100krokiv.info. On the 25 May 1848 on the tower of the Lviv Town Hall ('' Ratusz'') was hanged "a banner of Ruthenian colors, and next to it, on the left side, a Polish banner" (Ruthenian: хоруговъ рускои барвы, а при ней зъ лѣвои стороны хоруговъ польску), while the Supreme Ruthenian Council were disassociating themselves from the event and in the newspaper "Zoria Halytska" printed "it was not Ruthenians who have done it, and we even do not know who did" (Ruthenian: то не Русини оучинили, и наветъ не знаютъ, кто тоє оучинивъ). Next year, the Supreme Ruthenian Council ordered to held festivities in Lviv Town Hall, including hanging " Ruthenian blue-yellow and Austrian black-yellow" banners.

External links

Ruthenian Congress in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993)

References

{{reflist History of Lviv 1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire 1851 disestablishments in the Austrian Empire Ukrainian political parties in Austria-Hungary Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire Establishments in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria History of Ruthenia

See also

External links

References