«Because I live only for Ukraine!» A word about Yurii Fedkovych

Abstract

The research examines the role of Ukrainian national idea in the life and works of Yurii Fed’kovych, and the writer’s patriotism. In this context, it primarily characterizes the socio-political situation in Bukovyna in the 19th century, the peculiarities of Y. Fed’kovych’s national identity formation, the influence of folklore and Shevchenko’s poetry, and Ukrainian literature in general on these processes. It also discusses the Bukovynian writer’s personal contacts with certain Eastern Ukrainian figures — M. Drahomanov and O. Konyskyi. Considerable attention is paid to Y. Fed’kovych’s pedagogical activities as an inspector of public schools in Vyzhnytsia district, his struggle for Ukrainian schools, native language instruction, and the creation of appropriate textbooks. The paper also highlights the writer’s work as the first editor of the «Bukovyna» newspaper and the periodical’s significance in establishing the idea of national unity of Ukrainians in society. The study analyzes Y. Fed’kovych’s artistic interpretation of patriotic themes in works featuring Eastern Ukrainian motifs, those dedicated to Oleksa Dovbush, Lukian Kobylytsia, Ivan Mazepa, and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, as well as those that openly condemn the expansionist policy of Russian tsarism. During the Soviet era, these works were not published for obvious reasons. In this regard, special attention is paid to Y. Fed’kovych’s journalistic article «Before It’s Too Late!» (1869), where Moscophilism is interpreted as dangerous for the Ukrainian national movement. The writer’s role in developing Ukrainian national consciousness in Bukovyna under Austrian rule is emphasized. The conclusion states that Fed’kovych was one of the most prominent advocates for the unity of Ukrainian lands and Ukraine’s independence.