The Chytal'nia Prosvita fonds

 Painted Backdrop of Mother Prosvita (approx. 5 ft  x 7 ft) found 

within the Ukrainian Reading Association - 

Chytalnia Prosvita fonds  Mss 361  
(Artist: Tony Hawrysh, 1938)

During the winter of 2012, the executive board of Chytal'nia Prosvita - The Ukrainian Reading Assocaition, donated its archives to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, to become part of the Archives of the Ukrainian-Canadian Experience.The fonds consists of the Ukrainian Reading Association - Chytal'na Prosvitas administrative history, minutes of the meetings, reports, correspondence, and "Ridna Shkola"s archival material. Its photograph collection includes 604 photographs, 275 negatives, 5 films, and 8 videocassettes. The Ukrainian Reading Association - Chytal'nia Prosvita fonds Mss 361, Pc 317, Tc 166 (A.11-91), are held in the U of M Archives & Special Collections.

The Ukrainian Reading Association, Chytal’na Prosvita was founded in 1903 by the members of Sts. Volodymyr and Ol'ha Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Cathedral in Winnipeg. The goal of the association is to promote and foster the Ukrainian culture (language, history, geography) through the education of ordinary people. The movement of the enlightenment society “Prosvita” started in Lviv, Western Ukraine in 1868. The first Ukrainians coming to Canada who were members of the mother organization in Ukraine brought this idea with them to Winnipeg. They first held meetings at the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, and later at Sts. Volodymyr and Ol'ha Cathedral and opened their school “Ridna Shkola” in 1918. In 1919 the members of the Chytal’na Prosvita discussed the possibility of purchasing their own building. Eight members of the association loaned their own money to purchase the house at 667 Flora Ave. The building was officially open on October 9, 1921 and blessed by Metropolitan Andrei Sheptyckyj. A list of donors who contributed to the Ukrainian Reading Association’s building was hung on the wall in the new building.

With the purchase of the new building, new organizations came into being such as the Benevolent Association of  Chytal’na Prosvita - the Mutual Aid Society (1927); the Women’s Organization of Maria Markovych (1931); and the “Plast” youth organization (1930). In addition, to the above mentioned, organizations many other groups and institutions used the building for their own activities: the Society of Volyn, and Research Institute of Volyn; the Ukrainian National Federation, the North Winnipeg Credit Union, and various musical and theatrical groups. “Chytal’na Prosvita” also had a large library with over 400 books. They were used by the Ukrainian community of the North End. 

Chytal’na Prosvita housed various cultural events, debates, lectures, concerts, amateur theatre and dance performances. Many prominent Ukrainian academics and artists visited Chytal’na Prosvita, including, E. Turula (composer), K. Andrysyshyn (educator), V. Avramenko (choreographer), O. Koshetz (director of choir), and many others who performed at Chytal’na Prosvita. 

In 1982 a big fire destroyed most of the building and although costly repairs kept it going for a while, it deteriorated to the point that the members of Chytal’na Prosvita decided to sell the building. Chytal'nia Prosvita's building finally closed its doors on May 31, 2001. The Chytal’na Prosvita’s executive board relocated to the North Winnipeg Credit Union, and their funds were transferred into a Designated Fund in the Shevchenko Foundation. The Ukrainian School “Ridna shkola” operates from the Andrew Mynarski School. The Reading Association School “Ridna Shkola” has 10 grades and opens its doors to students every Sunday. A large number of books from Chytal'nia Prosvita were donated to the Slavic Collection,  Elizabeth Dafoe Library (University of Manitoba), with the remaining books deposited throughout libraries in Ukraine.

21st J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture with Dr. Alexander Motyl

 

Poster/ Announcement of Dr. Motyl's March 14, 2014 Lecture 

Dr. Myroslav Shkandrij (U of M Dept of German & Slavic Studies) - right, Dr. Shelley Sweeney (Head, U of M  Archives & Special Collections) - centre, and Dr. Alexander Motyl (Rutgers University) - left                  

The 21st Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture took place on Friday, March 14, 2014, in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. The guest lecturer for the event was, Dr. Alexander Motyl, a Professor of Political Science, at Rutger University (New Jersey).  His lecture titled, Will Ukraine Survive Yanukovych?, discussed the institutional devastation of Ukraine by the Yanukovych regime, examine the Euro Revolution as a response to that devastation, and evaluate Ukraine's post-Yanukovych prospects. Dr. Motyl also spoke of the reaction of Russia's Putin regime to the events in Ukraine, and how it has negatively affected Ukrainian-Russian relations.

The lecture was very well attended, and included both members of the university and external communities. The lecture was sponsored by the U of M Archives & Special Collections, the Slavic Collection (Elizabeth Dafoe Library), and the Department of German and Slavic Studies. Following the lecture, Dr. Motyl continued to answer questions at the reception that followed his talk. The complete lecture has since been place online.

Professor Motyl is a well-known scholar who has written extensively on the former Soviet Union and Ukraine, including several books, and many articles. Some of his books include: Communist Legacies and Post-Communist Trajectories: Comparative Perspectives on Ukraine and Russia (forthcoming); Holodomor Reader (Coeditor, 2012); Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires (2001); Dilemmas of Independence: Ukraine after Totalitarianism (1993); and Will the Non‑Russians Rebel? State, Ethnicity, and Stability in the USSR  (1987). He is also a prominent commentator on contemporary Ukraine, and a regular contributor to World Affairs, a core journal on international affairs. In addition, He is well known as the author of an often-cited blog, that is maintained through the World Affairs website (URL: http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blogs/alexander-j-motyl )

The Polish Review

 Cover of the Polish Review, issue 4 (2012)

The Polish Review is a peer reviewed, English language interdisciplinary academic journal published by the Polish Institute of Arts & Sciences  in America.  It began publishing in 1956, with purpose of providing scholarly material  in the various fields of Polish studies encompassing Poland and the Polish diaspora. It has remained a core journal of Polish studies since its inception, and provided  essential scholarly content to counter propaganda-tainted publications in Poland during the communist era. The Polish Review publishes original English language research, reviews articles, book reviews, and provides translations of important Polish-language literary works and scholarly material. The periodical is indexed in several important bibliographies/ databases such as: the MLA International Bibliography; America: History & Life; Historical Abstracts and International Political Science Abstracts.

The complete run of the Polish Review (including current issues) are available electronically at the University of Manitoba Libraries, also, some bound issues of the periodical are available in the Bound Journal section on the third floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library, under the call number, Dafoe Per 943.8 P759 RE

Iraida Tarnawecky Fonds

 Dr. Tarnawecky conducting research at the Basilian Fathers Museum in Mundare, Alberta, August, 1967.

Iraida Tarnawecky Photograph Collection (PC 189)

Dr. Iraida Gerus Tarnawecky was born in Pochaiv, Volyn’, Ukraine, in 1924. In 1949, she obtained a B.Sc. from the Georgia Augusta University, Goettingen, Germany. After immigrating to Canada in 1950, she obtained an M.A. from the University of Manitoba (1964) and a Ph.D. from the Ukrainian Free University (Munich, Germany, 1965). Dr. Tarnawecky was married to the late Professor Emeritus Michael Tarnawecky (Faculty of Engineering), and the couple had two daughters, Marusia and Natalka. From 1963 to 1968, she served as a sessional and full-time lecturer with the Department of Slavic Studies (University of Manitoba).  In 1968, she was appointed Assistant Professor with the department, was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1975, and to the rank of Full Professor in 1984. Upon her retirement from the Department of German and Slavic Studies in 1993, Dr. Tarnawecky was honoured with the title of Senior Scholar. She passed away on July 5, 2011.

Dr. Tarnawecky was a renowned Slavic linguist and onomastist, who had a keen interest in Slavic philology and Cyrillic paleography. Her publications include two books and many articles pertaining to her research field.  She  published both nationally and internationally. One of her most important publications is entitled East Slavic Cyrillica in Canadian Depositories (1981), a monograph identifying Canadian collections, both private and public, containing cyrillic manuscripts and early books. In order to compile the material for her research, Dr. Tarnawecky visited 87 institutions and private collections throughout Canada. In 1974, Dr. Tarnawecky was the first Canadian academic chosen in an agreement between the Canada Council and the former U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences to carry out a research program in the history of Slavic languages at the Linguistic Institute in Moscow and Kyiv. She remained active throughout her career in various associations and committees, including Vice-President of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names, Chairperson of the Humanities Section of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in Canada (UVAN), member of the Senate for St. Andrew’s College Library, editior of the Onomastica series, and a former member of the Canada Council Selection Committee for Doctoral Scholarships in the Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2002, as part of their continued commitment to the Ukrainian community, Dr. Tarnawecky and her husband, funded an academic legacy.  The Professors Michael and Iraida Tarnawecky Distinguished Visiting Lecture Series was established at the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies, St. Andrew's Colledge, at the University of Manitoba. 

 In 2004 and 2007 Dr. Tarnawecky donated two separate accruals of the her archives to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. The Iraida Tarnawecky fonds (Mss 213, Pc 189, Tc 112 (A.04-126, A.07-06) consists of: correspondence, research material pertaining to her field of study and career, photographs and audio-recordings. One of the recordings in the collection, is an interview with Dr. Savella Stechishin,, where she discusses the reasons behind her writing the famous Traditional Ukrainian Cookery cookbook, which has become a rare and much sought after publication.

J. Nicholas Mandziuk, Q.C. Fonds

 J. Nicholas Mandziuk (right), pictured with Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (c.a. 1959).

Photographer: Ted Grant. 

J. Nicholas Mandziuk photograph collection (P C 194)

J. Nicholas Mandziuk was born in Western Ukraine on December 13, 1902. In 1904, he immigrated with his parents to Canada, where they settled in the Ashville district of Manitoba. He graduated from the Teacher's College in 1921 and taught for several years in various schools in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1933, he graduated with honours from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Law degree. He practiced law in Oakburn, Manitoba and, in 1961, was honoured by being named Queen's Council. In Oakburn, he was active in community affairs, serving as Chairman of the Oakburn School District, President of the Oakburn Board of Trade, and Manager and founding member of Oakburn Credit Union. He was also active in the Ukrainian community, where he served on the following boards and associations: member and Chair of the Board of Oakburn National Home, founding member and executive member of St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Oakburn, President of of the Manitoba Ukrainian Self-Reliance Association, and General Secretary of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. His active role in the Ukrainian community resulted in his being awarded the Shevchenko Medal by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Canada Service of Excellence Award by the Ukrainian Self Reliance League (USRL).

In 1957, Mandziuk ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the Manitoba federal riding of Marquette. He successfully won the riding and was re-elected in four subsequent elections. As a Member of Parliament, he served on various committees and represented Canada in international conferences, including acting as Chairman of the Manitoba Caucus, Member of the External Affairs Department, Chairman of the Private Bills Committee, the Canadian delegate to the United Nations, the Canadian delegate to the NATO Parliamentary Conference, and the Canadian delegate to the Inter-Parliamentary Conference and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

In 2005, the daughters of  the late late J. Nicholas Mandziuk, Sonja Bejzyk and Darcia Zemianski, donated his archives to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collection.  The J. Nicholas Mansziuk, Q.C., fonds (MSS 215, PC 194 (A.05-51) consists of personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks pertaining to J. Nicholas Mandziuk's political career as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Marquette during the Diefenbaker era.

Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny

Cover of issue 1 (2013) of Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny

Studia Migracyjne - Przegląd Polonijny (Migration Studies -Review of the Polish Diaspora), is a quarterly journal published by the Polish Academy of Sciences. The peer-reviewed journal focuses on historical, political and economical trends affecting Poland's population. Besides articles focusing on the internal demographic trends in Poland, one will also find articles discussing the activities of the Polish diaspora community throughout the world. Some of the more recent articles look at the effects of Polish migration after Poland's assumption to the European Union.

The most recent issues are displayed on the Slavic Collection’s Current Periodical Shelf, while the older issues are available in the Slavic Collection's main stacks, under the call # Slav DK 4122 P79.