Anti-Polish Activities of Black Hundreds in Volyn at the beginning of the 20th century

The purpose of the study is to determine the peculiarities of the anti-Polish activity vector of Pochaiv Branch of the Union of the Russian People and the Orthodox Clergy of Volyn at the beginning of the 20th century. The key factors that influenced the escalation of interethnic relations in the region are analyzed. It is found out that because of the active and purposeful activities of the Black Hundreds in Volyn, there was an aggravation of not only interethnic but also interconfessional relations. The research methodology is based on the use of both general scientific research methods (generalization, analysis, and synthesis) and special historical (comparative-historical and chronological) methods, which, in combination with the principles of historicism, multifactorality and objectivity contributed to the unbiased fulfillment of the objectives of the study. The scientific novelty of the study is in the fact that the authors, based on materials from the periodical press of the studied period and archival documents, have found out the peculiarities of the anti-Polish activities of the Black Hundreds and the Orthodox clergy in Volyn at the beginning of the 20th century, and have analyzed the consequent of the studied activity area of the Union of the Russian People. It is proved that together with the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, leading figures of which were the ideologues of the Black Hundred movement in Volyn, the 'allies' also actively opposed the growing influence of the Roman Catholic Church in the region. Particular attention is paid to the participation in the elections to the State Duma and the confrontation between the Black Hundreds and Polish landowners, the involvement of representatives of the authorities in that confrontation, who supported them and tried to weaken the influence of the Polish aristocracy, and that, in the end, was determined by the internal policy of the empire. After the unbiased analysis of the documents of the studied period, it is found out that the 'allies' often published fabricated accusations against the opponents on the pages of their periodicals in order to oppose the growing influence of Roman Catholics. Thus, the Black Hundreds operated in the context of the internal policy of the empire. Thanks to the support of the authorities, they were able to conduct an active and militant anti-Polish campaign. That was done with a clearly defined goal: to weaken in the region the position and influence of the Polish aristocracy, which, despite the long-term stay of the region as part of the empire, preserved its national identity and religious affiliation, which contradicted the imperial plans for the Russification of the region.

Source: Melnichuk O., Tsetsyk Y., & Kizlova A. (2022). Anti-Polish Activities of Black Hundreds in Volyn at the beginning of the 20th century. Eminak: Scientific Quarterly Journal. 1(37): 74-85

Source web-site: https://eminak.net.ua/index.php/eminak/article/view/572/398