Prosvita Society in Kiev: the Ukrainian Struggle for Self-Identity in 1906-1920

The collection comprises material on the Prosvita Society in Kyiv which was founded on 16 May 1906. The documents describe the work of the influential Kyiv branch of this important cultural and popular educational organization originally founded in Western Ukraine in 1868. Among the goals of the society were the promotion of Ukrainian culture and language through teaching, research, publications, and the creation of reading rooms, libraries, and schools. The collection of documents from the Kyiv branch includes records of the First and Second All-Ukraine Congresses of Prosvita; minutes of general meetings; statistical reports; correspondence; and the Society's memorandum to the Hetman of the Ukrainian National Republic, Pavlo Skoropadskyi, on making Ukrainian the state language.