FOCUS ON PHILATELY: Ivan Franko in philately (PART II) (07/04/04)

FOCUS ON PHILATELY

by Ingert Kuzych

Ivan Franko in philately

PART II

A tireless activist in addition to carrying on his political and literary work, Ivan Franko was determined to complete his university studies, first at Chernivtsi University (1891) and subsequently at Vienna University, where he successfully defended his dissertation on July 1, 1893. The following year he became lecturer in the history of Ukrainian literature at Lviv University, but he failed to obtain the chair of Ukrainian literature largely due to his outspokenness and views that were considered too controversial. The official reason cited by the governor of Galicia for the arbitrary cancellation of his nomination for the position were the three arrests on Franko's record.

From 1894 to 1897 Franko and his wife published the journal Zhytie i Slovo (Life and Word), in which many of his articles appeared. It was in this publication that Franko fiercely attacked the socialism espoused by Marx and Engels.

During the course of his life Franko became proficient at several more languages, including French and English. For decades he supplied articles (in the appropriate language) to all of the major European newspapers. He became, in essence, the first professional Ukrainian journalist. It was from the royalties that he received (generally rather meager) that he managed to make ends meet for his family. Preparing articles for such a disparate European public was an amazing challenge - Franko had to make his submissions interesting and appealing to an expansive audience.

When the eminent historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky visited Lviv from Kyiv in 1894, Franko became closely associated with the Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh). In 1899 he became a full member and in 1904 an honorary member. Many of his historical and literary articles appeared in Zapysky NTSh (Notes of the NTSh). Through the efforts of Franko and Hrushevsky the NTSh became a surrogate Ukrainian academy of sciences prior to World War I.

In 1898 a celebration was held honoring Franko's 25th anniversary as a writer. This event was held on behalf of the people of Galicia to display their respect for the labors he had undertaken on their account. It was at this time that Franko's students decided their teacher deserved a proper home. (The Franko family had had to frequently move from one apartment to the next.) They raised funds for him to build himself a house, but the sum was insufficient. After purchasing some land, laying a foundation and constructing a retaining wall, he ran out of funds. Franko was forced to take out a loan for in excess of 37 years - on rather harsh terms - in order to complete his house. (Today the structure serves as the Ivan Franko Museum.)

A subsequent jubilee was held in 1913 to mark the 40th anniversary of Franko's literary work. This time the NTSh awarded him a yearly pension, and Ukrainians in Galicia, Russia and the United States raised 30,000 Austrian crowns for him (a not inconsiderable amount). So, at least in his final years, his financial concerns were lessened.

From 1898 to 1906 Franko devoted himself to solely editing the monthly journal Literaturnonaukovyi Vistnyk (LNV - Literary Scientific Herald). This publication was founded on the initiative of Hrushevsky as the official organ of the NTSh and it did much to unite the Ukrainian cultural forces that had been separated between the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires. Although Hrushevsky (in Kyiv) was nominally the editor in chief of LNV, it was Franko in Lviv who worked as the de facto editor. In 1905 the restrictions on the Ukrainian language were lifted in the Russian Empire, and in 1907 Hrushevsky transferred LNV to Kyiv. This action deprived Franko of his editorial job and raised bitter feelings in the Franko household.

The year 1905 saw Franko write one of his longest and most famous poems, "Moisei" (Moses). In this work he represents himself as the ancient prophet leading his folk - indifferent and rebellious, spiritually weak and physically oppressed - to their promised freedom. A few lines from this poem sum up his feelings for his people:

Moses declares
"You are my kin, my only child,
My honor and my glory;
In you my soul its future finds,
Our nation's future story.

I've given you my life, my toil,
I have been keen to con it,
Your journey through the centuries
Will bear my seal upon it."

In the following year of 1906, Kharkiv University granted Ivan Franko an honorary doctorate. However, his candidacy for the Russian Academy of Sciences was denied, basically because of a subversive "recommendation" by the Polish Prof. Jagicz (Franko's doctoral coordinator), who was jealous of his student.

Franko's health began to decline in 1908 and he almost lost the use of his hands. A poignant photo of him in his last years (1913) shows him seated with only the top button of his suit coat buttoned - presumably he had difficulty buttoning the rest - his hands bent downward and backward in claw-like positions. [The image is too dim and grainy to allow for proper reproduction.] Nevertheless, he continued to work without respite. He relied on his phenomenal memory and dictated his thoughts to his secretary.

The first world war proved to be another serious blow to the author. Franko's two sons were mobilized into the Austrian army (the third son, Andrew, died in 1913), and the Russians occupied Galicia during the first part of the conflict (September 1914 to June 1915). During this time, the occupiers attempted to squelch all Ukrainian activities.

Franko's condition gradually worsened, and he died on May 28, 1916, only a couple of years before both Ukraine and Westetn Ukraine achieved periods of independence. The great writer's funeral was arranged by the NTSh. Despite the restrictions imposed by the war, over 10,000 people participated in his funeral procession.

Ivan Franko was buried in Lviv's beautiful Lychakiv Cemetery, the most esteemed personage on the grounds that hold many of Ukraine's most honored heroes. In the weeks and months that followed, 224 foreign publications are known to have carried obituaries about him.

A splendid article on Franko by Iryna Yehorova appeared in the Kyiv publication Den (The Day) on March 23 (issue No. 11, under "Culture"); it may be accessed at www.day.kiev.ua. Titled "The Eternal Oppositionist," it includes an informative interview with Roman Horak, director of the Ivan Franko Memorial Museum.

It has been reported - but I have not been able to confirm this - that during the second decade of the 20th century, Franko was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature. His untimely death supposedly precluded his receiving the award, since it is presented only to living persons. Should anyone have further information about such a nomination, I would appreciate hearing from him or her. I may be contacted at: Ingert Kuzych, P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150; or by e-mail, ingert@starpower.net.

Postcard depictions

Ivan Franko has appeared frequently on postcards, some of which are reproduced here. Figure 10 was issued as an Easter card, while Figure 11 shows cards prepared by various Ukrainian organizations.

Ivan Franko was also depicted on a special Ukrainian Legion (Ukrainski Sichovi Striltsi) postcard. The photo, taken on January 19, 1916, some four months before his death, shows Franko at a reception held at a convalescent home for Ukrainian Legionaries in Lviv.

Figure 12 reproduces a distinctive postal card of the Ukrainian Legion whose message describes Ivan Franko's funeral. Mailed at the Lviv Main Post Office (Lemberg 1-Lwow 1) on June 2, 1916, it also shows a pink, rectangular censor handstamp. The card was mailed (post free) to Volodymyr Zalitach by Maria Zalitach, probably his sister. The message on the reverse reads:

Dear Soldier! What is new with you? How are you getting along? I'm already in Lviv and am going to Dnister. This past Saturday marked a week since my arrival. Maybe you know that Ivan Franko passed away. I was at his funeral. The funeral procession was just enormous. There was a massive turnout, even Uncle Pavliuk, also the director [and] several professors from Stanyslaviv. Reply, all right? Farewell to you, Maria.

Additional honors accorded Ivan Franko

Perhaps the greatest honor bestowed on Ivan Franko was the renaming of the city of Stanyslaviv, the second largest in Galicia, to Ivano-Frankivsk in 1962. The city was founded in 1662 on the site of the former village of Zabolotiv by the Polish magnate Andrzej Potocki, who named it after Stanislaw, his son. (The city's name was altered slightly to Stanislav between 1939 and 1962.)

Ivano-Frankivsk is also an oblast capital. At the time the city's name was changed, the entire oblast was also renamed from Stanyslaviv to Ivano-Frankivsk. Today the city is home to about 250,000 while the oblast population is some 1.4 million.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Ivan Franko's portrait on the 20-hryvnia Ukrainian banknote, which it has embellished since the hryvnia was introduced in 1996 (Figure 13). The upper note was in use for only about a year before being replaced with the lower type that contained more security features.

Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150 or at his e-mail address: ingert@starpower.net.

PART I

PART II

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