Confessional policy of the Bolsheviks in the Сrimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1920-1930s

The article examines confessional politics in one of the most diffi cult periods for religious organizations that are the 20–30s of the XX century. At this time, active anti-religious work was carried out, so there were created some special organizations supposed to get rid of any manifestations of religious consciousness among the Soviet citizens. All the diversity of this policy is discussed on the example of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The policy that revealed the relation to the Orthodox and Muslim populations and took into account the national specifi cs of the region varied from relatively loyal attitude towards religious organizations in the 1920s to the events of the Great Terror of 1937–1938. The Crimean ASSR was multi-confessional. The authorities faced the need to compromise between the fi ght against religion and the desire not to aggravate confl icts with national minorities. The anti-religious policy was not supposed to confl ict with the policy of indigenousization. Throughout the pre-war twenty years, anti-religious work in the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was not fully implemented and was poorly organized. The slowdown in the implementation of the anti-religious line was caused by both unsuccessful selections of the personnel and insuffi cient funding of the anti-religious activities carried out.

The Last Citizen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: The Editor Ludwik Abramowicz (1879–1939) and the Idea of "Krajowość"

The Last Citizen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: The Editor Ludwik Abramowicz (1879–1939) and the Idea of KrajowośćLudwik Abramowicz was one of the main ideologists of the idea of krajowość in its liberal-democratic version. He defended its principles even in the interwar period, when Poland was dominated by the policy of assimilation of national minorities and relations with Lithuania had the character of a cold war. Thanks to Abramowicz, Przegląd Wileński [Vilnius Review] (1921–1938) became the last bastion of the idea of krajowość, actively popularising it in the public life of the Vilnius Region. Abramowicz unwaveringly defended the idea of the political independence of the Belarusian-Lithuanian Lands and the decision of its future by the representatives of all indigenous nations. Abramowicz’s life and work, his publications in Przegląd Wileński prove that against all political and national-cultural realities, the idea of krajowość as an idea of harmonious coexistence of the nations of the historical Lithuania was popular and found new supporters.Ostatni obywatel Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego. Wprowadzenie do biografii redaktora Ludwika Abramowicza (1879–1939)Publicysta i redaktor Ludwik Abramowicz był jednym z głównych ideologów idei krajowej w jej liberalno-demokratycznej wersji. Bronił zasad krajowości nawet w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym, kiedy w Polsce dominowała polityka asymilacji mniejszości narodowych, a stosunki z Litwą miały charakter zimnej wojny. Dzięki Abramowiczowi „Przegląd Wileński” (1921–1938) stał się ostatnim bastionem idei krajowej, czynnie popularyzując ją w życiu publicznym Wileńszczyzny. Abramowicz konsekwentnie bronił idei politycznej niezależności Kraju Białorusko-Litewskiego i decydowania o jego losie przez przedstawicieli wszystkich rdzennych narodów. Życie i twórczość Abramowicza, publikacje w „Przeglądzie Wileńskim” świadczą, że wbrew wszelkim realiom politycznym i narodowo-kulturowym idea krajowa jako idea harmonijnego współistnienia narodów historycznej Litwy cieszyła się popularnością i znajdowała nowych zwolenników.

Institutional and Legal Mechanisms for Protection of the Rights of Ukrainian Minority in the Warmia and Mazury Region

The research aims at presenting and exploring the mechanisms for protection of the rights of national minorities (based on the example of Ukrainian minority) in the Warmia and Mazury Region of the Republic of Poland. The research hypothesis is based on the statement that in fact the protection of rights of national minorities at the level of the Warmia and Mazury Region could be treated as a model, and thus implemented in other regions in Poland, or even in other countries facing the problems related to the protection of national and ethnic minorities. The main research problems are addressed within the questions: how is Ukrainian minority distributed in the studied region?; What are the state and local government institutions working for national minorities in the studied region of Poland?; What activities do these institutions undertake to ensure equal treatment of national minorities and provision for their rights?; How are these activities assessed by organizations/representatives of the Ukrainian national minority? The leading research method was the institutional and legal one. The research also contained the interviewing method as well as the focus group interview. Obtained results of the study confirmed the research hypothesis. It turned out that the Warmia and Mazury Region has created an effective institutional environment for the development of national minorities, including the Ukrainian one. It was possible thanks to the activity of the only Polish Plenipotentiary of the Marshal for national minorities and also the only National and Ethnic Minorities Committee of the Regional Council in Poland.

A document in the context of the studying national minorities conditions in the ukrainian state (april – december 1918)

The purpose of the article is based on the documents, the main trends in the policy of Hetman P.Skoropadsky and his government towards national minorities have been analyzed. Methodology. In termsof preparing the research, methods of analysis, comparison, analogy, generalization, structuring were used.As well as methods of Document Science, Archival Science. The scientific novelty is due to the fact that forthe first time analysis was made on the basis of a documentary array of the main policy trends in relation tonational minorities of the Hetmanate; the reasons for the repeal of the Law on National-Personal Autonomyand the abolition of national ministries in Russian, Jewish and Polish affairs were clarified. In all the studieddocuments (Missive Letter to All Ukrainian People, Law on Elections of Provincial and County ZemstvoCouncillors, Order on Internal Relations in the Ukrainian Army), the emphasis was made on the loyalty ofcitizens to the Ukrainian State, not on their ethnic origin, and on the tolerant attitude of the state towardsboth the national and religious feelings of citizens. Admission to higher educational establishments was alsodemocratic in the Ukrainian state. Based not on ethnic but on territorial-state principles, the Hetmanatedid not see the point in the existence of national ministries established by the Ukrainian Central Rada, butthere was its general understanding of the national minorities’ needs and, thus, it often responded to theirrequests. Considerable attention has been paid to the coverage of cultural and educational activities ofnational minorities. Conclusions. Having analyzed the national policy of the Hetmanateon on the basis ofthe documents, we found out that despite some uncertainty it was moderate and did not lead to interethnicconflicts. By repealing the Law on National Personal Autonomy and National Ministries in Great Russian,Jewish, and Polish Affairs, Hetman P. Skoropadsky, and his government were guided by the territorial-stateprinciple, according to which all citizens of the state were equal, regardless of their nationality and religion.Meanwhile, there was some sufficient support, including financial one, for the national and cultural revival ofnational minorities.Keywords: document, national minorities, national and personal autonomy, Hetmanate, rights, interethnicrelations, cultural and educational policy.

Strategic guidelines of ethno-national policy of Ukraine: Political and legal aspects

Problems and unresolved issues in the field of the Ukrainian political nation consolidation and national minorities rights protection are analysed. The normative legal acts regulating ethno-national relations in Ukraine are analysed. The necessity of reforming the ethno-national legislation, elimination of declarative, contradictory and conflicting norms is proved. Threats caused by separatist manifestations are shown. The main values, guidelines and directions of the Ukrainian state ethno-national policy development are determined. The creation of a legal framework for ethnocultural autonomy in Ukraine will contribute to the formation of an effective system of protection of the rights of citizens belonging to national minorities in Ukraine, which will meet international standards in the field of protection of national minorities. , and will allow to approximate the legislation of Ukraine in the field of protection of the rights of national minorities to the EU law. Each national minority will have the right to create its own ethnocultural (extraterritorial) autonomy in order to address the issues of preservation and development of ethnocultural identity without requirements and claims to the state and the state budget. This will eliminate the declarativeness of the relevant legislation, increase the level of self-organization of national minorities, redirect ethno-territorial requirements to ethnocultural, promote harmonization of ethno-national relations and interethnic harmony in Ukraine, consolidation of Ukrainian society into a political nation based on common citizenship

(Re)Production of Inequality in the School System? A Comparison of Croatia’s and Austria’s Concepts of Plurilingualism

In Croatia‘s and Austria’s educational systems, plurilingual students have long had the status of a priority group, and thus give us the impression of readiness in facing the "problem" of dynamics of society as the greatest challenge of all – whether as national minorities or students who, as refugees in accompanied or without parents, come to one of these countries in search of a better life. In both countries, concepts have been developed and laws aimed at integrating plurilingual children into regular classes as soon as possible, encouraging them to learn the language of the majority population first, while neglecting their backgrounds and the potential they carry. By reviewing and comparing concepts, laws, and regulations that deal with all aspects of the phenomenon of plurilingualism – from the structure and manner of distribution of plurilingual children in classrooms, through the training of teachers who teach them, to the image of them in society, the paper will try to answer the question to what extent these states are ready for the multi- and plurilingual reality that surrounds us.

Interwar and Contemporary Poland. A Comparison of the Protection of Minority Rights in the Second and in the Third Polish Republics

This paper is devoted to the problem of the protection of minority rights in Poland in the interwar period in comparison with the contemporary situation. On the one hand, before the Second World War Poland was a very heterogeneous country, inhabited for generations by multiple and internally diverse religious, national, ethnic, or linguistic minorities. On the other hand, contemporary Poland is a country in which national and ethnic minorities constitute only a few percent of the population, and the proportion of such minorities in Poland compared to other European countries is one of the lowest in Europe. The duties of the Polish authorities towards national minorities were determined by internal legal acts: decrees of the Chief of State, and above all the March Constitution and national law, as well as many international legal acts, for instance such as the so-called Little Treaty of Versailles. The second part of the paper discusses the contemporary situation of the minorities in Poland, for instance the situation of the national and ethnic minorities and the situation of sexual minorities.

National Human Rights Institutions and Access to Justice for National Minorities in Europe

This article focuses on the role that National Human Rights Institutions play in guaranteeing access to justice for national minorities. Based on the osce hcnm Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities, this study aims at identifying commons issues and good practices by comparing rules and practices concerning minority representation in nhris, nhris’ focus on national minority issues, and nhris’ role in providing access to justice for national minorities. Separate subsections cover collective-groups’ complaints and the relevance of groups during investigations; regional offices; and websites, languages, and online complaints. The conclusion highlights that protecting access to justice for national minorities entails both more ‘focus’ and ‘access’. More focus should be guaranteed by relevant legislation and nhris’ annual reports through separate chapters or sections on minorities. More access includes minority representation in nhris, regional offices, groups’ complaints, multilingual and easy-to-access websites, as well as online tools for complaints.

The Systematization and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of National Minorities in the Context of the Postmodern Philosophy

The article studies the Jewish cemetery which provides a significant amount of historical information about various aspects of the life of the Jewish community which have long been out of focus. The objective of the research lies in proving the relevance of marginal culturally significant objects in the context of postmodern philosophy, as well as explaining and analyzing the compositional ways and peculiarities of plastic images of the facades of the gravestones in Kremenets, one of the Volyn areas of the Jewish culture in the 18th century – the early 19th century. The article focuses on the most common method of studying the monuments of Jewish gravestone epigraphy. The methodology of the research is based on the regionalist approaches to the problem and the application of culturological, retrospective comparative-historical methods and the use of critical analysis. For the first time, the artistic and style peculiarities of the memorial plastic arts of Jewish cemetery in Kremenets are analysed and the historical factors that influenced them are explicated. It was proved that the historical and cultural value of the Jewish necropolis in Kremenets lies in its originality. The cemetery is one of the oldest in Europe and contains unique information on the history, customs and culture of the Jewish people. It can become a promising object of visit for postmodern consumers, interested in unpopular and marginal tourist artefacts.