«To the Brothers Abroad»: Emigration Page of «Our Lemko»

The purpose of the article is to investigate the peculiarities of the multi-layered emigration issues multi-layered emigration issues presentation in the columns of the newspaper “Our Lemko”. The task is to comprehensively reconstruct the resettlement discourse of the magazine “Our Lemko”. The research methodology is based on the combination of principles (historicism and objectivity) and methods (philosophical, general scientific and special-historical) of scientific research, which are usual for works on the historical science. As a result of the study, the multifaceted and diverse emigration issues were identified on the pages of “Our Lemko”, which turns it into a true encyclopedia of foreign Rusynism. This native encyclopedia presented various aspects of the Ukrainian migration movement from the territory of the Eastern Beskids: economic, cultural and educational. By informing Lemkos in detail about the successes of their compatriots abroad, the magazine increased their self-esteem and restored their broken faith in their own strength. However, such introductory work was not aimed at increasing emigration sentiment, but at confirming the need for solidarity to build a better life in the homeland. On the other hand, the newspaper became a communicator between Lemkos in different countries, uniting them with an awareness of the common past and the need to overcome challenges. Nurturing the uniting Ruthenian idea, the magazine proposed a unifying idea of modernizing all aspects of life in the Lemko region, which could be joined by patriotic Ukrainian mountaineers. Thanks to the spread of this activist ideology, the Ruthenians became aware of their national choice and common goal. This was important on the eve of the severe trials for Ukrainians brought on by World War II.