MASS POPULAR ASSEMBLIES AS A FORM OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY OF THE UKRAINIAN POPULATION IN THE WESTERN UKRAINIAN LANDS (1923–1939)

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of popular viche assemblies as a manifestation of direct democracy in the political and civic life of Ukrainians in the Western Ukrainian lands during 1923–1939. It analyzes the historical circumstances in which Ukrainians, having lost their own statehood after World War I, lived under foreign rule specifically Poland, Romania, and initially Hungary and later Czechoslovakia. In the context of these regimes’ limited Ukrainian representation in government and policies of national oppression, forms of direct democracy, particularly mass viche gatherings, assumed special significance. The research finds that viche assemblies became an important instrument of grassroots self-organization and political mobilization, a mode of protest against national discrimination, and a means of collectively expressing the popular will. Drawing on a range of sources, the article highlights the role of Ukrainian political parties such as the Ukrainian Radical Party (URP) and the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDO) in initiating and organizing viche meetings, and examines the response of the occupying authorities (notably the Polish government’s 1930 «pacification» campaign in Galicia). Special attention is paid to the mass viche of 1932–1933 convened in Western Ukraine in solidarity with the victims of the Holodomor famine in Soviet Ukraine, including protest resolutions addressed to the League of Nations. The article underlines that these popular assemblies served not only political purposes but also educational and consolidating functions, fostering national consciousness and upholding democratic traditions in the socio-political life of Western Ukraine. These assemblies not only gave voice to local communities but also laid the groundwork for a broader civic culture rooted in national consciousness and solidarity. Their legacy demonstrates that direct democratic practices were central to the survival and evolution of Ukrainian political identity under foreign rule.