Anastasiіa Grinchenko: Sketches of Social and Political Activity in Kyiv during 1905–1907

Abstract

This paper, based on archival sources, highlights the period of Anastasia Grinchenko’s life during her social and political activities in Kyiv (1905 — April 1907). Her activities as a member of the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party (RUP) among Kyiv clerks and workers in the iconography shop, as well as her participation in workers’ masses, so-called «birzhas» (“exchanges”), are considered. The author reveals her political activity in the factory districts of Kyiv and the creation of workers’ clubs, where she spread political ideology of changes in the social order, promoted a vision of the future social order and the ways to achieve it. The paper highlights her activities in cooperation with fellow party members, search for new ways of struggle to change the social order. It has been found out that during this period Anastasia Grinchenko worked closely with Levko Yurkevych, a well-known Ukrainian social democrat and writer. It is examined their collaboration and mutual influences on the understanding and definition of forms and methods of working with the peasant proletariat and building party centers. Some aspects of the Ukrainian socialist movement are highlighted. The translation activity of Anastasiia Grinchenko related to the works of foreign writers is examined in terms of its contribution to the discussion of eternal social issues related to such values as human dignity, human rights, responsibility for committed crimes, happiness, love, family, and moral perfection.