Ukrainian emigration to Carpathian Ruthenia. Difficulties in finding occupation in the East of the Republic
Abstract
Since summer 1919, Galicians, afraid of being persecuted in Poland for their involvement in a struggle for the independent Ukrainian state, were coming to Carpathian Ruthenia .They were seeking employment as teachers mostly, but also in other professions, e .g .as railway or post employees, or state officials. They were relatively successful in the first period, till the beginning of the year 1920, since the state administration was in a state of chaos and in desperate need for educated people with knowledge of the local language .The newcomers soon received their domicile, employment and then the citizenship as well .Later, the Czechoslovak authorities took a more rigorous stance towards the job-seekers.
It was influenced by legitimate concerns that the Ukrainians would spread the idea of the Ukrainian Independence and further complicate local national and linguistic disputes. From that point on, foreign nationals could be employed only on contractual basis.
Only emigrants with necessary qualification, such as veterinary surgeons and judges, could be excluded from this rule .The concerns of the undesirable impact of emigrants grew, especially after 1923 when Antonín Rozsypal became vice-governor of Carpathian Ruthenia .Approximately from 1925, the authorities started to re-evaluate granting of citizenship in several cases and proceeded to expel those who were deemed ""politically unreliable"" .The rigorous policy against emigrants in Carpathian Ruthenia aroused discontent among Ukrainians in Czechoslovakia .The representatives of the Ukrainian emigration tried to mitigate this policy of the Czechoslovak government, their initiatives, however, were to no avail .Till the end of the observed period the position of state employees of foreign origin remained unstable in Carpathian Ruthenia .