Реєнт, Олександр Петрович and Коляда, Ігор Анатолійович and Куцик, Руслан Ростиславович (2025) To the History of the Everyday Life of Yevhen Konovalets and His Family: The Geneva Period (1930–1936) Сторінки історії (61). ISSN 2411-0647
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This article explores the everyday life of Yevhen Konovalets and his family during their political exile, specifically their residence in Geneva between 1930 and 1936. The relevance of this study stems from the need to reconsider the role of prominent figures in the Ukrainian national liberation movement. Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war and Russian propaganda’s attempts to falsify Ukraine’s historical past, examination of such aspects serves as an important tool for deconstructing historical myths and strengthening national memory. The scientific novelty of this research lies in its comprehensive focus on a previously underexplored dimension — the private and daily life of Yevhen Konovalets and his family in Switzerland. Until now, most studies have primarily addressed his military and political activities, while the «human dimension» has remained at the margins of historical attention. This article fills that gap and moves beyond traditional political interpretations by portraying Konovalets not only as a political figure but also as an individual with daily concerns, vulnerabilities, habits, and a complex private life. The aim of the study is to illuminate the living conditions, interpersonal relationships (with family, friends, and colleagues), forms of leisure, general moral and psychological state, and the impact of political activity on the Konovalets family’s life, drawing on a wide range of sources including memoirs, correspondence, contemporaries’ diaries, and administrative documents. The methodology is grounded in a microhistorical approach combined with interdisciplinary practices from new social history and the history of everyday life. The article concludes that Yevhen Konovalets’s everyday life and that of his family were organically integrated into the broader framework of the liberation struggle, while the private sphere served as a source of moral support and ideological resilience for the leader. A pivotal role in establishing a stable daily life in Geneva was played by his wife, Olha Konovalets, who successfully balanced the responsibilities of homemaker, mother, university library employee, and active participant in Ukrainian émigré public life. The Konovalets family’s time in Switzerland was marked by numerous difficulties stemming from constant pressure exerted by the governments of Poland, the USSR, and the canton of Geneva. Despite Yevhen Konovalets’s efforts to ensure at least minimal stability and security for his family, he faced ongoing threats of eviction, police surveillance, smear campaigns, and legal challenges concerning residency rights. These circumstances negatively affected not only his political activities but also his moral and psychological well-being, compelling him to lead a modest, frugal existence, constrained by limited resources and constantly dependent on external conditions beyond his control. Nevertheless, despite numerous political and everyday challenges, Yevhen Konovalets retained qualities of humanity, modesty, sensitivity, and empathy. He remained open to interaction, particularly with young people, and displayed a rare capacity to combine strategic thinking with subtle understanding of human vulnerability. Ultimately, due to intensified political pressure from Polish, Soviet, and Geneva authorities — who actively pursued his expulsion from Switzerland—and in an effort to establish a more stable private life, the Konovalets family was compelled to relocate to Italy.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Євген Коновалець; повсякденне життя; приватне життя; побут; дозвілля, міжособистісні стосунки; морально-психологічний стан; Женева; Швейцарія |
| Subjects: | Статті у періодичних виданнях > Фахові (входять до переліку фахових, затверджений МОН) |
| Divisions: | Факультет суспільно-гуманітарних наук > Кафедра історії України |
| Depositing User: | Руслан Ростиславович Куцик |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Jan 2026 09:33 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Jan 2026 09:33 |
| URI: | https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/56074 |
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