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« 2026. № 5 (191)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 5 (191), 1363—1374

UDK 93/94:061.2:001](100=161.2)”197/198″(093)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

  • Received: 07.07.2026
  • Accepted: 30.09.2026
  • Published: ??.??.2026

THE LEARNED COUNCIL OF THE WORLD CONGRESS OF FREE UKRAINIANS (1978—1988): FOUNDATION AND ACTIVITY

VAKHNIANYN Anna

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3111-6183
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Assistant,
  • Ivan Franko National University of Lviv,
  • Department of World History of the Modern Time,
  • 1, Universyty street, 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: anna.vakhnianyn@lnu.edu.ua

Abstract. Introduction.For a long time, the institutional development and scholarly activity of the diaspora required systematic coordination. Based on a wide source base, namely the documents of the Central State Archives of Public Organizations and Ukrainika, collections of published documents of the First and Second Congresses of Free Ukrainians, and the World Scholarly Council at the World Congress of Ukrainians, this article provides a comprehensive study of the background, institutional formation, and activities of the Learned Council of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians in the period of 1978—1988.

Problem Statement. The main challenge in the history of the institution’s development was the need to function under extreme resource constraints. This study justifies the factors that caused the financial and operational weakness of the Learned Council, including its material dependence on the political superstructure and the lack of efficient means of global communication.

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to trace the formation and activity of the Learned Council of the WCFU, determine its achievements, and highlight its role in the scholarly studies of the Ukrainian diaspora.

Methods. The principles of historicism, multifactoriality, theoretical analysis, systematization, and generalization lay the ground for our study.

Results. In this article, the features of the Learned Council’s work during the tenures of Yaroslav Padoch (1978—1983) and Lubomyr Wynar (1983—1988) are compared, and the main achievements of its functioning are highlighted. It is proven that despite limited resources, the Learned Council fulfilled its mission of consolidating the free intellectual space of the Ukrainian emigration and protecting the national heritage from Soviet ideological falsifications.

Conclusion. In our opinion, despite all the operational difficulties and structural dependence on the WCFU political superstructure, the Learned Council became an essential platform for academic consolidation. Its activity not only preserved the truth about Ukrainian history but also laid a solid foundation for the integration of diaspora science into the global academic context.

Keywords: Ukrainian diaspora, Ukrainian emigration, science in emigration, consolidation, World Congress of Free Ukrainians, The Learned Council, Lubomyr Wynar.

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