During World War I, Ukrainian organizations in our city and their members were subjected to persecution. The “Ukrainska Knyharnya” bookstore was shut down in 1914. Many leaders of cultural and educational organizations were placed under surveillance.
This also affected one of the most prominent figures of pre-revolutionary Kharkiv, Hnat Martynovych Khotkevych, who was well-known and beloved by many.
Agents were infiltrated into the Kvitka-Osnovyanenko Literary, Artistic, and Ethnographic Society, and they regularly wrote highly detailed reports on everything that was happening.
Hnat Khotkevych, one of the society’s leaders who took an active part in its activities, also appeared quite frequently in such reports.
The authorities at the time considered Hnat Khotkevych not merely a dissident, but a dangerous “Ukrainophile and Mazepa supporter.”
In early March 1916, the Ministry of the Interior decided to exile Hotkevich from Kharkiv for three years. He was also prohibited from residing in the Kyiv, Poltava, Volhynia, Chernihiv, Podolia, Kherson, Taurida, and Yekaterinoslav governorates, since they, like the Kharkiv Governorate, were located within the theater of war. The ministry’s decision took effect on March 11, 1916.
On March 26, Ignat Hotkevich was detained in Kharkiv and transferred to a transit prison to be transported by convoy to his chosen place of residence—Belgorod.
Orders were given to keep an eye out for him when he arrived in our city.
From Belgorod, Hnat Khotkevych sends telegrams to the governor of Kharkiv asking for permission to come to our city to see his family. But his request is denied.
Moreover, the Kursk Governorate was also part of the theater of operations. As a result, on April 17, Hnat Khotkevych was deported from Belgorod to Voronezh.
From there, Hnat Khotkevych also sent telegrams to city officials asking for permission to visit Kharkiv, since the mother raising his four children had fallen ill. However, the authorities turned a deaf ear to these pleas.
Amid all this surveillance, denunciations, petitions, decrees, and telegrams, one document stands out clearly—one that can safely be called a “letter of honor.”
To this day, legends persist about the crystal-clear honesty and integrity of Vasily Grigoryevich Kolokoltsov, a well-known patron of the arts, public figure, and politician, and chairman of the Vovchans’k District Council.
Few of his contemporaries did as much for Volchansk as Vasily Grigoryevich did during his lifetime.
With his wealth, influence, and status, he once again demonstrated his exceptional integrity in the matter involving Khotevich. After all, on April 26, 1916, Vasily Grigoryevich Kolokoltsov wrote a letter to the governor of Kharkiv, Nikolai Leonidovich Obolensky.
Some time ago, Ignatius Hotkevich, an engineer and technologist, was administratively expelled from the Kharkiv Governorate. This circumstance is also somewhat relevant to the Vovchans’k Zemstvo. The fact is that the Vovchans’k Zemstvo has undertaken a major publication of *The History of the Vovchans’k Zemstvo*, which describes the Vovchans’k Uyezd in all respects: geographical, climatic, geological, and others. This publication was timed to coincide with the zemstvo’s fiftieth anniversary. I entrusted the compilation of the publication to Ignatius Khotkevych, a process engineer—a man who, in addition to his background in natural and technical sciences, is well-read in the humanities and historical sciences, and in matters concerning the archaeology of his native region, history, and ethnography, he can be considered an expert. This choice proved to be most fortunate.
After several months of intensive work, I. Hotkevich managed to write an essay on the Vovchans’k District in:
1) geographical;
2) orographic;
3) geological;
4) meteorological;
5) botanical;
6) zoological aspects.I. Hotkevich presented the results of his intensive work to me in the form of voluminous notebooks (typed on a Remington) totaling 1,200 pages of standard-sized manuscript paper. Even the most cursory glance at all that I. Khotkevych has accomplished already attests to the colossal amount of work he has accomplished in a relatively short time, of the immense mental and physical effort expended by the author, and of his great erudition and breadth of reading in matters pertaining to various academic disciplines—a rarity in today’s world of widespread specialization. As a specialist in historical, archaeological, and ethnographic matters, I. Khotkevych explores with equal skill topics related to the geology, botany, and zoology of the Vovchans’k District—topics that have been little studied, as has, in general, everything pertaining to the nature and history of our native region. I. Hotkevich had to navigate a field that was largely or entirely unexplored, dealing with extremely scarce sources. In light of this, the value of his work is all the greater, since it is not the result of a compilation but rather a scientific study based on a very thorough analysis of scholarly material.
I. Hotkevich’s deportation places the zemstvo in a very difficult position, since the work—on which significant expenses have already been incurred—has been interrupted midway, and the zemstvo is now unable to complete the publication it had begun in the near future. I. Hotkevich was just about to begin the most interesting essay—namely, the history, in the true sense of the word, of the Vovchans’k District and its zemstvo.
When deciding who should be entrusted with writing the history of the Volchansky Zemstvo, I was guided not by chance—which had brought this man to me—but by a conscious choice based on my familiarity with I. Hotkevich as a person. About 20–25 years ago, when I. Hotkevich was a student, he drew attention to himself through his passion for folk music, particularly his skill in playing the bandura. I had the opportunity to meet him during concerts he gave in the Vovchans’k District, and since then I have kept an eye on him. Although I met with him much less frequently in the years that followed, I nevertheless always kept abreast of my acquaintance’s activities and his work on researching scientific and ethnographic issues.
The sum total of everything I knew and know about Khotkevych gives me the right and the opportunity to testify before Your Excellency that Khotkevych’s work was devoted to the scholarly study of historical and ethnographic issues concerning the Little Russian region, its music, poetry, and way of life, and that he is very far removed not only from those who dream of an independent Ukraine, but also from those who, while being quite moderate, nevertheless introduce a certain—albeit sometimes weak—political element into their activities.
At present, I. Khotkevych has also distanced himself from political activity, devoting himself entirely to scholarly work. Proof of this is his study on the history of the Volchansky Zemstvo, which I had the honor of describing above. Hotkevich’s body of work, accomplished in such a short time, is so extensive that he could not possibly have had any time left for anything else, including any harmful activities.
In conclusion, I would like to draw Your Excellency’s attention to the fact that Hotkevich is a family man, and his family circumstances are such that he, the father, is the sole caregiver and educator of his four young children. Hotkevich devotes a great deal of time and attention to his children. His scholarly work and his beloved children—these are the two main aspects of Hotkevich’s life, which leave little room for anything else.
In light of the foregoing, I respectfully petition Your Excellency to revoke Khotkevych’s expulsion from the Kharkiv Governorate, or to grant him permission to temporarily return to Kharkiv pending a review of his case by the ministry, to which Khotkevych may submit a corresponding petition.
In this regard, I have the honor to present:
1) a petition from I. Hotkevich addressed to Your Excellency;
2) a statement from him addressed to me;
3) manuscripts on the history of the Volchansky Zemstvo, including descriptions of the district:
a) geographical;
b) orographic;
c) geological;
d) meteorological;
e) botanical;
f) zoological;
4) the brochure “On the Issue of a Touring Series of Ethnographic Concerts.” I request that the attachments listed under items 2, 3, and 4 be returned to me once they are no longer needed.Please accept the assurance of my deepest respect and devotion.
The fate of the manuscript that was in Vasily Grigoryevich’s possession remains unknown. However, the memory of this honest man—who was not afraid to openly stand up for a fellow countryman who had fallen from grace in the empire during those difficult times—lives on to this day. They say that a person is as rich as the number of friends who come to his aid in a time of need. Well, judging by the letter, Hnat Khotkevych was a very wealthy man in 1916…
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