As regrettable as it may be, not all of the civic organizations of the ethnic communities in pre-revolutionary Kharkiv lasted for a long time. Yet their history is undoubtedly no less interesting or valuable to our city’s past. Today, I’ll tell you about one of them.
It all began when, in late June 1913, a petition was sent to the governor of Kharkiv. It was written by engineer Ivan Georgievich Plakhetka, the acting Austro-Hungarian vice-consul.
In view of the long-standing need to establish an institution that would provide assistance to impoverished Austrian and Hungarian subjects residing in the vicinity of the Austro-Hungarian Vice-Consulate in Kharkiv, and in response to the wishes repeatedly expressed by certain members of the Austro-Hungarian community in Kharkiv, we, the undersigned, wish to establish an Austro-Hungarian charitable society in Kharkiv, the bylaws of which we hereby attach, and humbly request that Your Excellency approve them.
The society’s board of directors will be located at the Austro-Hungarian Vice-Consulate in Kharkiv at Yekaterinoslavskaya Street, 19.
In response, the local authorities, following a long-standing tradition, began to “put a spoke in the wheel.” This attitude was, in principle, entirely understandable. People had realized several years before it began that the “Great War” would come sooner or later, and they were preparing for it. Thus, as early as 1912, Austro-Hungarian subjects were barred from holding positions as county agronomists and trainees.
In the October response from the Kharkiv Provincial Administrator for Matters Concerning Societies and Unions, for example, it was stated that in order to approve the association’s charter, it was necessary to have the legal capacity of the association’s founders and the authenticity of their signatures on the application certified by a notary, as well as to pay the fee for the publication of the charter establishing the association.
In December, new reasons emerged.
In February, too.
Ivan Georgievich Plakhetka carried out all of these instructions. He also persistently wrote letters:
I request that the provincial government inform me whether we can expect the charter of the Austro-Hungarian Charitable Society to be approved in the near future, or what obstacles, if any, stand in the way of this.
However, even though all the bureaucratic issues regarding the organization’s bylaws had been resolved as early as February 11, the organization was still not registered by April. A new obstacle for the Kharkiv authorities was the question of “whether there is any adverse information regarding the political reliability of the individuals in question.”
It goes without saying that any normal person would lose their nerve given everything that’s been happening. That’s probably why, on April 24, Ivan Georgievich personally reached out to the governor of Kharkiv.
But it was not until April 30 that it became clear that there was no politically compromising information about the founders of the Austro-Hungarian charitable society that could prevent the approval of the society’s charter. The organization was finally officially registered! Its goals were as noble as could be, and its charter contained nothing seditious. For example, the “Goals” section stated:
The purpose of the society is to provide financial assistance to Austrian and Hungarian subjects in need who live in the area served by the Austro-Hungarian Vice-Consulate in Kharkiv, as well as to those passing through Kharkiv. The Society’s assistance may take the form of monetary or other benefits.
Founding members were those who contributed at least 100 rubles upon the society’s establishment. Full members were those who paid an annual dues of 6 rubles. Life members were those who made a one-time payment of at least 100 rubles to the society’s treasury.
Only Austrian or Hungarian subjects could serve on the organization’s board or as members of the audit and inspection committee. Equally interesting is the section of the charter titled “The Society’s Funds.” After all, providing assistance to fellow countrymen in need required a considerable amount of financial resources. The document on this subject laid out everything in great detail.
The company’s assets consist of:
a) membership dues;
b) income from the association’s capital and property;
c) donations and other contributions;
d) income from theatrical performances, literary readings, public lectures, concerts, etc., organized by the association with the appropriate authorization in each case and in compliance with the rules established for this purpose by laws and special administrative regulations.
It was also specified that if, for any reason, the company were to cease operations, then all of its capital and property must be transferred to the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Ministry of the Court and Foreign Affairs in Vienna for the continued provision of assistance to Austrian and Hungarian subjects.
But none of this was meant to be. After all, on August 6 of that same year, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on the Russian Empire…
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