Julian Movchan
Encyclopedia
Julian Gregorovich Movchan ( (February 19, 1913 – January 6, 2002) was a Ukrainian
-American journalist, writer and doctor.
Born in the village of Zorokiv
to a family of well-to-do peasant
s, in the Cherniakhiv region of what is now the Zhytomyr Oblast
, his works first appeared in the local oblast newspaper Radianska Volyn when he was fourteen years old. Movchan moved to Zhytomyr
to pursue secondary school but, due to his family's persecution as kurkul
s, left for Kharkiv
, Ukraine's capital at the time where he began a new life. Escaping the ravages of the famine
that engulfed most of rural Ukraine, Julian Movchan worked in a factory while editing its newspaper. At this time, he completed his education at an institute for journalism. However, disappointed with increasing censorship of the 1930s and unwilling for moral reasons to join the communist party
, Movchan abandoned his career in journalism and entered medical school. When the Soviet Army occupied western Ukraine in 1939, he transferred his studies to Lviv. During the subsequent German occupation, he resumed his journalistic work, denouncing the Stalinist regime. During this time he also treated wounded soldiers of the UPA when they were smuggled into the city. When the Soviets returned, he fled westward and completed his medical studies in Munich
. In 1949, he moved to America, eventually settling outside Cleveland, Ohio
. He married, and had two children and four grandchildren.
After leaving Ukraine Movchan befriended Volodymyr Vynnychenko
, the exiled president of Ukraine. The two had much in common: they were both eastern Ukrainian writers of humble origins with a left-wing but anti-Soviet patriotic Ukrainian political orientation. After Vynnychenko's death, Movchan was invited by his widow to move to France and serve as caretaker of Vynnychenko's archives. Movchan declined, but donated many of Vynnychenko's letters to the archives at Columbia University. Movchan continued to write until his death in January 2002.
newspapers. Some of the many journals and newspapers that have included his articles and letters have included: the historically most important Ukrainian diaspora
newspaper Svoboda http://www.svoboda-news.com/last.htm; Homin Ukrayiny http://www.homin.ca/contact.php?lang=en; Narodnia Volia (newspaper of Ukrainian Social Revolutionaries); Novi Dni ; Novoye Russkoye Slovo http://www.inforeklama.com/Partners/Newspapers/NRS/info.htm, and the The Militant
. Julian Movchan primarily wrote on political and health-care related issues. He also wrote several books, including:
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
-American journalist, writer and doctor.
Biography
Zorokiv
Zorokiv is a village in the Cherniakhiv region of Zhytomyr Oblast in west-central Ukraine, approximately 16 km. from the provincial capital of Zhytomir. One of the oldest settlements in the region, it is known for the St. Basil the Great Church which was built in 1772. The current population...
to a family of well-to-do peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s, in the Cherniakhiv region of what is now the Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast is an oblast of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937....
, his works first appeared in the local oblast newspaper Radianska Volyn when he was fourteen years old. Movchan moved to Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
to pursue secondary school but, due to his family's persecution as kurkul
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s, left for Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine's capital at the time where he began a new life. Escaping the ravages of the famine
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
that engulfed most of rural Ukraine, Julian Movchan worked in a factory while editing its newspaper. At this time, he completed his education at an institute for journalism. However, disappointed with increasing censorship of the 1930s and unwilling for moral reasons to join the communist party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, Movchan abandoned his career in journalism and entered medical school. When the Soviet Army occupied western Ukraine in 1939, he transferred his studies to Lviv. During the subsequent German occupation, he resumed his journalistic work, denouncing the Stalinist regime. During this time he also treated wounded soldiers of the UPA when they were smuggled into the city. When the Soviets returned, he fled westward and completed his medical studies in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. In 1949, he moved to America, eventually settling outside Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He married, and had two children and four grandchildren.
After leaving Ukraine Movchan befriended Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko - Biography :Vynnychenko was born in Yelisavetgrad , the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire in a family of peasants. His father Kyrylo Vasyliovych Vynnychenko earlier in his life was a peasant-serf has moved from a village to the city of Yelisavetgrad where...
, the exiled president of Ukraine. The two had much in common: they were both eastern Ukrainian writers of humble origins with a left-wing but anti-Soviet patriotic Ukrainian political orientation. After Vynnychenko's death, Movchan was invited by his widow to move to France and serve as caretaker of Vynnychenko's archives. Movchan declined, but donated many of Vynnychenko's letters to the archives at Columbia University. Movchan continued to write until his death in January 2002.
Writings
While maintaining a medical practice in the United States, Julian Movchan was a prolific writer, with over 1,800 published articles or letters, primarily but not exclusively in Ukrainian diasporaDiaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
newspapers. Some of the many journals and newspapers that have included his articles and letters have included: the historically most important Ukrainian diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
newspaper Svoboda http://www.svoboda-news.com/last.htm; Homin Ukrayiny http://www.homin.ca/contact.php?lang=en; Narodnia Volia (newspaper of Ukrainian Social Revolutionaries); Novi Dni ; Novoye Russkoye Slovo http://www.inforeklama.com/Partners/Newspapers/NRS/info.htm, and the The Militant
The Militant
The Militant is an international Socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party and the Pathfinder Tendency. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Sweden, Iceland, and New...
. Julian Movchan primarily wrote on political and health-care related issues. He also wrote several books, including:
- Doctor's Notes (Записки Лiкария), Toronto, (1966). Collection of anecdotes from medical practice
- Unforgotten and Unforgiven (Незабутне i Непрощене), New York, Buenos Aires (1982); 2nd edition published in KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in 1992. Personal recollection of the life of a kurkulKulakKulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
family in the 1920s and 1930's.
- My Travels Around the World (Моi Подорожi Довкола Свiту), New York (1985). Memoirs of his travels throughout the world.