In hindsight We include this dated news item to keep alive the memory of the the decade-long struggle, led by the late Bogdan Gambal (1965-2020) and many others, to regain ownership of the Ruska Bursa building in Gorlice. Today, the Stowarzyszenie Ruska Bursa w Gorlicach, located at ul. Henryka Sienkiewicza 28, remains active as a cultural center, library, archive, community space, and it is also the home of lem.fm and the ensemble Teroczka.
Bogdan Horbal, New York
Problems between the Polish government and Ruska Bursa, a Rusyn cultural organization which operates in Gorlice, are continuing. Though the organization currently has control of the Ruska Bursa building in Gorlice where it operated before World War II, local authorities are now threatening to sell the building at auction, or to divide it between the Rusyn organization and a Ukrainian one which also claims it.
The Ukrainian-oriented Union of Lemkos has been lobbying to have at least part (if not all) of the building “returned” to them, even though that organization has no direct links to the pre-WWII Ruska Bursa organization. More importantly one of the major goals of the pre-World War II Ruska Bursa organization was to counter the spreading of Ukrainian ideology among Lemkos.
Unfortunately, the Union is much better than the Rusyn-oriented Lemko Association at politics, and it shows. Stefan Hladyk is their leader, and he is everywhere, meeting with local and central Polish officials. He has put so much pressure on the head of Gorlice county that the latter is leaning towards “returning” half of the building to the Ukrainians.
Rusyns have met with officials in Gorlice and in Krakow and are considering taking the case to court, but a quick resolution does not seem likely. In Prešov this June, the World Forum of Rusyn Youth resolved to support to Rusyn efforts to regain control of the Ruska Bursa building.
Originally printed in Outpost Dispatch, Volume 1, Issue 1, October 2003.