Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia (1914–1915)

Throughout the occupation, the Tsarist officials pursued a policy of integrating Galicia with the Russian Empire, forcibly Russifying local Ukrainians, and persecuting both Jews and Greek Catholics.Mikhail Rodzianko, chairman of the State Duma, declared that war against a common enemy would unite all nationalities within Russia, a sentiment echoed by the liberal politician Alexander Kerensky.[1] The Russian commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nicholas issued a manifesto portraying the people of Galicia as brothers who had "languished for centuries under a foreign yoke" and urging them to "raise the banner of United Russia."[7] Initially, General Aleksei Brusilov and Army Chief of Staff Nikolai Yanushkevich played a large role in formulating Russian policies in eastern Galicia.Sheremetev's replacement, Count Georgiy Bobrinsky, would govern eastern Galicia for approximately nine months until the Russian retreat in June 1915.This conflict was reflected in the fact that Galician Russophile newspapers closed by the Austrians were only allowed to resume working after considerable delay: Bobrinsky's administration often censored them due to their perceived extremist or inflammatory writings.The Metropolitan's imprisonment caused angry questions to be raised by members of the Opposition in the Duma and diplomatic protests from both the Vatican and the United States.[1] East Galicia's Jewish population were assumed by the Russian authorities to be loyal to Austria and were therefore treated as potential spies and traitors.Kost Levitsky, a prominent Ukrainophile leader and the future president of the West Ukrainian National Republic, appeared as a prosecutor during the trials against the Russophiles.[6] Following the evacuation of the Russian administration from Galicia to Kiev, Governor General's Bobrinsky's staff conducted a review of their policies in order to identify mistakes that they had made.Aleksi Gerovsky suggested using positive methods of encouraging the Russian language and culture rather than repressive ones against Ukrainian-language institutions, and land and economic reform that would benefit Ukrainian peasants at the expense of Polish landlords and Jewish businessmen whose loyalty the tsarist authorities doubted anyway.V. Svatkovskii, a spy based in Switzerland, felt that symbolically uniting Galicia with Ukrainians in the Russian Empire and playing upon anti-Polish sentiments rather than land reform would best gain Galicians' loyalty.Mikhail Tyshkevich, a prominent landowner in Kiev region, felt that making concessions on national rather than land reform issues would be helpful.After having sent a telegram to the tsar declaring his loyalty to him, Nicholas II responded with a message thanking him, "and also the group of Ukrainian gathered in Switzerland, for the feelings expressed."Ukrainian and Polish schools were allowed to remain open and calls from Russian nationalistic circles within Russia to shut them down were ignored by the occupation authorities.