Communist Party of Transcarpathian Ukraine

The region known as Transcarpathia, Carpathian Ruthenia or Subcarpathian Rus', which became part of Czechoslovakia after World War I, was one of the main strongholds of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In the 1924 elections of deputies from Subcarpathian Rus' to the Czechoslovak parliament, the Communist Party won over 100,000 votes (nearly 40% of the votes cast). The communist movement operated underground during the Hungarian occupation of the region, and partisan units assisted the arrival of the Red Army. In 1942 the partisan leader and First Secretary of the , , was hanged by the Hungarian authorities. With the defeat of the Hungarian forces in Carpathian Ruthenia/Transcarpathia, communist organizations that had operated in the underground started emerging into the open. The first legal public meeting of communists in Mukachevo was held on October 31, 1944, four days after Liberation. The first public call for unification of Transcarpathia with Soviet Ukraine was made at a meeting at the Mukachevo city theater on November 3, 1944. ==Founding congress==

The First Conference of Communist Organizations of Transcarpathia was held in Mukachevo on November 19, 1944. The gathering would become the founding congress of the Communist Party of Transcarpathian Ukraine as an independent party. It called for the creation of youth and peasants organizations. The resolution ended with a call to convene a congress of people's committees on November 26, 1944 and to elect a people's council. The conference sent congratulatory telegrams to Stalin and Khrushchev. The message to Stalin expressed gratitude for the liberation of Transcarpathia, but also touched upon the issue of unification with Soviet Ukraine, reading "Only you, Joseph Vissarionovich, only the Ukrainian and Russian peoples can understand our feelings and our aspirations [...] Return us to the bosom of our motherland — the Ukrainian state. Our people will be eternally grateful to you for this assistance." The desire of the party to promote unification with Ukraine was also the key theme of the telegram to Khruschev, which referred to the recipient as 'the leader of the Ukrainian people, the leader of the Ukrainian Bolsheviks'. ==Central Committee==

The KPZU founding conference elected a 24-member Central Committee. The party leadership included both returnees from the Soviet Union and local communist organizers. The Central Committee also included a number of staff from the Czechoslovak Army Corps; I. Vash, I. Ledney and M. Matskaniuk - all from the group of Bedřich Reicin. • Turyanytsia, Ivan Ivanovych (1901–1955) – Born in Mukachevo. Joined the Hungarian Red Army in 1919. Took part in the proclamation of the Slovak Soviet Republic in Prešov on June 16, 1919. The defeat of the Hungarian and Slovak soviet republics, he returned to Mukachevo and would lead the organization of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia there, and later leading the party organization in Uzhhorod. Studied at the in Kharkiv 1930–1933. Arrested in connection with the December 1935 forest workers strike, but released after popular protest movement. Escaped to the Soviet Union after the Hungarian occupation. In the Soviet Union he worked at MOPR, and later at the Voroshilovgrad Locomotive Works. Volunteered to join the Czechoslovak Battalion in 1942. • '''''' (1899–1971) –Born in Dunaszerdahely, in a Jewish working class family. Studied at the Veszprém Trade School between 1914 and 1917. In 1919 he joined the Hungarian Red Army, in August 1919 he joined the left wing of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party. Weiss became a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1921. He worked at a brewery in Nové Zámky, but was fired for political reasons. Migrated to the Soviet Union in 1928, to join the Interhelpo commune. He returned to Czechoslovakia in 1930, and he would lead party organization in Košice, Nové Zamky, Žilina and České Budějovice. He was frequently arrested for his political activities. Between 1934 and 1935 Weiss studied at the International Lenin School in Moscow. After returning again to Czechoslovakia, he served as secretary of the Red Trade Unions in Nitra. In 1937 he was sent to Subcarpathian Rus' to conduct political work among the Hungarian-speaking population there. He led several strike actions in Subcarpathian Rus'. He was a member of the Subcarpathian Ruthenian Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Escaped to the Soviet Union after the Hungarian occupation, and would work in Luhansk and Alma-Ata, as well as working at the Czech and Hungarian language editorial offices of Radio Moscow. In May 1944 began working at the political department of the 4th Ukrainian Front. Soon after the Liberation of Transcarpathian Ukraine, he took charge as first secretary of the Uzhhorod City Party Committee. Delegate of Uzhhorod at the First Congress of People's Committees of Transcarpathian Ukraine. Elected to the People's Council of Transcarpathian Ukraine (in charge Industry and Trade). After the merger into the Soviet Union, he served as deputy chairman of the regional executive committee. Awarded the Order of the Red Star. • Matskaniuk, Mykhailo (1909–1967) – Born in a peasant family in village. Attended Party School in Kiev 1929-1932, joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Cadre of the Subcarpathian Ruthenian Regional Committee of the party, and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Young Communist League of Czechoslovakia. Escaped to the Soviet Union in 1939 without permission from the party, for which he was reprimanded. Worked at the Rostselmash factory in Rostov-on-Don. During the war he served as a platoon leader in the Czechoslovak Army Corps. Member of the Central Committee of the Youth League of Transcarpathian Ukraine. • Varha, Petro – From Rakoshyno. Also known as R. Shalek. Joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1921. Elected to the at the . • '''''' (1915–1979) – Born in village, into a peasant family. Went to study at the Mukachevo Trade Academy, but was expelled before graduation due to political activism. Arrested during the Hungarian occupation for distribution of communist propaganda, but released on parole after six months due to lack of evidence. Joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1935. In the first half of 1940 he escaped to the Soviet Union. Fought in the Czechoslovak Army Corps, took part in combat against German forces. After Liberation, he was the leader of the Volove People's Committee. Elected to the People's Council of Transcarpathian Ukraine, in charge of agriculture. Second Secretary of the Central Committee of KPZU. Secretary of the Youth League of Transcarpathian Ukraine. He later held posts such as Deputy Chairman of the Transcarpathian Regional Party Committee, Regional Party Committee secretary for agriculture, first secretary of Uzhhorod District Party Committee and head of labour resources department of the Oblast Executive Committee. • Vakula, Yuriy Mykhailovych (1909–1972) –Born in village in a peasant family. Joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. During World War II he organized groups helping Red Army soldiers escape from Hungarian and German camps, and organizing support for Red Army paratroopers entering Transcarpathian Ukraine. After Liberation he was named as chief of the Perechyn District Police. Delegate at the First Congress of People's Committees of Transcarpathian Ukraine. Towards the end of the 1940s he was arrested accused of being a major of the ZUP rebel group, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. • Handera, Mykhailo Ivanovich (1900–1982) – Hailing from a poor peasant family from Sevlyush. Drafted into Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I, joined the Hungarian Red Army at the end of the war. Became a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1922. Elected to Sevlyush city council in 1927. Suffered economic hardship, as he was blacklisted due to political reasons. Sent to prison camp in Transylvania in 1943. His wife Olena Handera was active liaison for Soviet reconnaissance unit, but was caught by the Hungarian authorities and executed in 1944. Handera managed to escape from captivity just before Liberation. Elected chairman of Sevlyush District People's Committee. Plachý (2021) notes that he might have been removed from the Communist Party Central Committee list, and his name is not among the Central Committees named in Soviet-era works like Zakarpatsky Oblast (1982), Vozzʹyednannya Zakarpattya z Radyansʹkoyu Ukrayinoyu u skladi SRSR – torzhestvo istorychnoyi spravedlyvosti (1980) and Narysy istoriyi Zakarpat·sʹkoyi oblasnoyi partiynoyi orhanizatsiyi: 1918-1945 pp (1968). Turyanytsia was elected as the First Secretary of the Central Committee, Tarakhonych was elected as Second Secretary whilst Weiss and Ledney were elected as Secretaries. Two of the newly-elected Central Committee members - Borkanyuk and Klympotyuk, were not present at the conference but where travelling from Moscow to Uzhhorod, as members of a fact-finding mission of the Foreign Bureua of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia led by . At a later stage was sent from Kiev to help build the Communist Party of Transcarpathian Ukraine, and he was co-opted into the Central Committee of the party. ==Growth of the party==

The daily communist newspaper Zakarpatska Pravda became the party organ. Klimpotyuk became the editor of the newspaper. After November 24, 1944 circulation doubled from 4,000 copies daily to 8,000. KPZU membership grew gradually, by the end of 1945 the party had 13 district organizations, 434 primary party organizations and 4,279 party members. ==Merger into the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)==

On December 15, 1945 the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (VKP(b)) decided to approve the merger of the Communist Party of Transcarpathian Ukraine into the party. Turyanytsia would become the First Secretary of the Transcarpathian Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine. ==References==