- Convenors:
-
Olga Khomenko
(University of Oxford)
Mariusz Borysiewicz (Ruhr University Bochum)
Larisa Usmanova (Russian State University for Humanities)
Send message to Convenors
- Chairs:
-
Olga Khomenko
(University of Oxford)
Larisa Usmanova (Russian State University for Humanities)
- Format:
- Panel
- Section:
- History
Short Abstract
This panel explores how Promethean activism, anti-Soviet strategy, and transnational networks intersected in Manchuria, focusing on Polish, Ukrainian, and Turk-Tatar actors. It examines intelligence cooperation, émigré politics, and everyday life to rethink Prometheism in the Far East.
Long Abstract
This panel explores the entanglement of Promethean activism, anti-Soviet strategy, and transnational networks in Manchuria during the interwar and wartime years, focusing on Polish, Ukrainian, and Turk-Tatar actors operating in the region. Manchuria served not only as a geopolitical frontier shaped by Japanese imperial policy and Soviet power, but also as a crucial arena in which émigré national movements, intelligence services, and cultural organizations intersected.
The first paper examines Polish–Japanese intelligence cooperation in Manchuria between 1932 and 1941, tracing how shared anti-Soviet objectives fostered collaboration, exchange of information, and overlapping strategic interests, while also revealing the unequal nature of this relationship under conditions of Japanese dominance. The second paper turns to Turk-Tatar émigré participation in the Promethean movement, analyzing the role of Gayaz Iskhaki and the Committee for the Independence of the Volga-Ural Region, and situating their activities within broader interwar efforts to mobilize non-Russian nationalities against Soviet power. The third paper focuses on Ukrainian Promethean activist and writer Stepan Levynskyi, whose published and newly discovered manuscripts provide insight not only into political activism but also into the everyday domestic and social worlds of multiethnic Manchuria.
Together, the papers demonstrate how Manchuria functioned as a contact zone of empire, resistance, and collaboration, where political strategy intersected with intelligence work, émigré organizing, and daily life. By integrating diplomatic, cultural, and social history, the panel offers new perspectives on Prometheism as both ideology and lived practice in the Far East.
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed) |
Accepted papers
Paper short abstract
This paper examines the writings of Ukrainian Promethean activist Stepan Levynskyi in Manchuria under Japanese rule. Newly found texts show how he combined political work with close observation of everyday life, revealing how empire shaped homes, families, language, and cultural interaction.
Paper long abstract
This presentation examines the published and newly discovered unpublished works of the Ukrainian writer and political activist Stepan Levynskyi (1897–1946), a participant in the Promethean movement and a representative of Ukrainian nationalist organizations in the Far East. Levynskyi was not only involved in political and émigré networks but also actively supported Ukrainian cultural initiatives, including the financial backing of the Map of Green Ukraine and linguistic contributions to a Ukrainian dictionary.
His writings offer valuable evidence on Manchuria under Japanese rule, viewed from the perspective of a politically engaged Ukrainian émigré. Unlike many contemporary observers who focused primarily on diplomacy and military affairs, Levynskyi paid close attention to the domestic sphere and everyday life. His essays and reports describe homes, families, markets, schools, hunting activities, and urban streets, and they show how Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Ukrainian communities interacted in daily practice.
The paper will analyze how Levynskyi combined political engagement with observation of ordinary life, demonstrating how occupation and empire were experienced through family relations, customs, language, food, and gender roles. Special attention will be given to his newly identified manuscripts, which broaden our understanding of his intellectual biography.
By situating Levynskyi within the Promethean network in East Asia, the presentation will reassess his role as both political actor and writer, and will highlight his contribution to documenting the social history of Manchuria during the Japanese occupation.
Paper short abstract
The concept of Prometeism reflected a collaboration between the emigrant national movement of the ex-Russian Empire. The report presents the relationship between Turk-Tatar emigrants and other members of the Prometheus, as well as their role and participation in its activity.
Paper long abstract
The concept of Prometeism reflected a collaboration between the emigrant national movement of the ex-Russian Empire and the government of the Second Polish Republic. The Volga-Ural Tatars, united in the Committee for the Independence of the Volga-Ural Region, led by Tatar national leader Gayaz Iskhaki, were active members of the Prometheus movement since its creation in 1926. According to some sources, Gayaz Iskhaki was familiar with these ideas since his exile in Arkhangelsk, where he met and stayed with Piłsudski. Some researchers argue that Iskhaki may have had some influence on the formation of Piłsudski's full-fledged political beliefs. It is stated that Pilsudski in his memorandum to the Japanese government written in 1904 , "pointed out the need to use the numerous non-Russian peoples living in the outskirts of Russia in the struggle against Tsarist Russia." However, there is still no confirmation that Iskhaki met Pilsudski at this time. But, it is certain that while in Europe, Iskhaki had a close relationship with the leadership of Prometheus.
The report presents the relationship between Turk-Tatar emigrants and other members of the Prometheus, as well as their role and participation in its activities.
Paper short abstract
Polish presence in Manchuria emerged in the late 19th century. A little-studied aspect was Polish military intelligence activity in the region, operating via the Harbin consulate and targeting Soviet Russia. Cooperation with the Japanese began in 1920 during the evacuation of Poles from Siberia.
Paper long abstract
Polish-Japanese intelligence cooperation in Northeast China was initiated in 1932, following the creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo. The principal objective of both parties was to weaken the Soviet Union and to deepen cooperation in anticipation of a potential war with the Soviets. These efforts were accompanied by so-called Promethean activities, which involved, among others, Ukrainian groups engaged in resistance against Soviet power. Cooperation developed in the informational, registrational, and political spheres, and the parties exchanged intelligence materials and documents they had obtained.
This collaboration, however, was far from equal. The Japanese exercised undisputed control over Manchuria, permitting Polish intelligence activities only insofar as they aligned with Japanese interests. After the fall of Poland in 1939, Polish intelligence could no longer rely on close institutional ties with its Japanese counterpart. Contacts were maintained merely on a private basis with certain Japanese officers. The Polish consulate in Harbin was closed on 14th December 1941, an event that brought any remaining forms of cooperation to a definitive end.
The paper draws largely on documents and periodicals preserved in the Archives of the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw, the Central Archive of Modern Records in Warsaw, the Central Military Archives in Warsaw, and the Slavonic Library in Prague. It seeks to explore the complex entanglements of Polish-Japanese intelligence connections in Manchuria during the period of Japanese dominance in the region. This objective is pursued by juxtaposing earlier historical interpretations with new findings derived from archival sources that have thus far remained little known. A further intended outcome of the study is to stimulate the engagement of a broader circle of Japanese historians in research on this subject.