Stefan Fentsik

Fentsyk was born in the village of Velyki Luchky in Austria-Hungary. To a Greek Catholic priest Andriy Fentsyk and Yuliana Legeza. He was a cousin of Yevhen Fentsyk, a notable Rusyn a priest, poet, prose writer and publicist, and Irenei Legeza, a priest, writer and public figure. He first studied at a parish school in Velyka Toronia later attending two gymnasiums in Uzhhorod and Berehovo. After words he went on to study theology and philosophy at the University of Budapest (1910-1914, PhD., 1918) and the University of Vienna (1914-1916, Th.D., 1916). He also studied French and law in Paris, music at The Univeristy of Music in Vienna and Franz List Academy of Music (1918), and finally law at the Academy in Sarospatak (1918) and at the University of Debrecen (1922). While also being ordained as a Greek Catholic priest in 1918.^[1][2]

From 1916 to 1926 he began work in pedagogy in Uzhhorod at a Gymnasium, a Seminary, and a College. At this time he worked for several musical groups in the region and published a two-part collection of Rusyn songs called Pisny podkarpatskykh rusynov.^[2]

In 1918 during the dissolution of Austria-Hungary Fentsyk was a member of the Uzhhorod National Council, which worked to have Subcarpathian Ruthenia annexed into Czechoslovakia and during an overnight train ride to Prague he wrote the lyrics to the Rusyn National Anthem "Subcarpathian Rusyns, Arise from Your Deep Slumber" and first published it in 1922.^[3]

After the creation of Czechoslovakia Fentsik became a leader of the Rusyn Russophilic movement, he was a founder and longtime secretary of the Russophilic Dukhnovych Society and was a leader within the Russian National Party. He served as chairman of a coalition of cultural organizations during the 1920's, the Subcarpathian Rusyn Popular Enlightenment Union, and as founding head and leader from 1930 to 1944 of the Dukhnovych Russian Scout movement, a Russophilic fascist youth movement, which he represented at numerous meetings of Russophilic and other international organizations throughout Europe. He published accounts of his international visits, both including an extended one among Rusyn immigrants in the United States (1934–1935) described in the book Uzhgorod-Amerika (1936). In 1931 he unsuccessfully tried to become the bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo. In 1934 while visiting the US he was defrocked by the new bishop for "for the following reasons: 1. refusal of canonical obedience; 2. suspicion of schism; 3. a state of life unworthy of a priest".^[1][2][4]

By 1934 Fentsyk had became very involved regional politics and maintained his long standing opposition to Czechoslovakia which he argued had failed to give the various minorities of the country enough autonomy. During a trip to the United States Fentsyk was accused of anti-state activities by Czechslovak authorities and when he returned to Czechoslovakia he was arrested. In 1935 he founded the Russian National Autonomous Party, a fascist party which argued that the Rusyns where part of a Greater Russia alongside the Ukrainians and Russians. But in the 1935 Czechoslovak parliamentary election he was elected to serve as a deputy of the Russian National Autonomous Party and so was released. Fentsyk had come to be impressed by Italian Fascism and tried to found a "Carpatho-Russian Party" which he would be the "Supreme Leader" of but this amounted to nothing. All while he continued to publish newspapers arguing for an autonomous Caratho-Ukraine. During the 1937 Congress of the Subcarpathian Ruthenians, an ultimatum was adopted which demanded autonomy for the region within 60 days. Milan Hodža, the Czechoslovak prime minister has given the ultimatum by Fentsyk. During this era he was covertly supported by Poland, which sought to weaken their Czechoslovak enemies.^[1][3][5]

During the collapse of Czechoslovakia in 1938 a group of Rusyn separatist parliamentarians and Rusyn American representatives including Fentsyk negotiated with the Czechoslovak government for the formation of an autonomous Ruthenian government called the National Council of Subcarpathian Rus’. Following this agreement Fentsyk reached another agreement with the most powerful Rusyn autonomous leader Andriy Brody that he would serve within Brody's government as Minister of Economic Affairs. With his job being to determine the border between Slovakia and Carpatho-Ukraine. In this role Fentsyk pushed for a revanchist position and wanted Slovakia to cede the Presov Region to Carpatho-Ukraine due to its majority Rusyn population, all this accomplished was worsening relations between the two. Starting February of that same year he began to form fascist paramilitary groups known as the Blackshirts in Berehove, Mukachevo and Radvanka.^[1][2][5]