| Avgustyn Ivanovych Voloshyn | |
|---|---|
| First President of Carpatho-Ukraine | |
| In office March 15, 1939 – March 16, 1939 |
|
| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | none (State annexed by Hungary 1939, by the USSR in 1946) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 17, 1874 Kelechyn, Transcarpathia (Province of Austro-Hungary) |
| Died | July, 1945 Butyrka prison in Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Ukrainian |
| Political party | Ruthenian National Christian Party |
Avgustyn Ivanovych Voloshyn (Ukrainian: Авґустин Волошин, Августин Волошин, Czech: Augustin Vološin, 1874–1945) was a Ukrainian politician, teacher, and essayist. He was president of the independent Carpatho-Ukraine, which existed for one day on March 15, 1939.
Voloshyn was born on March 17, 1874 in Kelechyn, Transcarpathia (province of Austro-Hungary). He studied at Uzhhorod School of Theology and at Budapest University. He became a Greek Catholic priest, from 1924 a Papal chamberer. He was professor of mathematics at Uzhhorod Teacher Institute from 1900 to 1917. In 1918, he became head of the Subcarpathian National Council, which in 1919 asked Czechoslovakia to confederate Transcarpathia into Czechoslovakia. This was realised in Autumn 1919. In 1925, he was voted as MP in Houses of Parliament in Prague (as a leader of Ruthenian National Christian Party). In October 1938, he was the head of the Subcarpathian Autonomous Region. During the total destruction of Czechoslovakia by Hitler's Germany, he tried to preserve Carpatho-Ukraine independence and became president of Carpatho-Ukraine for a few hours (March 15, 1939) with the help of the rest of the Czechoslovakian army. On March 19, 1939, Voloshyn under the protection of last Czechoslovakian troops retreated to the Romanian Kingdom's border, which was Czechoslovakia's ally. Subcarpathia was occupied by Hungary.
Voloshyn then fled to Prague, where he lived as a private person during the war. In October and November 1944, the Soviet Red Army took whole Transcarpathia, and annexed it into the Soviet Ukraine. The government of Czechoslovakia later agreed to cede the territory. The Transcarpathians became Soviet citizens. When Soviet troops took Prague in May 1945, Avgustyn Voloshyn was arrested by the NKVD and taken to Moscow. He died in July 1945 in the Butyrka prison of Moscow.
In 2002 by the decree of the then Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma Avgustyn Voloshyn was awarded the title of the Hero of Ukraine and given the Order of State posthumously.