Kateryna Skarzhynska | |
|---|---|
| Катерина Миколаївна фон Райзер | |
 Skarzhynska, probably circa 1880–1885 | |
| Born | Kateryna Nikolaevna von Reiser 17 February 1852 |
| Died | 1932 (aged 79–80) |
| Other names | Catherine Skarzhynska, Catherine Skarzhinsky, Ekaterina Skarzhynska, Kateryna Skarzhyns'ka, Katherine Skarzhynska |
| Occupation | Philanthropist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
Kateryna Mykolayivna Skarzhynska née von Reiser (Ukrainian: Катерина Миколаївна Скаржинська, 7 February 1852 O.S./19 February 1852 (N.S.) – 1932) was a Ukrainian noblewoman, philanthropist, and collector of folklore. She established the first private museum in Ukraine to house her collection of artifacts and was particularly known for her collection of pysanky, Easter eggs decorated with Ukrainian folk art. Born in Lubny to the von Reiser family, which had a long history of military service to the Russian Tsars, she was educated at home, studying in her parents' library and with select tutors. After her father died in 1859, together with her mother, brother, and maternal grandmother she moved to the Lodygyn/Lodigine family estates in the Tver province of the Russian Empire, near Moscow. There at the age of 14, von Reiser established a school for the former serfs of the estate and a public hospital.
In 1869, von Reiser became acquainted with Nikolai Georgievich Skarzhynsky, a Ukrainian nobleman and soldier. Through his circle of friends, she decided to continue her education and passed her gymnasium studies, entering the Bestuzhev Courses. They married in 1874 and later would have five children together. Five years later, he was transferred from St. Petersburg back to Ukraine. Though she did not finish her studies, Skarzhynska had developed an interest in culture and moving back to her father's estate, Kruglik, inspired her to begin collecting folk art and other artifacts. Consulting with ethnographers, archaeologists and historians, she financed archaeological excavations and amassed a large collection of items. Failing to interest local authorities in establishing a museum to house them, she created the first private museum in Ukraine in 1880. Hiring professional curators, Skarzhynska assisted in developing the collection until 1905. One of the curators, Sergiy Kulzhynskiy, would become her partner, father of her youngest child, and her companion and caretaker in her old age. In 1906, she transferred her materials to the Museum of Natural History of Poltava Provincial Zemstvo.
In addition to her work with the museum, Skarzhynska was involved in creating schools in the Poltava province. She established an agricultural school in the village of Terny in 1891; created a school for prisoners in the Lubny city jail; and built a public school on her estate at Kruglik, while organizing adult education courses. Her works were honored by the Russian government with the gold medal and ribbon of the Order of Saint Anna. In 1905, Skarzhynska separated from her husband and moved with her younger children, first to Italy, and then to Switzerland. She continued her philanthropic endeavors creating a shelter for displaced Russians living abroad, opened schools for Russian children, founded an organization for emigrants to network, created a tuberculosis hospital and various Russian printing houses to assist her compatriots who were living outside of Russia. At the outbreak of World War I, she returned to Ukraine, but as a former noble, was robbed by revolutionary troops and left penniless. Though granted a small pension by Lenin, it was later revoked and she died in 1932 during the Holodomor.
Mostly forgotten in the Soviet era, Skarzhynska is now recognized for her impact on the cultural and scientific development of Ukraine. In 1989 a street in Lubny was named after her. Her papers are housed at the Poltava Regional Studies Museum. The elementary school she founded on the Kruglik estate operated as a public school until 1943. The agricultural school she organized is now known as the Lubny Forestry College.