Born in Zboriv, Ternopil region, Milena studied in Lviv and Vienna, where she earned a degree in philosophy and mathematics. Initially a teacher in Lviv, she soon dedicated her life to the women’s movement. As a journalist, she contributed to prominent Ukrainian publications, editing sections for women in the Galician newspaper ‘Dilo’, and women’s journals ‘Zhinka’ and ‘Zhinochiy Vistnyk’. In 1929, she became the head of the Ukrainian Women’s Union, which grew to 60,000 members under her leadership, expanding its network across cities and villages and fostering international connections. Rudnytska authored numerous works and articles, including ‘Ukrainian Reality and the Task of Women’, ‘Western Ukraine under the Bolsheviks’, and ‘Don Bosco: The Man, Educator, Saint’ that focused on feminist, historical, religious, and state issues.

She was also deeply involved in Ukrainian politics, serving as a deputy in the Polish Sejm and a representative in the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDO). Her speeches at the League of Nations congresses informed the world about the pacification of Ukraine, the tragedy of the Holodomor, and the oppression of Ukrainians under occupation. Rudnytska passed away in Munich and was reburied in 1993 in Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv.

Artist: Mariia Chorna