Brest, Belarus
At the beginning of the 20th century, the officer of the fortress Onopriy Vasylenko (Ohrim Varnak) founded a theatrical troupe in the city, organized meetings with readings of Ukrainian classics, rallies of 1905 and celebrations of Taras Shevchenko's anniversaries. In 1902-1914, the troupe staged works by Ivan Kotlyarevsky, Ivan Karpenko-Kary, Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, and Mark Kropyvnytsky. In 1915-1918, first in Bila Pidlaska, and later in Brest, the Ukrainian weekly Ridne Slovo was published. In 1916, one of the first Enlightenment centers in Polissya was founded in Brest.