I recently came across a series of articles regarding early
20th Century Ukraine in the Russian Empire. Unfortunately, I can’t find the name of the
author or editor, or any publication information for these texts. They appear to be written in the very early
20th Century – probably the 1910s – by a Ukrainian author. Below, I’ve summarized and consolidated the
articles and picked out information specific to Volhynia. Some of this information probably isn’t
entirely accurate, and since I can’t verify the author or his sources, there
may be items below that aren’t altogether true.
What these articles do give, however, is a sense of what Ukraine may
have been like around the turn of the 20th Century. The author is obviously Ukrainian and with
the words he uses, he shows again and again the differences between the
Ukrainian and Russian cultures. From my
early 21st Century American vantage point, it’s difficult to
understand that there was indeed a major cultural difference between Ukraine
and Russia, and the Russians were definitely seen as an occupying force in
Ukraine at this time. I think most
Americans probably view Ukraine as part of Russia (or the Soviet Union), but
that’s definitely a mindset that we need to move away from and the author of
these articles helps us understand why.
The series of articles can be found here. Terms in italics are in Ukrainian, not
Russian. I’ve included some information
regarding the Taurian Gubernia since the Molotschna Mennonite settlement was
located in that province.
Boundaries
The ethnographic border of Ukraine (України) is difficult to definitively delineate since Ukraine has
historically been divided among other eastern European countries. In the early 20th Century,
however, most of Ukraine was under the control of the Russian Empire (Російської імперії), with the major
exception of Galicia (Галичина),
which was controlled by Austria-Hungary (Австро-Угорщина).
Ukrainians traditionally occupied the frontier areas along
the 19th Century borders of Austria- Hungary and Bukovina (Буковина) and constituted a
majority of the population in Austrian Galicia.
In Russia (Росія), Ukrainians
occupied southern areas of Kholm Gubernia (Холмська
губернія) and Poland (Warsaw Gubernia at this time, Варшавська губернія). Bessarabskaya
Gubernia’s (Бессарабська губернія)
northwestern tip and coastal region were also traditional Ukrainian
territory. Ukrainians also made up a
minority of the population in the Grodno Gubernia (Гродненська губернія) and Minsk Gubernia (Мінська губернія). Volyn
Gubernia (Волинська губернія), Kiev Gubernia
(Київська губернія), Podolia Gubernia
(Подільська губернія), and Kherson Gubernia
(Херсонська губернія) made up
traditional Right Bank Ukraine (Правобережна
Україна).
Left Bank Ukraine (Лівобережна
Україна) included a minority of the population in the Kursk Gubernia (Курська губернія) and Voronezh Gubernia (Воронізька губернія), as well as the
Don Cossack Oblast (Область Війська
Донського) and Kuban Oblast (Кубанська
область). Ukrainians accounted for a
majority of the population in the Taurian Gubernia (Таврійська губернія), Katerynoslav Gubernia (Катеринославська губернія) (Taurian, with Katerynoslav, Kherson and Bessarabskaya constituted New Russia), Kharkiv Gubernia (Харківська губернія), Poltava Gubernia (Полтавська губернія), and Chernigov Gubernia (Чернігівська губернія) (Kharkiv, Poltava and Chernigov made up traditional Left Bank
Ukraine). Finally, Ukrainians occupied
frontier areas of Stavropol Gubernia (Ставропольська
губернія), Terek Oblast (Терська
область) and the Black Sea Gubernia (Чорноморська
губернія) in the east.
History
Although Ukraine’s history is closely linked with the
histories of Poland (Польщі) and
Russia, Ukrainian history remains distinct and separate from these two major
eastern European powers. Formed around the
City of Kyiv (Київ), Ukraine (Kieven
Rus, Київська Русь) was the major
power of the eastern Slavic states from the 9th to the 13th
Centuries. At this time, due in part to
its proximity to Constantinople (Константинополь),
Kyiv was a city grander than most of Western Europe. Galich (Галич)
in Volhynia (Волинь) was also a major power center during this time. In the 10th Century, Vladimir the
Great, Grand Prince of Kiev, accepted Greek Christianity. By the 13th Century, Ukraine (Kievan
Rus) vied with Muscovy (Grand Duchy of Moscow, Велике князівство Московське) for power among the Slavic states,
but was eventually destroyed by the Tatar (Mongol) invasions led by Genghis
Khan and his successors. Incorporated
into Poland in 1340, Ukraine was still raided by Tatars while the Polish
overlords treated the native Ukrainians as conquered peoples. In 1569 Ukraine was formally joined to Poland
(the First Polish Republic also known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Річ Посполита). The Ukrainian Cossacks (Козацтво) developed warrior customs to protect the people against
the Tatars, but the Poles saw this militarism as a threat. Cossack uprisings took place in the 16th
and 17th Centuries. In 1648,
Boghdan Khmelnitski led the Cossacks against the Poles and briefly created an independent
Ukrainian State. But in 1654, pressured
by Russia, Ukraine accepted the suzerainty of the Tsar in exchange for nominal
autonomy. Immediately, Russia began to
repress the Ukrainians. By 1667 Russia
and Poland divided Ukraine into the Left Bank (east of the Dnieper River, Дніпро) and the Right Bank (west of the
Dnieper River). The Right Bank was given
over to Poland, and Russia maintained control of the Left Bank. After the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th
Century, Right Bank Ukraine was returned to Russia. At this point, the entirety of Ukraine, save
a small portion of Galicia that was under Austrian control, became territory of
the Russian Empire.
After this point, the Russians closed Ukrainian schools,
outlawed Ukrainian literature, and the Ukrainian Orthodox church was removed
from the Patriarch of Constantinople’s authority and placed under the
jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow (Москва). Any followers of the Polish Uniate faith in
the formerly Polish-controlled Right Bank were suppressed. Traditionally, the Ukrainian people have
wanted to follow the path of democracy, but Russia (Muscovy) always followed the
path of an absolute monarchy.
This history of repeated periods of oppression and
occupation severely hindered the growth of Ukrainian culture throughout the centuries. While it’s true that Ukraine naturally has
commonalities with other Slavic States such as Russia and Poland, (for
instance, Russia and Ukraine share the Orthodox religion), the Ukrainian people
have always had unique and separate cultural identities from these two major
Slavic powers. As a result of the
oppression and occupation, Ukrainian cultural growth was always limited and a
traditional animosity has developed between the Ukrainians and Poles and
between the Ukrainians and Russians.
Geography
The borders of Right Bank Ukraine were the same in the 19th
Century as they had been for centuries, but the Left Bank had changed
dramatically. Much territory had been
taken from the Ottoman Empire (Османська
імперія) and added by the Russians in the south and east such as the Crimean
Penninsula (Кримський півострів) and
New Russia (Новоросія).
Ukraine was always hard to defend as it has few natural
borders. The country is reasonable flat
aside from the rise of the Carpathians in the west. To the east, Ukraine is open to advances of
raiders from Asia, and the Black Sea (Чорне
море) gave Turks access to the south. The only natural boundary Ukraine has are the Carpathians Mountains in the west, but the European powers have never had reason to pressure Ukraine militarily (until the 20th Century). In contrast, Russia has the Ural Mountains as a natural boundary to the
east and the arctic as a boundary to the north.
Even so, Ukraine’s culture is reasonably homogenous throughout.
The entire southwest 3/4 of Ukraine is black-earth country,
to be highly prized for agriculture. Since
the ground was so fertile, farmers never needed to develop progressive
agricultural methods. Only in western
Ukraine, in Volhynia, Podolia (Поділля)
and Galicia, do bogs and hills arise, creating hardship for farmers. In these territories the earth is not as
fertile and the terrain is not as flat.
Culture
Culturally, Ukraine lagged behind both Poland and Russia
from early days due to the Mongol oppression in the 13th
Century. But Ukrainians did develop
their own culture, separate and unique from Polish or Russian culture.
Typical Ukrainian villages and homes are surrounded by
orchards and the front windows of Ukrainian homes face south. Ukrainians also build their houses farther
apart than do the Russians, as a precaution against the spread of fire. Ukrainian houses are whitewashed and clean
and have separate compartments for animals and people, in contrast to Russian
houses where people and animals inhabit the same space. Traditionally, Ukrainian houses and buildings
were made of clay and wood rather than stone.
Stone buildings would have proved more durable, but clay and wood were
always more abundant.
Ukrainian national costumes are distinctly different from
Russian native dress. Also, relative to
the Russians, Ukrainian women are much more powerful in society insofar as
their roles in the family and community are measured. Generally speaking, Ukrainians and Russians
did not inter-marry and rarely lived in the same village as one another.
Ukrainians may seem lazy and indifferent to an outsider, but
this was due to the Ukrainians’ individualistic nature and philosophic outlook
on life. On the other hand, perhaps
Ukrainians had become apathetic as a result of centuries of repression. Ukrainians for centuries put up with the Tatar
raids, destroying their villages and burning their crops. A casual attitude developed; why build it up
when the Tatars will just knock it down again?
A Ukrainian was fundamentally cheerful, but not prone to gaiety, rather
melancholy and quiet. The Ukrainian was
more domestic, frugal, and temperate than his Russian counterpart. And a Ukrainian could not accept common
ownership of land as a Russian could, because the Ukrainian is, by nature,
democratic and individualistic.
Ukrainians are also different physically from Poles and
Russians. Ukrainians are typically
taller and have darker features and hair, and are built with broader shoulders
and stronger chests. Poles and Russians,
on the other hand, have fairer complexions, and are shorter and less
heavy. Other cultures may have believed
Ukrainians to be Russified Poles or Polonized Russians or even Mongolized
Slavs. However, Ukrainians may actually
be more closely related to the Adriatic Slavs; the Czechs, Serbs, Slovenes and
Croats.
The Ukrainian language remains distinct from Russian and
Polish and the Ukrainians have their own folk songs and fairy tales. Nor is the Ukrainian language a vulgar
language not to be used for formal business (as Low German was, in comparison
to High German).
Ukraine has always been overlooked by history; Russia has
always treated Ukraine as part of Russia, but this is not accurate (Russians
have termed Ukraine as “Little Russia”).
The Ukrainians always resisted Russification or Polonization, but the
Ukrainian upper class always adopted either Russian or Polish ways, leaving
only the peasants to develop Ukrainian culture.
Historically, Ukraine has always been isolated from the
centers of European Culture such as Paris or Rome or even Berlin, Vienna, or
Prague (save for Constantinople in the very early days). The Carpathian Mountains have
long provided a natural boundary between Ukraine and Europe. As a result, Ukraine has had even less
European influence than has Russia.
By the early 20th Century, after more than 100
years of Russian rule, educated Ukrainians had become Russified. The Russian Empire required all official
business to be conducted with the Russian language. The Russians also required that the Russian
language be used in schools during 19th Century. Based on their disdain for the Russian
language, many Ukrainians therefore avoided school, further stunting any
cultural growth. This language barrier
created tremendous hardship on the Ukrainian peasants who had adapted more
easily to the Polish language and the result was that the general populace was fairly illiterate
(literacy in Volyn in the early 19th Century stood somewhere around
17% while in the western provinces such as Taurian, Kherson and Katerynoslav it
was somewhat higher).
In the 19th Century, both educated and uneducated
Ukrainians clearly resented Russian authority and looked upon their Russian oppressors
with contempt. Russification gradually
took hold among the populace, but generally the Ukrainians disliked the Russians
even more than they had disliked the earlier Polish overlords.
As a result of this cultural backwardness, most Ukrainians
lived in rural villages and did not migrate into cities which only exacerbated
their backwardness. By the very early 20th
Century, cities in Volyn were populated by foreigners and Jews while the native
Volhynians (Ukrainians) lived on the land.
City dwellers, engaging in trade and industry, tended to need a higher
level of education than did those who farmed the land. Ukrainian natives living in rural areas added
to their cultural backwardness by remaining without education and not engaging
in industry.
Agriculture
By the 20th Century, the typical Ukrainian farmer
lagged behind his European counterpart who had developed innovative technology
and advanced methods to aid production.
For centuries, the Ukrainian black earth farmer was spoiled by the high
level of fertility of his land and did not develop his farming methods. For instance, the Ukrainian farmer did not
rotate his crops, did not use new implements or technology, and because of his
illiteracy did not have the ability to find out about new agricultural
methods. Ukrainian agriculture tended to
be more advanced near the Polish border and in the areas of German
colonization. Wooden plows were still
used, although iron plows and other implements were making inroads by the early
20th Century. German
colonists in the Ukraine used more iron implements and the natives in those
regions tried to imitate them. However,
the Russian government hindered the spread of agricultural associations and
co-ops that might also have helped increase the general level of agricultural
efficiency.
Only the northwest areas of Ukraine were totally settled by
the early 20th Century. Volyn,
in fact, was fairly densely populated, but was also fairly heavily
forested. 13% of Ukraine was forested
around the year 1900, but the percentage in Volyn was more on the order of
30%. The west had very little forest;
for instance Katerynoslav was only abouty 2.5% forested, Kherson about 1.5% and
Taurian slightly less than 6%.
Deforestation in the west, however, was occurring at an alarming
rate. In Russian Ukraine in by the late
19th Century, more than 86% of the population was engaged in
agriculture.
The Ukrainian peasants owned only a small percentage of the
land at this time. In Volyn, peasants
owned about 40% of the land by the turn of the 20th Century. The ever increasing peasant population
required more and more land, but a full 60% of the countryside was owned by the
nobility. As a result, the peasants had
to split up their land and try to rent new parcels from the nobles. Russian forms of community ownership of land
had also begun to take hold in eastern Ukraine by the end of the 1800s.
By the early 1900s, 53% of Ukraine was under cultivation (only
37% in Volyn as opposed to 64% in Taurian).
Wheat covered about 50% of Taurian, Katerynoslav and Kherson, but only about
11% of Volyn. Wheat was one of Ukraine’s
chief chief exports at the time. Rye was
heavily cultivated in Volyn and covered about 38% of that province (rye covered
only 18% in Taurian). Barley covered
almost 0% of land in Volyn, but 26% in Taurian.
Volhynians also raised a small percentage of oats and buckwheat. Volhynians were beginning to raise a lot of
sugar beets by the late 1800s and Taurian had begun heavy tobacco
production. Czechs colonists living in Volyn also raised
a lot of hops.
Ukrainians from early times had also developed a fruit
culture; the country was dotted with many fruit orchards and each household probably had a fruit tree or two. In Volyn, many apples, pears and cherries
were grown. Large peach, apricot, plum,
apple, pear, and cherry orchards were cultivated in Taurian while many grape
vineyards were kept in the south near Melitopol (Мелітополь).
Bee-keeping was also popular in the west and Volyn had
approximately 206,000 hives kept. The silkworm
culture had begun to take hold in the southern provinces; the German Mennonites
of Taurian Province became experts at sericulture, the practice of breeding
silkworms for silk production.
Many Ukrainian farmers also occupied themselves with animal
husbandry. In Volyn in the early 20th
Century, for every 100 people, there were 19 horses, 32 steers, 18 sheep, and
17 hogs. Likewise in Taurian for every
100 people, there were 30 horses, 28 steers, 61 sheep, and 11 hogs. In Volyn, cattle-raising, horse-raising and
dairying were fairly light. Sheep and
goat-raising were also light, but hog-raising was abundant. Indeed, across the whole of Ukraine, the hog
was perhaps the most important source of husbandry-based income for agriculturalists. Asses and mules were seen only in the southeast
while in Taurian an occasional camel could even be seen. Poultry-raising was also very important in Volyn,
but most poultry was exported out of the country. In Volyn, almost all farmers kept some
animals, but less than 1% of farmers relied on husbandry alone without raising
any crops.
Industry and commerce
In Ukraine, specifically in Volyn, most people in the early
20th Century engaged in agriculture or cottage industry of some
sort. Home industries in Volyn in the
early 20th Century were in decline as factory industries were
gradually taking hold, but the rise of industry was only in its infancy in this
time period as Ukrainian peasants continued to provide for most of their own
needs regarding manufactured goods through home industry. Those who did not have land enough to sustain agriculture relied on household industry for income. Others produced goods to supplement their agricultural income.
Weaving was the most important home industry in Ukraine and
still by the early 20th Century almost every home had a loom. Furthermore, every Ukrainian peasant knew the
wood-working trade, Volhynians included, and the home pottery industry was also
still very important.
Wood-carving, textile and pottery production however, were
gradually being taken over by manufactories in larger towns. The factory industry in Ukraine was largely
run by foreigners (Russians, Germans, French) and Jews. Textiles, wool, mineral products, and food
industries all were moving toward professional manufactories by the early
1900s. Only a very small number, perhaps
less than 5%, of Ukrainians were involved in industrial pursuits or were
employed by manufactories during this time.
Commerce in Ukraine was in the hands of foreigners
(Russians, Jews, Greeks, Germans, etc), because of the low level of education
among Ukrainians and generally poor communication and travel systems in Eastern
Europe. Austrian Galicia was much more
advanced since the Austrians were more progressive than the Russians (Austria
had taken over a small portion of Ukraine, known as Galicia, after the
Partitions of Poland).
Commercially, the fair system (a holdover from medieval
times, in contrast to the mercantile system that had largely been adopted by this time in Western Europe) was still
prevalent in the 1800s in Ukraine. Fairs
gave wholesalers opportunity to sell to retailers. Wholesalers traveled throughout the country
trading with peasants. They would then
take their goods to a fair to sell their goods to retailers. Many, many fairs were held in Ukraine in the larger cities and villages. In Volyn,
the town of Dubno (Дубно) was
well-known for its large annual fair.
In the larger Ukraine, Kyiv, Berdichev (Бердичів) and Kharkiv (Харків)
all held major fairs. Even international
traders sometimes attended the larger fairs.
Specific wool and grain fairs were held in areas where these items were
exported (namely New Russia).
The commerce of the wider world was only beginning to touch
Ukraine in early 1900s by which time the area had begun to export wool, cattle,
poultry, grains, and raw minerals. On
the other hand, Ukraine imports included mainly manufactured goods.
In Volyn, some iron ore was produced as well as a fair
amount of lumber. The lumber industry
(saw-mills) remained important along the Pripyat (Прип'ять) River in Volyn although overall this industry was
under-utilized at the time. Only small
portions of the total population were engaged in the lumber industry. Volhynia had large deposits of peat due to
the boggy, swampy areas and was also rich in kaolin clay (used to make
porcelain), sandstone, chalk and graphite.
The cities and towns of Volyn were largely inhabited by Jews
and seemed dirty and neglected. Brody (Броди), on the border of Austrian
Galicia, did considerable agricultural business and remained a center for
smuggling due to its frontier location. Luck (Луцьк), Dubno and Rivne (Рівне)
formed the Volhynian triangle of forts against old Austria and were important
trading towns. Rivne traded grain,
alcohol and livestock. Radivilov (Радивилів), across the Austrian border
from Brody, was a den of smugglers.
Ostrog (Острог) lay at the point
where the Gorin (Горинь) River
became navigable and nearby Netishin (Нетішин) was
an important local port for goods from farther south. Ostrog had long been regarded as an important
spiritual center of Volhynia. Ostrog and
nearby Zaslav (Заслав) engaged in a
small amount of grain trading and Korec (Корець),
to the northeast, was famous for its clay and manufacture of porcelain.
In southern province of Taurian, Melitopol (Мелітополь) traded large amounts of
grain, lumber, wool, cattle, and egg,s and had large mills and factories
producing agricultural equipment. Likewise,
Berdyansk (Бердянськ) exported grain
and had machine factories, mills, breweries, fruit gardens and vineyards, but limited
accessibility due to its poor harbor.
Higher tariffs were placed on goods going to Black Sea ports such as
Odessa (Одеса) however, therefore it
was easier to ship goods via rail to the Baltic or Moscow than to Odessa,
Melitopol, or other Black Sea ports.
Ukraine’s exports went first to Russia and then were
exported internationally. Likewise,
imports came into Russian cities from abroad, but very few found their way into
isolated Ukraine. Ukraine itself had a
severely negative trade balance and saw little profit from any exports. As a result of poor transportation,
communication and trade practices forced upon them by the Russians, Ukrainian
economy was stagnant and the culture remained undeveloped; virtually untouched
by the outside world.
Transportation and Communication
The condition of roads throughout Ukraine was very
poor. Most roads were unpaved and may
have simply been strips of deep mud in all seasons but summer. In a lot of the country, secondary roads were
simply bridle-paths, passable by foot or by bridle horse but not by wagon or vehicle of any kind. From early days, stone had not been used as a
material for road building, thus contributing to the poor nature of Ukrainian
roads.
Some important southern and eastern cities such as Katerynoslav
and Kherson had no paved roads leading into them at all. By the early 1900s, paved roads in Ukraine
were rare. In Volyn there were only one
or two paved roads in the entire province; these being the highways crossing
the country east to west.
The railroads were built by the Russians in the 19th
Century to allow southern access to Moscow or to the Baltic ports, but not to
connect cities for basic transportation.
For instance, in the 19th Century there was no direct
connection between Ukraine’s two chief cities, Kyiv and Odessa 275 miles apart,
but both were directly connected to Moscow, almost 500 miles to the north from Kyiv. Lemberg (L’viv, Львів), ethnographically a Ukrainian city, was the biggest rail hub
in the Ukrainian world, but it lay in Austrian Galicia, not in Russian
Ukraine. Lemberg in the early 20th
Century was the closest thing to a rail hub in the European sense anywhere near
Ukraine.
The railroads had been mapped out by the Russians and
bypassed many important Ukrainian cities and no real rail hubs existed. Some junctions ended up in the middle of
nowhere because all rail lines ultimately led to Russian destinations such as
Moscow or St. Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург).
Cities that did not have a rail line
declined in importance. For instance,
the City of Machnowka (Mahnivka, Махнівка,
known as Komsomolskoye, Комсомольське,
since 1935), on the border of the Volyn and Kiev Gubernias, had been an
important town and was marked prominently on early 19th Century maps. However, the Russian-built railway passed
through nearby Berdichev and the importance of Machnowka declined rapidly throughout the 1800s.
Communication was also inhibited by the similar carelessness
with which the borders of Ukraine had been drawn; both within Russian Ukraine,
as well as the international border with Austria. These borders had been drawn with no regard
for natural or ethnographic conditions.
For instance, Lemberg, the most important communication center for western
Ukraine, lay in Austrian controlled Galicia since the Partitions of Poland, and could not easily be accessed by Russian Ukrainians. These shortcomings regarding
communication and transportation severely impaired the growth of the economy
and culture in Russian Ukraine in the 19th Century.
Finally, the City of Odessa, in Kherson Gubernia, was the
biggest Black Sea port and the City of Kherson was the most important Dneiper River
port. Odessa was surpassed only by St. Petersburg (on the Baltic Sea in the north) in importance as a port city throughout the Russian Empire. Melitopol, Mariupol and Taganrog (Таганрог) were other important Black Sea
ports and Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula, was the home of the Russian
Naval Black Sea Fleet. Overall however,
Ukrainian water bound trade was far under-utilized by the early 20th
Century.
