Ukranian Historical Overview


Figure 1.-.

The Ukraine in aicient times was populated by many nomadic peoples, including the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths. Much of our knowledge of these peoples comes from trading peoples with written languges such as the Greeks. The Slavic tribes founded Kiev, the first important state founded in Russia. Kiev came to be ruled by the Khazars. They in turn were conquered by the Varangian (Eastern or Swedish Vikings) Oleg. Just as the Western Christian kingdoms were coinquered by the Eastern Vikings becoming the ruling class, so did the Eastern Vikings moving down the trading routes of the great Russian rivers conquer the Slavs of the steppe becoming the rling class and giving Russia its name. After the decline of the Kievian state, scatteded cities and principalies rose, all subject to the Mongols. Gradually a state coaleased around Halych-Volynia. The Mongols were especially interested in tribute. Two powerful states arose in Poland and Lithuania which drove the Mongols out of the Urraine (14th century). The Black Sea area fell to the Tartars and later to the Ottomans. The expanding power of Muscovy and the decline of Poland meant in essence that Russia gradually expanded its influence over the Ukraine. The partitions of Poland left Russia in control of most of the Ukraine except for the western areas which came under Austrian control (Galicia). Russia was unprepared for World War I. Russia armies sustauned grevious losses at the hand of the Germans, but the Eastern Front prevented the Germans from brining the full force of their army to bear on the critical Western Front. Finally the Russian Revolution forced then Tsar to abdigate. The Bolshviks were forced to sign a draconian peace (Treary of Brest-Litovsk) recognizing an independent Ukraine under German protection (1917). German defeat in the West shattered the other two empires (Prussia and Austria). This created a huge power vacuum in eastern Europe. Ukranians tried to create an independent state, but were overwealmed by the Bolsevicks. Stalin to destroy the nationalist movement in the kraine and to gain control over the peasanty brought about a devestatng famine.

Ancient History

The Ukraine in aicient times was populated by many nomadic peoples, including the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and Goths. Much of our knowledge of these peoples comes from trading peoples with written languges such as the Greeks. The Romans also established trading outposts which evolved into city states. Anthroplogists have given some attention to the Antes civilization, during the common era. The Antes are believed by some to have been an early Slavic or pre-Slavic civilization. Slavic tribes moved into the central and eastern Ukraine (sixth century AD).

Kiev

The Slavic tribes founded Kiev, the first important state founded in Russia. Kiev came to be ruled by the Khazars. They in turn were conquered by the Varangian (Eastern or Swedish Vikings) Oleg. Just as the Western Christian kingdoms were coinquered by the Eastern Vikings becoming the ruling class, so did the Eastern Vikings moving down the trading routes of the great Russian rivers conquer the Slavs of the steppe becoming the rling class and giving Russia its name. Kiev was situated on the Dnipper stride rich trading grounds between the fur and timber producing areas to the north and Byzantium to the south. The city became the rich capital of The Kievuan Rus state. St. Cyril converted the Kievian nobility (998). Kiev extended its sway over a huge area--the largest statev in Eutope (11th century). A contested succession and disputes with other cities led to the decline of Kiev (12th centuries). Kiev was unable to resist powerful raiders from the north and east. The city was sacked by Russians, Polovtzians and Mongol (12th-13th centuries). Kiev and Russia to the north were conquered by the Mongols (13th cenntury). Many Ukranians moved west fleeing from the Mongols establishing settlements in Poland and Hungary.

Halych-Volynia

After the decline of the Kievian state, scatteded cities and principalies rose, all subject to the Mongols. Gradually a state coaleased around Halych-Volynia. The Mongols were especially interested in tribute. They had no objection to political union of their Western areas as long as they could deliver rich tribute.

Poland and Lithuania

Two powerful states arose in Poland and Lithuania which drove the Mongols out of the Urraine (14th century). Much of the Ukraine at the time bordered on Lithuania and Poland and the term Ukraine may have been used to mean borderlands. Lithuania seized Volynia (northern/northwestern Ukraine which included Kiev). Poland seized Halychchyna. With the union of Poland and Lithuania (the Commonwealth), the Ukraine freed of the Mongols began to become integrated with Christian Europe and commerce increased. Poles, Germans, Armenians and Jews immigrated into the Ukraine.

Tartars

The Black Sea area fell to the Tartars and later to the Ottomans.

The Commonwealth/Poland (1569-1795)

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was known by a variety of terms, including the Commonwealth of the Two Nations (Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów). More commonly it is referred to as the Polish Kingdom. The major constituent parts were Poland (including for a time much of the Ukraine) also called the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Commonwealth was ruled by an elected monarchy. The Commonwealth introduced a degree of religious tolerance among the largely Roman andc Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, which elected each king. The king once elected was bound to the "Pacta conventa" a kind of ruling contract. The Ukranian nobles voted to join the Commonwealth (1569). The Commonwealth in the Ukraine was an era of social upheaval and change. New cities and villages were founded. The Reniassance began to influence society. Polish peasants who had moved east were Ruthenised. At the same time some Ukrainian nobles were Polonized. The nobility sought to create feudal fiefdoms which was resisted by Ruthenian/Ukrainian peasants. Those peasants who refused to become serfs fled into remote areas and were referred to as Cossacks. Their reputation as fierce warriors became legendary.

The Kozak Era

Oppression of the Ukranian peasantry and the union of the Ukranian Church with Rome led to the Kozak (Cossack) rebellions known as The Deluge (1648). Chmielniki foughtb for independence from the Policized nobility. The Zaporozhe achieved virtual independence. This struggle greatly weakened the Commonwealth (Polish Kingdom). The Cossaks sought a treaty with the rising state of Moscow (Muscovy) gfor protection from Poland. The agreement was known as the Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654). Poland then sought to negotiate with the Cossaks and reached a compromise known as the Union of Hadyach (1658). An extended war bewtween Poland and the Russians led to Treaty of Andrusiv (1667) in which the two powers partitioned the Ukraine. Polans seeded the noertheastern Ukraine to the Russians. Tsar Peter I supressed the cossacks after the Mazzepa Rebellion.

Decline of Poland

The expanding power of Muscovy and the decline of Poland meant in essence that Russia gradually expanded its influence over the Ukraine. The partitions of Poland left Russia in control of most of the Ukraine except for the western areas which came under Austrian control (Galicia). Russia gradually pushed the Turks out of south-central Ukraine. Hungary continued to contol the Trans-Carpathian region. Ukrainian intellectuals began to promote Ukranian culture and literature and education in the Ukranian language and aspire for their own indeopendent state. Russians opposed the Ukranian intellectual movement and sought to prevent the study of Ukranian and even ban the use of the language. The Austrians in the western Ukraine were more willing to accomodate the Ukranians. Ukranians began to use the term Ruthenia/Ruthenians and began using Ukraine/Ukrainians.

Polish Partitions

The three major European Empires (Austria, Prussia, and Russia) carried out three partitions of Poland of Poland (1772-95). This and the annexaton of the Crimean Khanate brought most of the Ukraine under Russian control except for Galicia (ustria) and Ruthenia (Hungary).

World War I

Russia was unprepared for World War I. Russia armies sustauned grevious losses at the hand of the Germans, but the Eastern Front prevented the Germans from brining the full force of their army to bear on the critical Western Front. Finally the Russian Revolution forced then Tsar to abdigate. The Bolshviks were forced to sign a draconian peace (Treary of Brest-Litovsk) recognizing an independent Ukraine under German protection (1917). German defeat in the West shattered the other two empires (Prussia and Austria). This created a huge power vacuum in eastern Europe.

Independent Ukraine

The Ukraniand first declared independence in 1917 and again in 1918. Therecwere three separate Ukrainian republics, including the Rada, the Directorate, the Hetmanate, and the Ukrainian Peoples Republic of Symon Petlura. The struggle for the Ukraine was very complicated. Competing forces (Ukranian nationalists, Red Army, White Army--Deniken, and Polish Army) complicated by German and French intervention. Ultimately the Ukranian republics were not able to muster the military force to maintain the intrgrity of the new state. The western Ukraine was taken by Poland (1920-21) andc the eastern and central Ukraine was seized by the Soviet Union becoming the Ukrainian SSR.

The Soviet Union

The Bolsheviks in the early Soviet years made concessions to the Ukranian nationalists. This changed as Stalin seized control of the Soviet state in the late 1920s. Stalin initiated a campaign of terror to destroy the Ukranian inteligensia. The greatest crime of Stalin was a famine (Holodomor) to destroy the kulanks and forcibly collectivize agriculture. There is no precise account of deaths resulting from the famine (1932-33), but estimates vary from 3-10 million. This was one, if not thec greatest crime of the Stalinist era--the horific Ukranian famine. The famine area included both the Ukraine and the Soviet northern Caucasus, as well as Russian areas in the lower Volga River basin. Famines are historically primarily the results of natural events such as drought, heat, diseases, insect infestations, and other natural causes. The Ukranian famine was primarily caused by Stalin's program of collectiving Soviet agriculture, especially the forced collectivization of the Ukraine. The Ukraine had been the bread basket of Russia. It was the prize sought by the Germans in two world wars. The rich, well watered soil made the Ukraine the most productive agrivcultural area of the Soviet Union. Two issues merged which resulted in dissaster for the Ukranian people. Not only did the Ukranian peasantry resist collectivization, but there was a strong Ukranian national spirit, especially in the western Ukraine. Stalin was determined to both bring agicultural under central control, but to crush Ukrainian nationalism at the same time. Stalin not only used the famine to crush the spirit of the Ukranian peole, but he also purged the Ukrainian intelligentsia. Stalin even purged the Ukrainian Communist party. At the cost of millions of lives, many of them children, the famine succeedded in breaking any organized redsistance on the part of the peasantry to collectivization. Stalin's purges also succeeded in smashing the Ukranian national movement. Stalin's actions in the Ukraine were not without costs beyond the deaths of Ukranians. Agricultural production plummeted. Soviet agricultural became one of the most inefficent agricultural operations in the world. Stalin bought Ukranian agricultural under his control through collectivization, he also signicantly reduced the output of Soviet agriculture.

World War II (September 1939)

NAZI Germany and Soviet Union cooperated to destroy and partition Poland (September 1939). The Soviets incorporated the eastern area of Poland that Poland had seized from the Ukraine into the Soviet Union. The terror that had been visited on the eastern and central Ukraine was now imposed on the area of the westetn Ukraine seized from Poland. There are countless instances of Soviet oppression. One young Ukranian patriot recounts being arrested by the NKVD (January 1940). He was incarcerated in the Brygitki prison with 10,000 other Uranians. They were subkected to ruthless intrerogation and totrure. They heard bombs falling and realized the Germans invaded the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941). They thought they might be liberated by the Germans. That very afternoon, however, the NKVD guards began taking small groups of prisonors into the cellar of the prison where the poping noises of gun fire could be heard. By the time the NKVD evacuated only 500-600 of the prisoners were left allive when the Ukranian underground broke into the prison. The NAZIs once they arrived began killing massive numbers of HJews. In addition, noted Ukranian activits were hung or shot in the town square. [Kazaniwsky]

Operation Barbarossa (June 1941)

The NAZIs launched the most massive military campaign in history with their assault on the Soviet Union (June 1941). Many Ukrainians appaled by Stalinist repression at first wlcomed the Germans. One of the greatest German victories of the War was achieved with the encirclement of Kiev, more than 0.6 million Soviet soldiers surrendered to the Germans. .

NAZI Occupation (1941-44)

The NAZIs persued Ukrania's Jews with an unimagined ferocity. They murdered approximately 1 million Ukranian Jews. Most were killed in the opening months of the campsaign by the Einsatzgruppe. There were also terrible attrocities aimed at other Ukrainians. Ukrainians joined the resistance to fight the NAZIs. Other Ukranians were also opposed to the Soviets, forces which the Soviets did not completly destroy until years after the War. Estimates suggest that 7 million Ukranians civilians died during the War. Other Ukranians were killed in atrocities and forced labor under brutal conditions. The NAZIs killed executed whole villages in reprisal for resistance attacks. About a quarter of the 11 million Soviet troops who were killed in the War were ethnic Ukranians.

Independence


Sources

Kazaniwsky, Bohdan. "Amid death, gratitude for life," The Washington Post May 28, 2004, p. W12.






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Created: May 30, 2004
Last updated: May 30, 2004