TOPIC 4
UKRAINE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Political Developments in Russian-Ruled Ukraine in the Early 19th Century

The Great French Revolution of 1789 gave impetus to European peoples to struggle for their social and political rights. Numerous liberal, conservative, and socialist teachings appeared in Europe at the time. Various secret clubs and organizations were formed on the continent with the aim of changing the existing order. The Russian Empire was not exclusion in this process. Moscow’s victory over Napoleonic France (1812-1814) contributed to the growth and activity of these secret movements in the Russian Empire. During military campaigns in Europe many Russian officers saw and were influenced by the progressive innovations in social spheres of life introduced by the French Revolution. The liberal ideas proclaimed by the French Revolution sharply contradicted the autocratic principles of the Russian Empire.

Secret societies which emerged in Ukraine at the beginning of the 19^th century were in the form of Masonic lodges popular in Europe and Russia at the time. The major idea of Masons says: “the whole world is one big republic where all the peoples are one family.” One of the main aims of Masons is unification of all peoples of the world on the basis of brotherhood, equality and mutual help into a rational society where each person works for the benefit of that society.

Many prominent Ukrainian public figures such as Ivan Kotliarevsky, Vasul’ Kapnist and Vasul’ Lukashevych were among Masons. The Masonic lodges formed in Left-Bank Ukraine were not interested in independence of the Ukrainian people. They were interested in improving the existing social and political system. Some lodges in Right-Bank Ukraine (where Polonized szlachta was influential) had political plans to restore Rzeczpospolita within the borders of 1772 (till the Dnieper). In general, lodges in Right-Bank Ukraine were under the influence of Polish nobles while the lodges in Left-Bank Ukraine were under the influence of Russian nobles.

In the 1820s some secret political organizations not directly connected with the Masonic movement appeared in Ukraine. One of the first was the Little-Russian Secret Society under the leadership of Vasyl Lukashevych. Its aim was to separate Ukraine from Russia and unify it with the restored Rzeczpospolita. Such an intention was quite natural for the Polish and Polonized szlachta since they did not consider Ukrainians as something distinct from the Polish nation. They believed that Ukrainians were a branch of the Polish nation and the Ukrainian language was just a Polish dialect. Right-Bank Ukraine, where practically all Ukrainian szlachta was Polonized, became a center of Polish political activity. In 1831 the Right-Bank szlachta rebelled against Russian rule trying to restore Rzeczpospolita in the borders of 1772. Unfortunately for the szlachta, ordinary Ukrainians did not support the rebellion and it was soon put down. The szlachta mistake was their refusal to abolish serfdom and grant Ukraine autonomy.

In the early 1820s Ukraine became one of the centers of the Decembrist movement. The Decembrists were Russian nobles who wanted to abolish serfdom and modernize and liberalize the Russian economic and political systems. In 1821 the Decembrists united their secret organizations into two societies – Northern with the center in St. Petersburg and Southern with the center in Tulchyn (Right-Bank Ukraine, Vinnytsia region). Colonel P. Pestel was elected leader of the Southern society. Similar to the Masonic lodges in Ukraine the Decembrists were indifferent to the idea of Ukraine’s independence or autonomy. In the Russkaya Pravda, the political program of the Southern Society, Ukrainians were considered as part of the Russian nation and their language as a Russian dialect (малороссийское наречие) spoiled by ‘Polish influences.’ The Decembrists agreed to grant independence to the Poles whose territory began ‘where the Little-Russian dialect was not heard.’ The territory ‘where the Little-Russian dialect was heard’ was regarded by the Decembrists as an ‘indigenous Russian land’ (исконно русская земля).

On December 14, 1925, the Decembrists started a revolt in St. Petersburg following the death of Tsar Alexander I. On December 28, the Southern society urged the Chernihiv regiment, located 30 km south of Kyiv, to revolt. Both riots were severely put down by the government. The Decembrists became the symbol of heroism and self-sacrifice for future generations of revolutionaries in the Russian Empire.