There were Russians - now there are Ukrainians. The violent history of Ukrainization

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-10 19:46

The Bolsheviks, who came to power in 1917 on the ruins of the Russian Empire, immediately took the national question under their special control. Following a new ideological formula, according to which tsarist Russia is a prison of nations, and the Russian people is an oppressor people, the communist leaders began to build a state of workers and peasants on the foundation of a new national policy.

It consisted both in the creation of new state national formations, and in the development of the culture and language of one or another ethnic group. However, in some republics this policy led to serious excesses, the consequences of which we can observe even now.

This is especially noticeable in the example of the second most important republic of the USSR - Ukraine, once a former territory where Little Russians lived - ethnic Russians and part of the single Russian people. "Bell of Russia" brings to your attention a very curious selection of materials that show the full scale and, at the same time, thoughtlessness of the process of Ukrainization of the Russian population of Little Russia.

How to make "Ukrainians" out of Russians - a short guide to nation-building:

- create the Ukrainian Soviet Republic (Ukrainian SSR) from the territories of the Russian Little Russian provinces

- during the 1926 census, record Russians as "Ukrainians"

- work hard to create a "Ukrainian language" that is as different as possible from Russian

- Ukrainize office work, agitprop, Komsomol, pioneers, trade unions, newspapers, schools, universities and so on.

- Well, if someone does not want to become Ukrainized, dismiss him from his job.

When preparing the first all-Union census of the population in 1926, a document was sent to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks from the Central Department of National Economic Accounting of the USSR, which explains some of the nuances of the census in Ukraine and Belarus. Here are some excerpts from it:

“The dispute is now about the following: at one time, the Central Statistical Office (CSB) and the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of Belarus raised the question that when, during the census, the respondent responded to the question about his nationality with“Russian”, the counter must ask him an additional the question, to which of the three nationalities in the broad sense of the word covered by the word Russian, he ranks himself: Belarusian, Ukrainian or Great Russian. Belarus asked to draw this line also in Ukraine and in those provinces of Russia that adjoin Belarus and Ukraine. The Central Statistical Administration of the USSR recognized the statement of Belarus as quite correct."

"At the same time, Ukraine did not agree with the wording that the entry" Russian "and" Great Russian "are considered identical."

“In order to unconditionally ensure that not a single Ukrainian or Belarusian is allowed to pass, it was deemed necessary to raise a control question, which immediately reveals the dismemberment of the popular word“Russian”, especially since in Belarus registration will be done by Belorussian enumerators, and in Ukraine - by Ukrainians, who, of course, will make the dismemberment very energetically and clearly."

“What Ukraine demands in relation to the nationality, the republic also demands in relation to the survey about the native language: to write here either“Ukrainian”, or“Belarusian”, or“Great Russian”. She wants to prohibit the use of the term "Russian language"."

“In addition to the preceding points, the Ukrainian CSO began to determine the ethnicity of minors. The instructions of the Federal Central Statistical Bureau remain silent on the part of determining who gives answers for the children. First, at the time of the census, parents may be absent: older relatives will provide information about the children. Secondly, in most cases, children (pioneers) may turn out to be more literate and more conscious than their parents. in the latter case, there may also be a discrepancy in how parents and children will answer certain questions (including about ethnicity. For example, Ukrainianized pioneer children of Russian residents of Ukraine will disagree on the question of ethnicity and native language with their parents)."

The “leader of the peoples” himself, Joseph Stalin, spoke about Ukrainization as follows: “Recently it was said that the Ukrainian republic and the Ukrainian nation were an invention of the Germans. Meanwhile, it is clear that the Ukrainian nation exists, and the development of its culture is the responsibility of the communists. You can't go against history. It is clear that if Russian elements still predominate in the cities of Ukraine, then over time these cities will inevitably be Ukrainianized."

These words were uttered by him at the X Congress of the RCP (b) in March 1921, and already in May of the same year, at a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee, the issue of purchasing textbooks and primers abroad was raised, after which first 500 thousand were allocated for this, then 250 thousand, and then another 250 thousand rubles in gold. For comparison, 1.7 million rubles were allocated for the purchase of 4 million poods of coal and 28 thousand cubic meters of firewood. gold - you can estimate how much it is in modern prices.

During the first decade of the Ukrainization initiated by the Bolsheviks, the party and economic leadership at all levels was fully Ukrainized, but when debriefing began for the reasons of the 1932 famine, it "suddenly" became clear that (From the decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on December 14, 1932 G.):

- “… instead of the correct Bolshevik conduct of the national policy in a number of regions of Ukraine, Ukrainization was carried out mechanically, without taking into account the specific characteristics of each region, without careful selection of Bolshevik Ukrainian cadres, which made it easier for the bourgeois-nationalist elements, Petliurists, etc. the creation of their own legal cover, their own counter-revolutionary cells and organizations."

Therefore, it is necessary to continue Ukrainization correctly:

- "… pay serious attention to the correct implementation of Ukrainization, eliminate its mechanical implementation, expel Petliura and other bourgeois-nationalist elements from party and Soviet organizations, carefully select and educate Ukrainian Bolshevik cadres, ensure systematic party leadership and control over the implementation of Ukrainization."

Along with the introduction of the Ukrainian language, there was a total Ukrainianization of the public administration system on the territory of Ukraine and local public organizations, the army, etc. On April 7, 1925, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine becomes Lazar Moiseevich Kaganovich, and already at the July plenum of the Central Committee of the CP (b) U, directives were adopted for the total Ukrainization of the social and political life of the Ukrainian SSR.

The following were subject to Ukrainization: the system of party education from top to bottom, scientific Marxist and popular literature, periodicals, office work, agitprop, Komsomol, pioneers, trade unions, newspapers, Soviet institutions (deadline January 1, 1926), secondary and higher educational institutions, and also the Red Army divisions in the Ukrainian Military District.

Those who refused to be subjected to the violent policy of Ukrainization faced public censure and, moreover, criminal prosecution

So, for example, the All-Ukrainian Central Commission of Ukrainization under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR obliged all employees of the Kiev branch of the Izvestia newspaper to pass an exam in the Ukrainian language. Insubordination was viewed as a violation of the USSR legislation on the Ukrainization of the Soviet apparatus in force at that time. In this case, the issue was transferred to the Prosecutor's Office of the Ukrainian SSR to bring criminal liability to persons evading Ukrainization.

The Ukrainization was especially difficult in purely Russian districts and cities of Little Russia and Novorossia, which were, first of all, Donbass and Odessa

Thus, in one of the reports to local party bodies on the state of Ukrainization in Donetsk and adjacent areas, it was said the following: “According to the available information, in 16 districts, peasant and mixed, the Okruzhkom apparatus has been completely Ukrainized. The situation is worse in the workers' districts. At past conferences, an unhealthy attitude towards the case of Ukrainization on the part of some comrades was revealed. … Donetsk districts declare that they cannot understand the Ukrainian language in any way and that all work is carried out in Russian. The question of the Ukrainization of these districts is especially acute”.

At the same time, the most rabid Ukrainization took place, perhaps, precisely in Odessa. Here are some excerpts from some of the materials of the Izvestia newspaper of the Odessa Gubispolkom, Gubkom KPBU and Gubprofsovet for 1925-26 and other years:

“The campaign for Ukrainization will continue. … All employees of institutions will be divided into 4 categories: those who are hostile to Ukrainization, overworked, specialists and who have not mastered the language due to illness. Persons assigned to the 1st category will immediately resign. For specialists, it is planned to organize 5-month courses of the Ukrainian language so that they

were able to fully master the technical terminology. Employees who have not attended the circles due to illness will be considered conditionally dismissed. … All head offices are invited to hire only workers who speak Ukrainian. In case of redundancies, all those who do not speak Ukrainian should be dismissed in the first place."

Odessa newspapers

“At the plenum of the commission on Ukrainization held yesterday, reports were heard from verification triplets. … The plenum decided to propose to the verification troikas in the future to mark all those who evade Ukrainization in order to remove them from work. First of all, institutions should be Ukrainianized, which are in close contact with the countryside, then all Soviet institutions in general and, finally, in the third place, production enterprises."

“The Presidium of the Okrug Executive Committee confirmed the resolution of the Okrug Commission on Ukrainization on the compulsory translation of all signs, stamps and seals into Ukrainian. Responsibility for translation will be assigned to the heads of institutions and economic agencies. The deadline for the implementation of the resolution is September 2”.

“In the coming academic year, when enrolling in universities, special attention will be paid to the knowledge of the Ukrainian language by applicants. The ability to verbally explain and express one's thoughts in Ukrainian in writing is a must for applicants to universities."

Several eloquent illustrations:

The newspaper "Izvestia" of the Odessa Provincial Executive Committee, Gubkom KPBU and Gubprofsovet for 1925-26, etc.