The Polish Uprising of 1863

Poles or Polonized Ukrainians constituted the majority of the upper class in Right-Bank Ukraine. Polish culture was rather strong in the area. There were many Polish schools, cultural societies, newspapers. Poles also dominated in Kyiv University. Polish youth formed numerous patriotic organizations called gmins. Members of these organizations believed that Ukrainians and Poles were branches of the same nation. The difference between hromadas and gmins was rather significant. While hromadas were engaged in cultural activities, gmins had a distinct political aim – to separate former Polish territories from the Russian empire and restore the Rzezcpospolita.

The Polish uprising started in January 1863. Though it embraced large areas of the former Polish territories (Poland, Lithuania, Belarus), the major activities took place on Ukrainian territory. The major driving force of the uprising was Polish and Polonized Ukrainian nobility and intelligentsia. The peasants did not support the rebels. The rebels for them were representatives of the oppressor class (Polske panstvo) that exploited Ukraine for centuries. Hromada members did not support the Poles either. The tsarist government cruelly suppressed the uprising. More than 30,000 rebels died in battles, 1,500 were shot in prisons, 150,000 of men and women were deported to Siberia. Polish schools and Catholic monasteries were closed in Right-Bank Ukraine. Many Polish estates were confiscated.

Moscow’s Attitude to Ukraine

The incorporation of Ukraine in 1654 into the Russian empire stimulated Russia’s cultural development since in the 17^th century Ukraine as a Polish province had much more developed culture than Russia. Many educated Ukrainians were offered high official posts in Russia. Sons of Russian nobles studied at Ukrainian secondary schools and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.⁷ Ukrainian scholars founded and staffed the first institution of higher education in Russia – The Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy (1685) in Moscow as well as various secondary schools (especially for training the clergy) in Russian cities. In the 17^th – 18^th centuries Ukrainians filled the highest hierarchical positions in the Russian Orthodox Church including the major one (the head of Holy Synod).

Russia has always been a very centralized state. So it looks quite natural that Moscow pursued a centralization policy in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church lost its independence and became part of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1686. The Greek Catholic Church was also transformed into the Russian Orthodox after Polonized areas of Ukraine (Central Ukraine and Volhynia) became part of the Russian Empire. The Orthodox Church in Ukraine became an instrument of Russification and a major propagandist of the official imperial ideology. Ukrainian publishing houses were forbidden to print books in Ukrainian. The Ukrainian language was denied the status of a distinct language from Russian. It was considered as merely a dialect of Russian and it was not allowed to publish and teach in it. The teaching of Ukrainian history was also forbidden as it could stimulate the development of national consciousness. As to the Ukrainian nation it was considered to be a branch of the Russian people. (It is interesting to note that many influential politicians in present-day Russia still regard the Ukrainians as a branch of the Russian people). The very name “Ukraine” was forbidden by Moscow. The country was called Little Russia (Malorossiya) or Southern Russia (Yuzhno-Russkii krai). Russian tsars encouraged intermarriages between Russians and Ukrainians. Thus, Russia’s policy toward Ukraine was aimed at assimilating the Ukrainian people and culture. By eradicating Ukrainian national consciousness Moscow planned to secure the state’s stability.

It should be noted, however, that Ukrainians in the Russian Empire were not discriminated against for jobs because of their nationality. All careers were opened for Ukrainians in the empire and many Ukrainians achieved the highest positions (including prime-minister) in the Russian hierarchical system. There could not be any discrimination as the official point of view in Russia denied the existence of Ukrainians as a nation. The Ukrainians were considered to be the Russians who had been artificially separated from Russia in the 13^th century and got first under Mongol, and later under Lithuanian and Polish control. As a result of these foreign influences the “Russians” in Ukraine were slightly changed in their language and mentality and “became” the Ukrainians. In the 17^th century, according to the Russian imperial viewpoint, Ukraine naturally reunited with its homeland – Russia.