The ruling sovereignty of Russia in the 19th Century was accompanied by the desire to spread Soviet rule all over Europe and the need to reintegrate Ukraine into Russia’s foundation. First, they sought to eradicate Ukrainian literature, language, and culture. In the 19th century, Ukrainian national revolution was driven by literature, and Russia feared that this would result in the creation of “Ukrainian national consciousness” (Britannica).
The minister of the interior, Pyotr Valuev, outlawed nearly all publications in Ukrainian in 1863, except for belles lettres. The ban on Ukrainian-language books, as well as public readings and performances, was reinforced by the Ems Ukaz, a secret decree of Alexander II in 1876. Furthermore, in 1897, there was even a prohibition on education, a major factor in the 13% literacy rate among Ukrainians .(Ukraine Under Direct Imperial Russian Rule)
“By the mid-19th century the cultural and literary stirrings in Ukraine aroused concern in tsarist ruling circles. In the official view, dominant also in Russian historiography, the Ukrainians were a subdivision, or “tribe,” of Russians—“Little Russians”—torn from the unity of Rus by the Mongol-Tatars and deflected from their proper historical course by the baneful influence of Poland. Thus, it was deemed essential to reintegrate Ukraine fully into the Russian body politic. Shevchenko’s patriotic verse earned him arrest and years of exile in Central Asia. In 1863 the minister of the interior, Pyotr Valuev, banned virtually all publications in Ukrainian, with the exception of belles lettres. The ban was reinforced by a secret imperial decree, the Ems Ukaz, of Alexander II in 1876 and extended to the publication of belles lettres in Ukrainian, the importation of Ukrainian-language books, and public readings and stage performances in the language.”
When you try to strip away a man’s identity, you first start with his language and culture and then hit his home. That, in return, is what Russia has continuously done to Ukraine and why it seems as if history continuously repeats itself time after time again.
Over the course of the late 19th century, the rural peasants in Ukraine suffered severe economic hardship due to heavy redemption payments, taxes, and an absence of land. With fast-growing populations, there was a corresponding increase in land hunger, which led to mass emigration of Russian peasants to Asia.
Citations
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Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Ukraine under direct Imperial Russian rule. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 9, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/Ukraine-under-direct-imperial-Russian-rule
Images: https://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/russia/ukrenc19.html
https://informnapalm.org/en/history-of-ukraine-the-rise-of-nationalism-in-19th-century/