The Reforms of Alexander II

SEMINAR 4

TOPIC 4

UKRAINE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

        

The Partitions of Poland-Lithuania

 At the end of the 18^th century Poland differed sharply from its neighbors (Russia, Prussia, and Austria) which were strong and centralized absolutist monarchies. Poland in contrast became very weak. Its nobility boasted of “golden freedoms” that, practically speaking, provided the nobles with immunity before the law. That also meant that the land became almost impossible to govern. The king power was very weak. He was elected by the nobility and depended on them. The nobles did not want to submit to anybody and there were numerous wars among them. The nobles had the right to raise their private armies and build fortresses. In fact, anarchy reigned in Poland at that time. So it was a matter of time for Poland to be destroyed by its powerful neighbors. Finally, the Commonwealth’s three aggressive neighbors: Russia, Prussia, and Austria decided to take advantage of the situation and to divide the weak country among themselves. As a result of three partitions – those of 1772, 1775, and 1795 – Poland-Lithuania ceased to exist. These radical changes in the political map of Eastern Europe affected Ukrainians directly. Ukrainian ethnic lands were divided between Russia (80%) and Austria (20%). Austria received Galicia, Bukovyna, and Transcarpathia (Закарпаття), the rest of Polish-ruled Ukraine was attached to Russia. These divisions had a great impact on the formation of Ukrainian mentality. They deepened the differences between eastern and western Ukrainians.

 

The Beginning of National Revival in Russian-Ruled Ukraine

At the beginning of the 19^th century a new cultural current called Romanticism was in great fashion in Europe. The Romantics believed that through national folklore, traditions, and histories the soul of a nation could be understood. They glorified everything unique in every nation, especially the life of peasants and their culture. The life-style of the aristocracy was pretty much the same all around Europe and therefore was not a subject of interest for the Romantics. The aristocrats in Europe wore the same cloth, had the same manners, and even spoke the same language (French). In contrast, the peasants of various nations differed sharply from each other. The Romanticism stimulated European intellectuals to study histories and cultures of their nations. In Ukraine in that period a number of books about national folklore and history appeared. The reading of those books led to the ideas that Ukrainians had their own unique culture and constituted a separate nation. These ideas contradicted to the Russian propaganda claiming that Ukrainians were a branch of the Russian people.

            

The First Ukrainian Political Organization: The Brotherhood of Sts Cyril and Methodius

At the end of 1845 the first Ukrainian secret political organization appeared in Ukraine. It was called the “Brotherhood of Sts Cyril and Methodius” and included such prominent Ukrainians as M. Kostomarov, V. Belozersky, M. Hulak, P. Kulish, T. Shevchenko, and others. The major figure of the brotherhood was a noted historian Mykola Kostomarov.

    The members of the Brotherhood talked at their meetings about the liquidation of Russian empire and unification of all Slavic peoples into a federal parliamentary republic (where each nation would have an autonomous status). The capital of the republic was to be Kyiv. They thought that the ideals of freedom, equality, and brotherhood would help bring all Slavs together. They also believed that Ukrainians were the most religious people among Slavs and thus their historical mission was to save all Slavs.

    The organization was destroyed in 1847 as its ideas of political freedoms were in sharp contrast with the autocratic principles of the Russian Empire. Since the members of the Brotherhood did not work out any practical steps for fulfilling their plans the government did not punish them severely. (They were exiled to provincial towns and were forbidden to occupy some state positions). According to the official police report, the Brotherhood was not a political organization but rather a discussion club of some “crazy intellectuals.”

    The most radical of the members of the Brotherhood of Sts Cyril and Methodius was the greatest Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. He lamented the lack of unity among Ukrainians. He despised the Ukrainian elite that chose to be Polonized or Russified. Such an elite was called by him “the dirt of Warsaw and Moscow.” He criticized them for their attempts to find a master for themselves and to be servants rather than free people. In his poems Shevchenko protested against serfdom and tsarist oppression in Ukraine. The poet played a great role in the development of Ukrainian national consciousness. His patriotic poetry inspired future generations of Ukrainian fighters for freedom.

The Reforms of Alexander II

In 1853-56 the Crimean War occurred between Russia on one side and the allied forces of England, Turkey, France, and Sardinia on the other side. The war clearly showed the backwardness of the Russian Empire compared to England and France. The military equipment was obsolete; communication systems and bureaucracy were inefficient. Russia also lacked railroads and steamers. It was clear now that radical reforms were needed. Frustrated by the humiliated defeat Tsar Nikolai I died in 1855. The new emperor Alexander II started an ambitious program of wide-scale reforms.

    In 1861 serfdom was abolished as it was the main obstacle for the development of capitalism. Compulsory labor was never efficient. Freed peasants could now be hired at factories and plants which needed them badly or become independent farmers.

    In 1864 the judicial reform was carried out. Everybody became equal before the law. The courts became independent from state administration. Judges were elected now rather than appointed. The institutions of juries and attorneys were introduced. Legal proceedings became open for public. The judicial reform made people feel more secure about their businesses and careers and stimulated their activity.

    The same year the so-called zemstvo reform was conducted. It meant that rural regions (povity) got the right to a limited self-government which made them more flexible and efficient for the development of capitalism and improving living conditions.

     In 1870 cities got the right to self-rule. The most capable city-dwellers could be elected now to city councils, called dumas.

    The educational reform (1864) introduced a single system of primary education, improved the system of secondary schools, and granted autonomy to universities.

    The military reform (1864-1883) established a universal military service (6 years in ground forces and 7 years in the navy). Before the reform the soldiers served for 25 years. The army was rearmed. Corporal punishments were abolished.

    The reforms stimulated the socio-economic modernization of the Russian Empire; promoted the democratization of society and educational system; enforced the role of law. Industry and trade started to grow rapidly, urbanization increased sharply, many peasants became hired workers. The reforms opened the way for the establishment of industrial society.