True History Series Founded in 2018

Home , 1st Ukrainian Corps, Ataman, Bankova Street, Battle of Khotyn (1621), Battle of Khotyn (1673), Battle of Kruty

UDC 94(477) S66

True History Series founded in 2018

Translator Ganna Krapivnyk

Scientific consultant Serhiy Pechenin

Graphic designer Olena Huhalova-Mieshkova

Printed on order of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION If you have purchased this book, please, contact us at: [email protected]

© Yu. Soroka, 2018 © G. Krapivnyk, translation, 2018 © О. Huhalova-Mieshkova, graphic ISBN 978-966-03-8514-6 design, 2018 (True History Series) © Publishing House «Folio», series, ISBN 978-966-03-8550-4 2018 CONTENTS

Panticapaeum as the Oldest City in Ukraine and Eastern Europe . . . .6 Scythian Victory Over King Darius’s Persian Troops ...... 8 Scythian Victory Over Zopyrion, a Military Commander of Alexander the Great ...... 10 The Great Slavic Expansion in the 6—8th Centuries ...... 12 The Foundation of Kyiv ...... 14 Prince Oleg’s Campaign to Constantinople ...... 16 Sviatoslav’s Danube Conquests ...... 18 Kyivan Rus Baptization ...... 20 Kyiv Saint-Sophia Cathedral Construction ...... 22 Victory Over the Pechenegs in 1036 ...... 24 Anna Yaroslavna, Queen of France ...... 26 The Advent of “The Tale of Bygone Years” ...... 28 The Appearance of the Term “Ukraine“ ...... 30 The Coronation of King Daniel ...... 32 The Foundation of Lviv ...... 34 The Battle of Syni Vody in 1362 ...... 36 The Battle of Grunwald in 1410 ...... 38 The Foundation of Crimean Khanate in 1449 ...... 40 The Appearance of Cossacks ...... 42 Introduction of Magdeburg Law in Ukrainian Cities ...... 44 The Creation of Peresopnytsia Gospel ...... 46 The Opening of Ostroh Academy in 1576 ...... 48 Ukrainian Spartacus — Samiylo Kishka ...... 50 Early Hetmanship of P. Sahaidachnyi and His Campaign Against Moscow ...... 52 The Foundation of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ...... 54 The Battle of Khotyn in 1621 ...... 56 Yarema Vyshnevetskyi and His Victories in Smolensk War (1632—1634) ...... 58 Building Kodak Fortress (1635): The Farthest Eastern Outpost of European Defence ...... 60 Cossacks’ Victories Near Dunkirk in 1644—1646 ...... 62 The Battle of Zhovti Vody in 1648 ...... 64 The Battle of Korsun in 1648 ...... 66 The Battle of Pyliavtsi in 1648 ...... 68 Triumph Arrival of Bogdan Khmelnytskyi in Kyiv ...... 70 The Defence of Vinnytsia by I. Bogun in 1651 ...... 72 Treaty of Hadiach in 1658 ...... 74

3 The Battle of Konotop in 1659 ...... 76 Lviv University Foundation in 1661 ...... 78 Cossack Chronicles ...... 80 Pylyp Orlyk Constitution (1710) ...... 82 Trans-Danube Sich and Cossack Participation in the Wars Against Turkey in Late XVIII — Early XIX Centuries ...... 84 The Foundation of Odessa (1794) ...... 86 Eneida by Ivan Kotliarevskyi ...... 88 Opryshky Uprising Led by Oleksa Dovbush ...... 90 Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood and the Main Rus Rada in 1845—1851 ...... 92 The Opening of Galician Railway ...... 94 The First Edition of The Kobzar by Т. G. Shevchenko ...... 96 The Foundation of Prosvita Society in Lviv ...... 98 The Carpathian Tram (1873) ...... 100 The First Professional Theatre Company (1882) ...... 102 The First Officially Recorded Football Match in Ukraine ...... 104 The Discovery of Trypillian Culture by V. Khvoika ...... 106 Wilhelm Habsburg — Vasyl Vyshyvanyi ...... 108 “Plast“ — Ukrainian Scouts ...... 110 Foundation of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen ...... 112 The First Political Parties in Galicia and Dnipro Region ...... 114 Opening of the First Cinema in Ukraine (1908) ...... 116 The Battle for Mount Makivka (1915) ...... 118 The Organization of Ukrainian Central Rada ...... 120 I—IV CR Universals Declaration ...... 122 The First Kurultai of the Crimean Tatars in 1917 ...... 124 Nestor Makhno Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ...... 126 The Battle of Kruty (1918) ...... 128 Colonel Bolbochan Crimean Campaign (1918) ...... 130 Signing the Act of Unity Between Ukrainian People’s Republic and West-Ukrainian People’s Republic ...... 132 Igor Sikorskyi and His Helicopter ...... 134 The Berezil Theatre Foundation by L. Kurbas in Kyiv (1922) ...... 136 The Holodomor (1932—1933) ...... 138 The Establishment of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists . . 140 The Act Declaring the Independence of Carpathian Ukraine . . . . 142 Oleksandr Dovzhenko: the World Cinema Genius ...... 144 The URA Victory Over the German Army Near Kostopol ...... 146 Yalta Conference. Ukraine as a UNO Founder in 1945 ...... 148 Ukrainian Insurgent Army Struggle against the Soviet Authorities . .150

4 Crimea Joining UkrSSR in 1954 ...... 152 Appointment of Ukrainian Serhii Koroliov Chief Space Engineer . . .154 Roberto Kozak: a Chilean Oskar Schindler ...... 156 Dynamo Kyiv Wins 1975 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup ...... 158 Ukrainian Helsinki Union Foundation ...... 160 Ukrainian “Mriia“ in the Sky ...... 162 Declaration of Ukrainian Independence (1991) ...... 164 Viacheslav Chornovil and the Establishment of People’s Movement of Ukraine ...... 166 First Olympic Golden Medal of Independent Ukraine Won by Oksana Baiul ...... 168 Ukraine Joins the Council of Europe (1995) ...... 170 The Launch of Hryvnia as Ukrainian National Currency in 1996 . . . 172 Klitschko Brothers — the Strongest Boxing Family in the World . . .174 Adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine (1996) ...... 176 Leonid Kadeniuk — the First Cosmonaut in Independent Ukraine . .178 Ruslana and Jamala: Two Victories in Eurovision ...... 180 Andrii Shevchenko Takes 2004 Golden Ball ...... 182 The Orange Revolution (2004) ...... 184 Holding the European Football Championship in Ukraine in 2012 . 186 Revolution of Dignity ...... 188 Russian Aggression in the East of Ukraine and in Crimea ...... 190 Ukraine-EU Association Agreement ...... 192 Sloviansk and Mariupol Liberation ...... 194 Battle for Luhansk Airport ...... 196 Debaltsevo Operation ...... 198 Heroic Defence of Donetsk Airport ...... 200 Revival of the Ukrainian Army ...... 202 Ukrainian Tennis Victories: Elina Svitolina ...... 204 PANTICAPAEUM AS THE OLDEST CITY IN UKRAINE AND EASTERN EUROPE

Historical science considers that the European civilization emerged in the western part of Europe. That was the place where Athens and Rome appeared. Those were the sources of the first technologies and roads. Scholars and warriors of those lands left descriptions of their achievements in the chronicles. Regarding Ukraine, large cities on its territory are, as a rule, just casually mentioned. However, it was the Ukrainian terrain that happened to be the land of Panticapaeum, the oldest city in Eastern Europe. Studies provide evidence that the city was founded in 615—610 BC. The ruins of Panticapaeum are located in the modern town of Kerch in the eastern part of the Crimean peninsula. The ancient city was founded on the mountain called Mitridat by ancient Greeks. Pan- ticapaeum was quite a large city of the time — the built-up area was about 100 hectares. As to the name of the ancient city, it is still controversial in the scientific community. Some researchers believe that the city was called after the Panticapaeum ruins Pantikap River, which once flowed there. Others prove that the name of Panticapaeum meant the “Fish Way,” because it is known that in Old Iranian panta meant the way, route, while kapa meant fish. Panticapaeum has long been explored by archaeologists. They continue finding some surprising discoveries. For example, it is known that the rulers of Pantica- paeum coined their money long time ago. The first gold and silver pieces, found in the ancient city, contained an image of a lion’s head on the obverse and a square on the reverse side. These coins were stricken till the last quarter of the 5th century BC, after which the coin design was somewhat changed. They depicted a head of a bull and a hexagram star. It is reported that since the foundation of Panticapaeum coins Panticapaeum its patron had been Appollo,

6 like in ancient Troy. The main temple of Panticapaeum was devoted to this god. Other temples were built in honour of Aphrodite and Dionysus. In addition to temples, Panticapaeum was famous for its royal palace, a traditional square and an amphitheatre. A strong stone reinforcement system was built around the city. Nearby there was a necropolis, Excavations in Panticapaeum site on Mitridat mountain which consisted of a long series of burial hills, stretching along roads from the city to the steppe. From the southern side the city was surrounded with the biggest number of the burial hills, called Yuz-Oba, which is translated as 100 hills. Beneath these hills Scythian nobility representatives were buried. Once there was an Acropolis as well, with spacious streets and squares. One could Reconstruction of ancient Panticapaeum Acropolis enjoy the view of luxurious temples and palaces. Today only ruins can be seen there. The legend says that Panticapaeum was founded during the time of the Argonauts by the son of Aeeta, the king of the mythical country of Aea. He, chasing the Argonauts after stealing Medea and the Golden Fleece, arrived from Colchis at the shore of Cimme- rian Bosporus and received a permit to found a city there from the Scythian king Agaete. Another legend tells that it was in that ancient city on the territory of modern Kerch Terracotta Hercules from that legendary Hercules was born. Kerch

7 SCYTHIAN VICTORY OVER KING DARIUS’S PERSIAN TROOPS

At the end of the sixth century before Christ the area of modern southern Ukraine suffered from the invasion of the troops of Persian king Darius the First. That campaign was reported in the works by ancient Greek historian Herodotus. In 514 the Persian army crossed the Thracian Bospo- rus. The Persians built a bridge of boats near the mouth of the Danube and invaded Scy thia. Over a month Darius was moving eastwards chasing the Scythians. Herodotus noted that Scythians fielded three military detachments against Herodotus the Persians. But that was done not to confront them. Accord- ing to their idea, a detachment commanded by king Scopasis, retreating, had to take the Persians to the banks of the Don along the Azov Sea coast. The other Scythian warriors headed by kings Idanfirs and Taksakis were to encourage the enemy to go north. According to Herodotus, these tactics of the Scythians were quite successful. The Persians moved inland of the uninhabited Scythia by hundreds of miles. Eventually, Darius camped on the bank of the Oar River. That was the place to hold the battle between the Persian troops and Scythians, mentioned in the works by Herodotus. Thus, both armies lined up for the battle. The detachments of the Persian troops deployed for the attack were ready to attack the enemy, but at that time hares ran across the field. Therefore, the Scythians, being in- born hunters, forgot about the Persians and started hunting. The battle was over prior to its commencement. This curious story of the battle was provided by Herodotus. Consid- The Histories by Herodotus ering the absence of any other sources, it is

8 hardly possible to identify whether the ancient Greek historian’s story is true. We can but sug- gest that, due to the significant quantitative advantage of the enemy army, the Scythian commanders planned to imitate the battle, understanding that the vast steppe expanse itself was an efficient tool in fighting against the foe. Therewith, the situation of the Persians was indeed rather miserable. Unexpectedly for himself Darius І realized that the odds of winning were against him. To keep on moving in the strange steppes was too dangerous, so he had nothing to do but retreat. In addition, even the return to the Danube crossing with no serious losses from starvation and diseases would be a success for him. It would be a bigger success if Image of Darius I he was able to cross the Danube, since his allies, on an ancient Greek vase the Greeks, had undertaken to guard the bridge for two months only. Therefore, leaving his camp at night on the Oar River, the king rushed to leave Scythia with the best and able part of his army. The Scythians got a great deal of trophies and captives. At that time the detachment of king Scopasis approached the bridge guarded by the Greeks, and required their promise that the bridge would be drawn in due time. Neverthe- less, it turned out later that the Greeks were reluctant to draw the bridge and destroyed only a part of it from the Scythian side. So, when Darius with his troops came up to the Danube, the bridge was quickly renewed. The Persian army successfully crossed to the right bank of the river and returned home. It is to be noticed that Darius’s campaign failure in moving to the Northern Black Sea coast united the population of Scythia in their struggle against the external enemy. As to the Persian king himself, he learnt from that unsuccess- ful campaign and did not participate in any foreign campaigns any longer and, instead, sent his commanders to head the armies.

Scythian warriors on electrum vase from Kul-Oba

9 SCYTHIAN VICTORY OVER ZOPYRION, A MILITARY COMMANDER OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

In 331 BC a new intervention against the lands located in the south of modern Ukraine began. This time it was led by ethnarch of Alexander the Great in Thrace — the commander called Zopyrion. Having collected an army of 30,000 warriors, he set off to the lower reaches of the Danube towards Scythia. The first target of the Macedonian commander was Olvia, situated on the Crimean Peninsula. At the time the city was a military ally of the Scythian tribes. Having conquered Olvia, Zopyrion intended to leave Scythians with no support. Historical sources report that the approach of the Macedonian commander’s army took Olvia citizens unawares and they were not ready for defence. It is mentioned that before the attack of the Macedonians the city had been affected by internal controversies, therefore, the troops of the city-state were not able to stop the enemy troops far from the city. The level of danger was assessed properly only when Zopyrion came close to the walls of Olvia. As a result, many Olvia citizens were captured by Macedonians. That tragic fact was confirmed by the excavations, during which on the territory of the ancient city a mass grave was found. And chronologically it belonged to the times of the city seizure by the ethnarch of Thrace. The grave contained the skeletons of young people, who had been killed. However, the chronicles say that at that complicated time for Olvia there was one citizen called Kallinik, who managed to organize the city dwellers

View of Olvia excavation. Mykolayiv region, Ukraine

10 and defend their homes. The talented organizer was able to convince the citizens to forget their arguments and unite their forces to defend their city. For the sake of the victory Kallinik offered a step that was unusual for the slavery age — at his request citizens freed their slaves and provided them with the citizen rights. Moreover, authorized ambassadors were urgently sent by Olvia to sign a new alliance with the Scythians. Then the events developed in a highly adverse way for the Macedo- nians. Fulfilling their alliance obligations, Scythian troops backed Olvia. The rumours of their approach became a warning to Zopyrion. After a meeting with his field commanders, he decided to terminate the seizure and return to Thrace. That was the fatal error made by the Thracian ethnarch. The retreat to the vast steppes of the Black Sea region was a failure and the Macedonian army was entrapped by the numerous Scythian tribes. Realizing that it was impossible to escape, Zopyrion had to fight, and that fight turned out a complete failure and destruction for him. The commander also shared the fate of his warriors. It should be mentioned that Scythians did not stop there. After Zopyri- on’s army, they destroyed the city of Nikony, which served the quarters to the Macedonian troops. After that the Thracian tribes, feeling that the power of Macedonia was weak, rebelled against Alexander. The deadly war burst out. Nonetheless, the Scythians fairly believing that they did not need to conquer any new lands, abstained from that war. Soon the union of the Scythian tribes sent an ambassador to Alexander the Great. They entered a peace treaty between Scythians and Olvia on the one part and Macedonia kingdom, on the other.

Olvia, ruins of an ancient residential area

11 THE GREAT SLAVIC EXPANSION IN THE 6—8TH CENTURIES

Historical sources report that in the early sixth century, the Slavs were rather numerous. Our ancestors lived on the territory from the Adriatic Sea in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north, from the deserts in Central Asia in the east to the Baltic Sea in the west. It is also known that at the time Slavic tribes inhabited Asia Minor, Italy and Spain. A famous Arab geographer of the tenth century Ibn Haukal noted that in Palermo on Sicily two out of five city quarters belonged to the Slavs. For a long period of time re- Drevlians in 945 searchers believed that the terri- К. Lebedev. Prince Ihor collects duty from tory where the Slavs lived was so vast during the great migration period from the 2nd till the 6th century. However, afterwards it was confirmed that it happened later. There were a number of reasons for the Slavic migration to Europe and that expansion was determined by many objective historical processes. They were especially active in the 6—8th centuries. In the origins of the Slavic ethnos there was the issue of the collapse of primitive communal system, caused by the evolution of the productive forces and labour relations. Crop farming and cattle breeding were developing more actively and various crafts and industries were becoming more of Chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” powerful. Trading relations within Nestor the Chronicler — a probable author 12 the Slavic world grew fast as well. The demographic boom, encouraged by all these factors, also led to the migration and spread since the Slavs felt cramped at home. A significant role in the expansion of the Slavs across the Euro- pean continent was played by external political factors too. At that time, due to the collapse of the Roman Empire and the advance The Death of Oleg, Drevliane Prince, southwards of the German tribes, work by Taras Shevchenko in particular, Goths and Vandals, the integrity of the Slavic lands was infringed. That process promoted separation of the Slavs and the division of their tribes into groups — eastern and western. As of the early sixth century, due to the fall of the Hun state, Slavs were able to settle in the south moving down to the banks of the Danube, and further to Princess Olga’s Revenge on Drevliane the north-western Black Sea region, for her Spouse which also entailed the division of the Slavic ethnos into different groups. These processes, owing to the retreat of the Goths and also the fall of the Avar Khaganate in the seventh century, enabled the Slavs to settle on the Balkan Peninsula and a number of Mediter- ranean islands. At the same time the Slavs continued expanding to the lands of Central and Eastern Europe. It is known that at the end of the seventh century the Slavs settled in the lower reaches of the Elbe River, and also on the south-western coast of the Baltic Sea. Owing to this expansion in Europe, the ethnic and cultural unity of the Slavs started changing. There emerged three groups of languages — Western Slavic, Eastern Slavic and Southern Slavic. It is to be emphasized that none of the groups was similar to the modern Russian language, i.e. the language of the country that is currently, due to unclear motives, seeks the status of the leader in the Slavic world. However, this is another story, and as of the early seventh century Anno Domini three branches of the Slavs had been completely formed in Europe. Those were the people, who would be later called by the legend the descendants of Rus, Czech and Lech. The state that was to make the Slavs great and declare themselves on the expanses of medieval Europe — Kyivan Rus — was looming on the horizon.

13 THE FOUNDATION OF KYIV

It will not be an exaggeration to say that there are few cities with such rich history as the capital of our country, Kyiv. It is true not only for Ukraine, but also for the European Continent. Though not so long as the history of the cradle of the western civilization — Greek cities and Rome — the city on the Dnipro has deserved the status of one of the oldest settlements in Eastern Europe. In fact, it is hard to imagine the time contained in the phrase “Kyiv is 1536.” From the times immemorial it seems to us that history addresses us using the words of Nestor the Chronicler and other creators of the timeless “Tale of Bygone Years.” He says that Kyi was sitting on the hill, which today is Borychiv descent while Shchek was sitting on the hill which today is called Shchekovytsia whereas Khoryv was sitting on the third hill, which was called after him Khoryvytsia. And they built a town in honour of their older brother and called it Kyiv. That was the way the chronicle described the foundation of Kyiv. It is this chronicle that shows the historic events involving three lead- V. Vasnetsov. Nestor ers of the Slavic tribe of Polyany: Kyi, Shchek the Chronicler (Volodymyr and Khoryv, as well as their sister Lybid. The Cathedral, Kyiv) name of the latter was not related in the chronicle to any hill the way it was done to the brothers’ names. However, this name has been given to the right tributary of the Dnipro — the Lybid, which flows from the area of contemporary Radyshchev Street. The arguments about the reliability of Nestor’s information originate from the medieval epoch. For instance, Novgorod chronicler and Nestor’s contemporary expressed his opinion (miniature from Radziwill Chronicle) that Kyi was not a prince. From Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and Lybid 14 his point of view, the founder of the capital of Rus was an ordinary boatman, who transported people across the Dnipro. As the confirmation of his position, Nestor provided interesting facts from Prince’s life: Kyi once visited Byzantine Empire, where he was respectfully received by the Em- peror. Having come back home, the prince built a town Kyivets on the Danube. However, that attempt to keep that position failed as Polyany prince was pushed back by the surrounding tribes. It should be mentioned that the information on the foundation of Kyiv by three brothers was very Ruins of Church of the Tithes. similar to the history of other Picture, 1826 mythological founders of cities — for example, Romulus and Remus; or to the legend on the founders of all Slavs Rus, Czech and Lech. This fact long made researchers treat the version of Kyiv foundation laid out in the “Tale of Bygone Years” sceptically. Nevertheless, a large number of recently completed historical studies have proven that prince Kyi was a real historic figure. The arguments as to the reliability or unreliability of the part of the “Tale of Bygone Years” related to the foundation of Kyiv could last for ever. However, archaeologists put an end to those debates. The research has shown that since the end of the fifth century on Starokyivska hill there was a settlement enclosed with a ditch, earth bank and wooden picket fence. That ancient town, the contemporary of the Rome fall, was to become the centre of a great feudal state, which in Nestor the Chronicler’s times occupied a leading position in the life of the European civilization. Over the time that passed from its foundation, Kyiv history has featured numerous ups and downs. Today it still proudly shows its status of a great European city. Thus, as of 01/05/2018 the population of Kyiv was officially 2,895 million people. To compare, the population of Paris is 2,197 million. The abovementioned Rome has the population of 2,875 million people.

15 PRINCE OLEG’S CAMPAIGN TO CONSTANTINOPLE

For Kyivan Rus 907 AD was the year of the event which was so memorable that it still reminds of the power of Ukraine. This is what Nestor the Chronicler wrote in the “Tale of Bygone Years” — In 6415 Oleg campaigned against the Greek, leaving Igor in Kyiv. He took a lot of the Varangians, Slovens, Chudis, Kryvychis, Merias, Drevlianys, Radymychis, Polianys, Siverianys, Viatychys, Croatians, Dulibis, Tyvertsis known as interpret- ers. All these were called the Great Scythia. Together with all of them Oleg set off riding and sailing, and his fleet included 2,000 boats. He came up to Tsargorod: the Greek locked the judgment hall and closed the city. So Oleg went onto the shore and started fighting: many Greek people were killed in the suburbs of the city, many houses were destroyed and many churches were burnt down. Those captured were either beaten up, tortured or shot while others were thrown into the sea, and the Rus people did a lot of harm to the Greeks as if they were enemies. It should be mentioned that the Vikings, who, as the official historiography reports, took an active part in Kyiv prince armies, were used to acting that way, gaining the fame as the sea bandits and courageous warriors. Regarding Prince Oleg, nicknamed Prophetic, the sources are in agreement saying that the future Kyiv prince belonged to the detachment of Norsemen mercenaries brought by Riurik from Scandinavia. Scholars differ in tiny details only. Some sources claim that Oleg was Riurik’s relative, while others declare that the prince was an ordinary warrior, who was proclaimed the Warden of the minor son Igor after Riurik’s death, and that he made Kyiv his capital.

Prince Oleg’s Campaign to Constantinople

16 However, omitting a detailed description of the prince’s personality, we should recall his campaign across the Black Sea, due to which Kyivan Rus became the state feared and respected in the former eastern part of the Roman Empire. According to the standards of that time the fleet of two thousand ships was indeed a huge armed force. If we suppose that those ships became the prototypes of the Cossack chaika boats, then each vessel seated 40—50 warriors. That was the number of the crew soldiers that was given by historian D. Yavornytskyi. Approximately the same number of warriors was taken on the deck of the famous Viking boat Drakkar. If we base on this information, it is easy to calculate that the Prince’s troops included some 90,000 people. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Byzantine Empire could not oppose the attack and after a weak attempt of defence, it just surrendered to the winner. As a result, Kyivan Prince had an opportunity to dictate his conditions to Emperor Leo IV. After long-lasting negotiations between Oleg’s ambassadors and the representatives of the Emperor’s court, a Rus-Byzantine agreement beneficial for Kyiv was signed on September, 911. According to that agreement, Kyivan merchants were given significant privileges in trading with Byzantine. A separate clause of agreement was to allocate an area in Constantinople where merchants could not only stay for six months, but also trade on the duty-free basis and be supported from the treasury. The agreement also stipulated the rights of the sailors who had often been robbed by the Byzantians before. Now, instead of robbing, Emperor’s people undertook to provide comprehensive support to the ships from Rus. The deal also determined the procedure of exchanging captives and paying military contributions by the Emperor.

F. Bruni. Oleg fixes his shield17 to Constantinople gate SVIATOSLAV’S DANUBE CONQUESTS

In 967 AD Prince Sviatoslav’s policy, aimed at conquering Khazar khaganate, changed. Constantinople provided the Kyivan Prince with the benefits of conquering the Balkans. Byzantium suffered from military oriented Bulgaria and, therefore, it was in search of an ally to fight against it. That wish was in line with Sviatoslav’s intentions, since the latter sought, according to M. Hrushevskyi, to conquer and embrace all Slavs thus becoming a powerful rival to Byzan- tium. The Tale of Bygone Years mentions that in 967 Sviatoslav organized his first campaign to Bulgaria, “In summer 6475 Sviatoslav set off to the Danube against Bulgarians.’ The 30-thousand Bulgarian troops opposing Kyiv soldiers did not stand the pressure and retreated to Stylized portrait of the Danube fortress Dorostol. Having learnt Sviatoslav Igorevich from about the defeat, the Bulgarian tsar Petro got Tsarine chronicle, ill and soon died. Then nearly the whole east- th 17 century ern Bulgaria was conquered by Sviatoslav. The primary chronicle says that Sviatoslav defeated Bulgarians. He took eighty towns along the Danube, and he got settled as a Prince there, in the town of Pereiaslavets, imposing charges on the Greeks. In summer 968 Sviatoslav had to leave Pereyaslavets and rushed back home to Kyiv, which had been besieged by the Pechenegs. Having won the victory there, Sviatoslav began strengthening the power structure of Kyiv state. He made his senior son Yaropolk the Prince in Kyiv, Oleg — in Drevlianys lands, while Volodymyr was sent to rule in Novgorod. He himself announced of the plans to enter a treaty with German Emperor Otto and set up a powerful Slavic state on the lands lying between the Danube and the Black Sea. During the second campaign to Bulgaria, in 969, Sviatoslav conquered the capital, Preslav, taking tsar Borys ІІ as a prisoner. The Bulgarian ruler was deprived of his throne and royal power symbols. However, it became clear to Byzantium that they had to deal with a serious rival and took to looking for understanding with Bulgaria. On December 11, 969, Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas was killed and the throne was taken by John I Tzi- miskes. Appeasing Kyivan Prince with presents and promises, Byzantines tried to persuade Sviatoslav to refuse from Bulgaria. Sviatoslav dismissed

18 the offer of negotiations. Byzantine chronicler Lev Deacon renders Prince’s words as follows, “I will leave this country only when I receive the money tribute and a ransom for all towns taken by me and for all prisoners. If the Romans are not willing to pay what I ask for, let them leave Europe, which they are not entitled to, and let them go to Asia.“ In response, Byzantium started preparations for war. In spring 970 Sviatoslav conquered Macedonia, crossed the Balkans and, taking one town after another, he was steadily approaching Constan- tinople. Emperor John I Tzimiskes hastily moved ahead with a large army to meet the prince. He managed to take several settlements in Byzantia and Bulgaria. Nevertheless, clashes in Thrace did not show a winner. In 971 the Byzantines gathered a fifty thousand army and attacked Pre- slav. On April 14, 971 Tzimiskes took the city and recognized prisoned Tsar Borys the ruler of Bulgaria, after which the united forces moved towards Dorostol. The siege of Dorostol lasted for three months. After the general battle on July 24, 971, Prince Sviatoslav decided to renew negotiations with Byzantia. Their agreement cancelled Kyivan Rus claims for the Crimean lands belonging to Byzantia and Bulgaria. At the same time Sviatoslav army would be provided with required resources for campaigning and he would be given free access to the borders of Rus.

Miniature from the Vatican 14th century manuscript (Chronicles of 12th century by Constantine Manasses).

conquering Bulgaria, at the At the top — Sviatoslav campaign to Dorostol bottom — John I Tzimiskes’ 19 KYIVAN RUS BAPTIZATION

In 988 Kyivan Rus was a major power. It had been established. Prince Igor’s attempts to follow Oleg’s steps in Byzantine, settling Drevliany tribes union by Olga and campaigns against the enemies of the Ancient Rus Spartan Sviatoslav were the thing of the past. Sviatoslav’s son Volodymyr ascended to the prince throne in Kyiv. Later he was also called the Great. That was the time of baptizing on the lands governed by Kyiv. Volodymyr stayed in history as a reformer, and introducing Christian- ity was not the only reform performed by him. However, it can hardly be denied that it was that reform that had the most considerable effects for Kyivan Rus. The events below preceded baptizing. In 980 the prince tried to reform the pagan religion. It was reported in the “Tale of Bygone Years,” “— He placed the idols on the hill, behind the palace yard: a wooden Pe- run, — and his head was silver, while the moustache was golden, and Khors, and Dazhbog, and Strybog, and Simargl, and Mokosh. Sacrifices were offered to them and they were called gods—” However, another version of events can also be valid. It appeared in the early 20th century. Following this version, Volodymyr did not organize any pagan temples. Instead, he installed the cult of the one god Perun. In any case it was soon found out that the reform did not encourage the development of the state, culture and literacy. Moreover, it did not benefit the relations with European countries, which were mainly Christian at that time. Owing to that overall background, Volodymyr had the idea of baptiz-

Olga’s baptization in Constantinople. Miniature from Radziwill Chronicle

20 ing Rus. An occasion occurred in 987, when the Byzantine Emperor Basil asked Kyiv for support in its internal fight against landlords. Volodymyr agreed, but set a condition for his participation in the campaign — a marriage to Emperor’s sister Anna. The counter-requirement of the Byzantine Emperor was Volodymyr’s baptizing and the introduction of Christianity as the official religion of Kyivan Rus. Afterwards the events developed rapidly. At the end of 987 Volodymyr provided the Emperor with a detachment of 6,000 Norsemen. Right after the victory over the opponents the Emperor decided to breach the agreement and refuse the marriage between the Prince and his sister. It entailed Volodymyr’s raid to Crimea and the seizure of Korsun (Sevastopol) — the city, which played an important role in the Byzantian economy. When the city surrendered, Basil arranged a fleet, which brought Anna to Korsun. Upon her arrival Volodymyr was baptized. Then he married Anna and went to Kyiv to perform the rest of his obligations. “— Upon the arrival, he ordered to pull down the idols — either to cut or burn them down. He required to tie Perun to the horse’s tail and drag it from the Hill down Borychev to Ruchai, and he placed twelve men to beat the pagan god with sticks… After that Volodymyr sent his messengers throughout the city saying, ’If somebody does not come to the river tomorrow — regardless of being rich or poor, old or young, — this person will become an enemy to me —” Thus the “Tale of By- gone Years” described Rus baptizing. The only thing to add is that Prince Volodymyr was canonized between 1240 and 1311 by the Catholic and Or- thodox churches as an equal to the apostles.

V. Vasnetsov. Volodymyr’s baptization. Volodymyr Cathedral, Kyiv

21 KYIV SAINT-SOPHIA CATHEDRAL CONSTRUCTION

Saint-Sophia Cathedral is the oldest temple in Ukraine, which has been preserved. In Prince Kyiv there was only one church, which had been built earlier — the Church of the Tithe. However, unfortunately, the building erected in 989—996 by Prince Volodymyr Sviatoslavych, has not been preserved. It was ruined by the Mongols of Baty-khan during the seizure of the capital of Kyivan Rus in 1240. It was long believed by historiographers that Sophia Cathedral was built by Yaroslav the Wise in 1037. “Yaroslav founded a city — the great Kyiv, which had a Golden Gate. He also founded the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, the wise, metropolitan —” Unlike the “Tale of Bygone Years,” Novgorod chronicle dates the construction of Sophia Cathedral back to 1017. Considering the 20-year dis- crepancy in the dates, provided by the two major documentary sources of the Kyivan Rus epoch, for a long time there was a thought that in 1017 Sophia was founded and in 1037 the construction was completed. However, this version does not stand up to criticism. The point is that Nestor’s and Novgorod chronicles are not the only documents mentioning Sophia Cathedral. Information about it can also be found in Saxon Chronicles by Thietmar Prince-Bishop of Merseburg. It is there that we find the record on the fire in the Sophia Cathedral. The date of the Ger- man chronicler’s death is considered 1018, which confirms the existence of the temple in 1017. This version is also backed by “The Sermon on Law and Grace,” written by metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv between 1037 and

Saint-Sophia Cathedral with a wooden belfry (on the right) on the picture by Abraham van Westerfeld (1651)

22 1050. This document reports that in 1022 So- phia Cathedral not only existed but was also famous both in Rus and in Western Europe. In addition, Hilarion notices that the construction of Sophia was initiated by Prince Volodymyr the Great while it was finished by his son Yaroslav. Since Volodymyr died in 1015, there was a suggestion that Sophia had been founded earlier. This suggestion was also confirmed by the studies of the wall inscriptions in the Sophia Cathedral, which were carried out by Kyiv scholar S. Vysotskyi in the 20th century. Sophia Cathedral is an impressive build- Yaroslav the Wise (Mudry) ing with thirteen domes. This architectural solution was not accidental — the number of domes on the cathedral symbolizes Jesus Christ and his twelve Apostles. The walls of the Cathedral were finely painted with various mosaics and frescos. Historical sources tell us that in the ancient times at the temple there was a monastery, which has renewed its operations today. It is to be noted that the cathedral in Kyiv was built by analogy with the So- phia cathedral in Constantinople, as the main building in the state. Though it is known that it was erected by Byzantian masters, it was not a copy of the prototype Sophia. Currently the oldest building in Kyiv, whose full name is the Saint-Sophia Ca- thedral, can be viewed and enjoyed by the Kyiv citizens and its guests in the historical centre of the city, on the territory of Sophia monastery. The cathedral is a part of the national reserve Kyiv Sophia. In addition to the monastery and the cathedral the reserve includes the Golden Gate, Andriivska Church, Kyrylivska Church and the Geno- Saint-Sophia Cathedral, ese Fortress. early 1910s

23 VICTORY OVER THE PECHENEGS IN 1036

The reign of the grand Kyiv prince Yaroslav featured many prominent events, for which the prince was given a polysemantic nickname of the Wise. One of those landmark events was the victory over the nomadic Pecheneg tribes in the battle near Kyiv in 1036. The first record on the Pechenegs appears in the “Tale of Bygone Years.” It is chronologically referred to 915. It was then that Prince Igor entered an agreement with the Pechenegs, after which they moved to the Byzantian and Hungarian borders. However, the confrontation with the nomads was not over then, and in 920 Igor campaigned another time against the Pechenegs. Over the tenth century the confrontation between the Rusychys and the Pechenegs would regularly turn into short situational unions, after which it would reappear. In the early eleventh Yaroslav the Wise. Portrait century controversies got worse again. They of Imperial Reference Book. burst into the Pecheneg campaign against Kyiv XVII century and an attempt to seize the capital of Kyivan Rus. At that time the Pecheneg state had already seen its period of prosperity, but it was still a powerful opponent. It was divided along the Dnipro into two parts with four provin ces. Each of them had 5 coun- ties that could jointly collect a 40-thousand horseback army. The headquarters of the khan and his council were situated in the valley of the Ros River lower reaches. The total Pecheneg population is assessed by the researchers at up to 3 million. According to this information, we can imagine the level of danger that then threatened Kyivan Rus. However, the latter B. Chorikov. The noble act managed to deal with the threat of a young Kyiv citizen (during Pechenegs’ and show who was the master of siege of Kyiv) the region.

24 The seizure of Kyiv by the Pechenegs in 1036 was preceded by certain events, inter alia, the uncertain political situation. At the time Chernihiv Prince Mstyslav died and his brother Yaroslav set off to settle the problems of uniting princedoms into a unified powerful state. Afterwards, prince’s way was to Novgorod, where he intended to bring his son Volodymyr to the throne. The Pechenegs took the advantage of Yaroslav’s being absent and meant to demolish the capital. However, their plans were not to come true. Yaroslav, feeling the threat, acted promptly. “In summer 1036, when Yaroslav was in Novgorod, he was informed that the Pechenegs had arranged the seizure of Kyiv. Yaroslav collected a lot of warriors, went to Kyiv and got through to his city. Despite the army of Pechenegs. Yaroslav set off from Kyiv, preparing for the battle: the Varangians were placed in the middle, while Kyiv citizens were in the right wing and Novgorod citizens — in the left —” This is how the “Tale of Bygone Years” describes the events. The battle resulted in a sweep victory over the nomads. “He lined outside the city. The Pechenegs moved forward and stopped on the hill, where Saint-Sophia Cathedral is situated today: at that time the area was an open country. The massacre commenced and it took Yaroslav the whole day to defeat the hostile enemy. Thus, the Pechenegs retreated and ran away in all directions —” Last but not the least, the seizure of Kyiv in 1036 was probably the last attempt of the Pechenegs to stay in Rus. After being defeated a part of the tribes disseminated throughout the borderline areas and assimilated with the local population. A part of the Pechenegs went to Byzantium, Poland and Czech, while others died. The culture of evil and cruel Polovtsy (Cumans) was emerging in the steppes.

The victory of Russian bogatyr warrior over Pechenegs. Radziwill Chronicle

25 ANNA YAROSLAVNA, QUEEN OF FRANCE

Anna, one of three daughters of Yaroslav the Wise, was probably born in 1024 or 1025. Her destiny was rather common for that time — all three daughters of the Prince of Kyiv — Yelizaveta, Anastasiya and Anna became the queens of European monarchies. Yelizaveta married the Norwegian Prince Harald the Ruthless (Hardrada), whereas Anastasiya took the Hungarian throne. Thus, the Yaroslav’s daughters were well-known in Europe, when the French King Henry I decided to marry. The future queen of France had quite good education. She was literate, studied history, foreign languages, mathematics and painting. It is known that Anna of Kyiv (Yaroslavna) was fluent in several languages, in particular, in Old Slavic and Greek. It was at the time when in Europe, only some noble men could write. In 1048 the ambassador from the widower Henry I came to Kyiv for the second time (it is known that at first Prince Yaroslav dismissed the request to let his daughter marry Henry). That time the agreement was reached. The arrival of the fiancée of the King to France was organized pompously. Henry I set off to Reims to meet Anna. It was traditional that Anna Yaroslavna Fresco at St. Sophia in Reims French kings had their coronations. Cathedral in Kyiv There in May 1049, at the Сathedral of Reims the coronation was held and Anna Yaroslavna became the queen of France. It is interesting that on the marriage document the daughter of Kyiv Prince wrote her name, while Henry І put a cross instead of a signature. In turn, Anna Yaroslavna sur- prised the king’s guard when she refused from taking the oath on the Latin Bible. She took the oath on the Gospel, written in the Old Slavic language. Later that book got the name of the Reims Gospel and all the following kings of France took the oath on it, not suspecting the Kyivan origin of the book. The years of Anna’s rule coincided with the economic and cultural boom- ing period in France, but even in those conditions French researchers cite the lines from her letter to father, “What a Barbarian country did you send me to, father? Here houses are dull, churches are ugly and traditions are horrible —”

26 From this letter it is possible to understand that for a well-edu cated Ukrainian, who had grown up in the conditions of the Slavic culture, it was hard to adapt to the conditions of the French elite of the time. However, the fact that Anna was the only woman in Europe, who corresponded with the Pope, also confirmed her high level of education. In 1053 Anna gave birth to Departure of Princess Anna Yaroslavna P. Clodt, ХІХ century Philip. Over the following two to France to marry King Henry I years Anna had also Robert and Hugh — all legal heirs of King Henry. In addition, at that time the king and queen also had a daughter named Emma. The marriage between Anna and Henry did not last long — the king died in 1060. According to the will, Anna Yaroslavna was appointed the regent to Philip, the heir to the throne. However, staying the queen, she was not granted the official title of a regent: the regent could only be a man. Nevertheless, Anna, together with Philip I, signed state documents, which have been preserved up to nowadays. For instance, on the grant charter of the Soissons abbey there is her handwritten signature in Cyrillic Anna the Queen. The final mentioning of Anna Yaroslavna was dated in documents by 1075. Her further destiny is still unclear. According to some sources, she came back to Kyiv, where she lived her later years. Ac- cording to other reports, she died in France and was buried at the church of the Villiers-aux-Nonnains Abbey near the city of Etampes. Anna Yaroslavna Jacobus de Bie, appr. 1640. 27 THE ADVENT OF “THE TALE OF BYGONE YEARS”

“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the oldest chronicle that has been preserved. Along with such prominent Ancient Rus literary works as “The Song of Igor’s Campaign” and “The Sermon on Law and Grace,“ “The Tale of Bygone Years” and a number of other less famous chronicles, takes an important place in the history of our country. The chronicles were called after the first introductory sentence which speaks to us from the hoary antiquity, “This tale of bygone years, of the origins of the Russian land —” In the scientific community there have long been arguments regarding the circumstances of the commencement of writing the primary chronicle in Kyivan Rus, and also regarding the content of the first chronicles. The statements of some Soviet time researchers on the existence of the Askold Chronicle, or pagan chronicles dating back to the time of the reign of Oleg or Igor can hardly be considered evidence-based. In general, these works are usually considered to be mystification. Today the overwhelming majority of scholars tend to think that Rus chronicles originated from the late tenth century. Those ancient articles were united into the chronicles, dating back to 1037—1039, that is during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (Mudry). This work was followed by the Chron- icle of Novgorod 1050 and two Kyiv chronicles of 1073 and 1095, respectively. Unlike the previous documents, “The Tale of Bygone Years” is a positive proof of keeping chronicles in Rus, since it exists physically and not at the level of historical reconstructions,

Nestor the Chronicler, author of “The Tale of Bygone Years” (sculpture by M. Antokolsky)

28 guesses and assumptions. The chronicle has gone through three editions. The first belonged to Nestor the Chronicler and it was created in the centre of keeping records and chronicles in Rus, that is in Kyiv Pechersk monastery. The date of its completion is considered to be 1113. Still, it should be noted that the work by Nestor has not been preserved in the original version. It had two editions, which were made according to the order of Prince Volodymyr Monomakh (or Monomachos) in 1116 and 1118. That was done not in the Pechersk monastery, which the Prince did not get on well with, but in Vydubychy monastery, founded near Kyiv by Volodymyr Monomakh’s father, Grand Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavych. The editor was the Father Superior of the Vydubychy monastery Sylvester. However, as the period between the release of the original work and its editions was just several years, we can assume that Prince’s adjustments did not significantly affect the content from the historical standpoint. It is especially valuable for us to remember that in his work Nestor managed to relate historic events, happening in Kyivan Rus, with the world history, emphasizing the importance of the role that was played by Rus in the development of the civilization. The Chronicler glorified the people of Rus, systemati- cally studied its long history and forecast its glorious future. “The Tale of Bygone Years” is the essential and in many cases the only information source on the history of Eastern Slavs and Kyivan Rus during the first centuries Anno Domini. In addition to the historical value “The Tale of Bygone Years” also features unique literary qualities, thanks to which philologists and literary experts can study the Old Ukrainian language.

“The Tale of Bygone Years” in Radziwill Chronicle

29 THE APPEARANCE OF THE TERM UKRAINE

It is known that in the ancient times our country that stretched from the San to the Don, as the poetry says, was called Kyivan Rus. However, as early as in the twelfth century there appeared the term that is still used today. That occurred in 1187. It was then that the Hypatian Chronicle (Code) first recorded the word “Ukraine” running that all Pereyaslav mourned about him — as the prince was kind and a strong commander — and Ukraine missed him much —” These lines of the chronicle are related to the death of Pereyaslav Prince Volodymyr Glibovych, who died during his campaign against the Cumans (Polovtsy). It is to be noticed that Ukraine as the name is repeatedly mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle. The Code also includes a story about Prince Rostyslav Berladnyk, who “visited Galician Ukraine.” The Galician- Volynian Chronicle does not contradict it, since it contains the lines on the activity of Prince Danylo Romanovych (Daniel) of Galicia (Halych): “ — took Berestiy, Ugrovsk, Vereshchyn, Stolpye, Komov and the whole of Ukraine —” Over decades researchers looked for the prompts that may be interpreted as the name of Ukraine in chronicles. Some of them believe that this is the synonym to the words “princedom” or “land.” Others claim that it was

In 1187 in the Hypatian Codex (Chronicle) the word Ukraine first appeared

Hypatian Chronicle

30 the name of Pereyaslav borderline area. Orest Subtelnyi, for example, considered that the word Ukraine meant geographically Kyiv borderline lands. Another historiographer, Vitalii Skliarenko, states that the letter U means not near, but in the middle, therefore, he believes that it is inappropriate to interpret Ukraine as the land near the border (edge). Ukraine as the name gained popularity when the remaining part of Kyivan Rus joined Rzeczpospolita (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Hence the term has been used in numerous documents and letters. At that time it was the name of the Dnipro region (Naddnipryanshchyna). Somewhat later it started expanding to other areas as well. In the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries the term of Ukraine gained a more significant political value. Though, for a long time, Cossack state was officially called in Europe the Zaporizhian Host. The division of our territory between Moscow and Rzeczpospolita during the times of the Ruin, and the destruction of the Zapor- izhian Host, Cossack Hetmanate, by Russia in 1764, created serious obstacles for the promotion of the authentic name. At that time the term of Ukraine was again used more locally. Only in the nineteenth century, when clearer borders of the Ukrainian lands were formed, the name of Ukraine began being used more frequently as a household name. Ukraine was given the An extract from Peresopnytsia Gospel status of the official name due to (1556), where the word Ukraine is used: the setup of the Ukrainian Peo- ple’s Republic in 1917. Why was the old name substituted with“...came the new to Ukraineone? It isJudaical” thought that it was a kind of the protest against the aggressive Russian policy, which has always aimed at assimilating the Ukrainian nation into the Russian one. Therefore, Moscow Empire took the name of Rus, transforming it into Russia in the eighteenth century. Against all the odds, the term of Ukraine has covered a long way from its appearance to the official recognition in 1991, when the Independence was proclaimed. Since then our country has been proudly carrying its name, trying to take a decent place in the large European family.

31 THE CORONATION OF KING DANIEL

December frosts destroyed already bad roads along the Buh River, when in the old capital of the Volyn Dynasty, the town of Dorohychyn, there appeared the respected guarded nuncio of the Pope Innocent IV, Opizo Mizano. That was at the end of 1253. The horsemen moved in a long line, followed by carts and carriages, disappearing behind the town gate. They had covered a long way, but the difficulties were worth it. In a box with the Pope’s personal seal there were regalia, which would remind descendants for centuries that Ukraine once had its King. That is what the Galician-Volynian Chronicle said about the event, “— The Pope sent his respected nuncios, who brought Danylo the wreath, the sceptre and the crown which are royal insignia, saying, ’Son! Accept the Royal crown from us —” It should be noted that the nuncio from the Pope was not something fantastic, like the dream coming true for Daniel of Galicia himself. On the contrary, the crown sent by the Pope, became the third attempt of In- nocent IV to coronate the head of the western Rus lands over the past seven years. At first the proposal to enter an agreement with the Roman Curia found the prince in Polish Krakow, which gave him the basis to refuse. Danylo Romanovych explained his refusal by claiming that he was not on his land at that time. The second proposal to accept the royal crown came a few years later, but it was not King Danylo accepted by Danylo, either. In fact the prince understood clearly well that the Holy See was much more interested in the union with him, hoping that Galician-Volyn princedom would convert into Catholicism, than Danylo in his hopes for the support in his struggle against Tatars, “Tatar troops are always there. It is bad they live with us. But how can I accept the crown without your support?” Eventually, Innocent IV promised to declare a crusade against the Horde, confirming the intentions with a papal bull, which Opizo Mizano had brought with him to be announced in all European cities. The text of the papal bull called for the rulers of Serbia, Moravia, Czech, Pomerania and Prussia to follow the banner of Daniel of Galicia and ally with him against Mongols and Tatars.

32 The official coronation of the new mon- arch of one of the largest countries in Europe was held in the Church of the Holy Virgin in the town of Dorohychyn. At that time Dany- lo Romanovych was 52, and his princedom took the expanses from the Buh in the west to the Dnipro in the east. Before the highest and most important persons of the state the nuncio read the papal bull issued by Innocent IV and anointed Danylo to reign. Although the crusade promised by the Pope against the enemies of the Kyiv state was never organized, Rus had its King. Over the whole century after the The mitre described above events the Daniel’s descen- of Greek-Catholic dants were called the kings of Rus, since they held royal regalia brought by the papal legate. Regarding the crown itself, its destiny was quite curious.of Przemyśl For abishops long time the crown was kept in the Greek Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Peremyshl (Polish: Przemyśl). In 1915 the commanders of the Russian army took it to Petrograd, however, in 1922 the crown was returned to Peremyshl. At the beginning of World War II the bishop ordered to remove the precious stones from the crown and bury it. Unfortunately, currently, we do not exactly know the location of the relic, which remembers Danylo Romanovych of Galicia, the first and only King of Rus.

Danylo of Galicia on a Ukrainian postal Monument to Danylo of Galicia, stamp, 2001

33 Lviv THE FOUNDATION OF LVIV

History does not provide the exact date of founding Lviv. The late medieval epoch conceals various secrets about the events happening in Europe at the time. The cultural capital of Ukraine, unfortunately, has not evaded this fate. Therefore, the first record in chronicles about Lviv dates back to 1256. The city was built by Prince Danylo of Galicia, and he called it after his son Lev. The chronicle, containing the corresponding record, runs about a serious fire, which occurred in the Polish town of Chelm. The record reports that the fire was so large that it could be seen many miles away from the Lviv city fortress. For a certain period of time the above mentioned date was considered to be the first record of the current capital of Ukrai- nian Galicia. However, in 2010 there was a Danylo of Galicia, groundbreaking event that went beyond all stereotypes. Lviv historian Ivan Paslavskyi made a discovery, which drew attention of the European researchers. In the Founder of Lviv one of the libraries the scholar found a French old printed edition which contained another version of the city foundation. The book ran that Lviv was founded before the first record in chronicles. The story mentions

Lviv Panorama by 34A. Hohenberg, 1618 1240, which coincides with the date when Kyiv was conquered by Baty- khan’s nomads. It is to be noted that this date was sixteen years earlier that the one serving the starting point for celebrating the birthday of the Leo city. It is also to be added that, according to Ivan Paslavskyi, the author of the above mentioned old edition was the French historian of the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries Michel Le Kiene, who proved his own authority with his work. Thus, the source may well be considered quite reliable. The centre of the ancient Lviv was the modern market square (Rynok). The city was reliably protected with the fortress, built taking natural factors into consideration, including hills of High Castle and the Poltva River. The beneficial location of the Lviv city at the crossroads of important trading routes determined its fast economic development. At the end of the thir- teenth century the city became an important centre of crafts and trade. It was also important that the city of Lviv was strategically located in the centre of Galician-Volyn princedom. Under continuous wars with neigh- bours this factor was vital. So it is easy to understand prince Lev Danylovych who in 1272 relocated the capital of the princedom from Halych to Lviv. The time adjusted the city architecture. After the seizure of Lviv by Polish king Cazimir ІІІ the Great in 1349 the city centre was relocated southwards. That time the city was built according to the western European standards. At first there appeared the central square, and it was then surrounded by residential quarters and the fortress. It took nearly 300 years to create the Lviv fortress system. At first, in the late fourteenth century it consisted of the picket fence, a dyke and a rampart. Later walls were erected, one of which was called the Lower, the other — the Upper. Two gates led to the city — Krakow and Halych. Lift bridges were built near them across the dyke. An important part of the fortress system was the High Castle, founded in 1360. Centuries passed and Lviv changed. How- ever, time has not been able to control some of its features. The city is still the place where the Ukrainian soul lives. Lviv High Castle. 35 Etching ХVII century THE BATTLE OF SYNI VODY (1362)

The Battle of Syni Vody, despite its importance in the history of Ukraine, was for a long time out of the scholars’ focus. The far events of 1362, when the Ukrainian Podillia was finally freed from the rule of the Golden Horde, were concealed and the Ukrai- nian historiography preferred the mythical battle of Kulikovo, which was taken by the Russian Imperial and later Soviet propaganda. In contrast to the battle of Kulikovo, the defeat of the army headed by three Horde princes by the troops of Algirdas, the son of Gediminas, in the battle of Syni Vody indeed took place, which has been confirmed by varied archeological and historiographic evidence. For the first time the battle on the Synyukha River, a tributary of the South- Etching from the Description Grandof European Prince Lithuanian Sarmatia, Algirdas. 1578 ern Buh that flows across the modern Kirovohrad and Mykolayiv regions, was recorded in the chronicle story on Podillia. Unfortunately, the name of the author of this chronicle is unknown, but it is likely that the work was written in the early thirties of the fifteenth century. Regarding the battle of Syni Vody the chronicle runs as follows, “— When the ruler in the Lithuanian land was the grand prince Algirdas and, heading his army, he campaigned against and defeated Tatars at the Syni Vody three brothers: prince Hacibey, Qutlughbey and Demetrius. Those three Tatar brothers, descendants and heirs of Podillia —” Few sources have been preserved describing the course of the battle. The most detailed source is the fragment of the chronicle by Polish historian of the sixteenth century Maciej Stryjkowski. There the author of the first printed history of Maciej Stryjkowski Eastern Europe informs the following,

36 Algirdas, having entered the peace agreement with Prussian and Livland knights, campaigned to the Steppe Frontier against Tatars. He was accompanied by four nephews of his, the sons of Novogrudok Prince Koriat: Oleksandr, Kostyantyn, Yuriy and Fedir. When they approached the area of Syni Vody, in the field they saw a large Tatar Horde, divided into three detachments. One detachment was led by sultan Qutlughbey, the second was headed by sultan Hacibey while the third was A Battle with Tatars commanded by sultan Demetrius. Algirdas, seeing that Tatars were ready to fight, arranged his warriors in six curved detachments so that the Tatars could not surround them in clashes and harm them with arrows. Tatars furiously and violently started the battle, hailing the enemy with the iron avalanche from their bows. They commenced a number of clashes, but did little harm owing to the proper arrangement of the army headed by Algirdas. Lithuania with the Rus attacked them with swords and spears and in the close fight they managed to break the front lines and mixed those up. Others attacked from flanks with crossbows and long spears to dismount Tatar enemies from horses, like the wind sweeps hay in a storm. Being unable to oppose the pressure, Tatars got confused and frightened. Thus, they ran away to the vast fields. At the battle field Qutlughbey, Hacibei and sultan Demetrius stayed killed alongside numerous mirzas and uhlans. The nearby fields and rivers were also filled with Tatar corpses. After the victory of Prince Algirdas in the battle of Syni Vody, the rule of Tatars and Mongols in the Ukrainian lands was over. That was the end of a most tragic episode in Rus history, which lasted from the time of the Kyiv’s fall in 1240. Fur- thermore, the victory in the battle of Syni Vody significantly strengthened the position of Lithuanian princes on the Ukrainian Lands. S. Ivanov. Baskaks

37 THE BATTLE OF GRUNWALD (1410)

The Day of Grunwald Battle is officially marked in the Republic of Lithu- ania on July 15. The battle that took place over six hundred years ago on the territory of modern Poland, is considered one of the most prominent for Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. It is to be mentioned that historical science in Lithuania was affected to a lesser extent than Ukrainian historiography. Moscow and its hench- men ruled there much shorter and did not manage to do there what they had done to the chronicles and historical documents in Ukraine. That was really beneficial for us. The medieval state of the Grand Lithuanian Prince- dom included most today’s Ukrainian lands and Lithuanian chroniclers created many documents, which help to reduce the number of gaps in the Ukrainian history. However, we are moving back to the events in Grunwald. The beginning of the fifteenth century featured activation of the Teutonic knights, who were willing to expand their influence across the Grand Lithuanian Princedom. Nevertheless, their expansion was met with high resistance from Lithuanian princes. The climax of the confrontation was in a well- known battle of Grunwald. On July 15,1410 two armies opposed each other in the battle that was to become decisive for Eastern Europe for many years to go. The Teutonic army was headed by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen. He commanded 51 holy banners of German, Polish, Lithuanian and Prussian knights, detachments of the bishops subordinate to the Order, as well as allies, including knights from Czech, Switzerland, Livonia, Silesia and Moravia. In total it was a powerful

Yan Mateiko. The Battle of Grunwald

38 army of up to 83,000 warriors. However, realistically assessing the capabilities of the Teutonic Order, it is to be noted that the above figure is exaggerated. The army that opposed Jungingen differed from the Teutonic troops in terms of quality and quantity. The forces of the Lithuanian princedom headed by prince Vytautas, amounted to around 12,000 warriors. However, they acted jointly with Jogaila, the King of Poland, who headed the army of 20,000 warriors. In addition, the Polish-Lithuanian-Rus army included several thousands of Tatar horsemen commanded by the son of famous khan Tokhtamysh — Jalal ad-Din. The battle was in the field between the settlements of Grunwald, Tan- nenberg and Ludwigsdorf. The opposing armies made their front lines, which were over two kilometers long and started approaching each other. The battle was commenced by equestrian Tatars and Ukrainians, who were within the Lithuanian army. German knights counterattacked and soon began pushing the opponents. In response “Polacks and their King, joining the battle, took the Germans with cold weapons and then pushed them to their cannons; leaving them there, the former retreated when the cannons started firing thus killing thousands of Germans. However, the Germans, against all the odds, kept moving ahead to the Polacks and Lithuanians —” The attack of the allies was so effective that the Teutonic knights could not stand it, their line broke and they retreated to save their lives. The chase and clashes continued for several hours. Rus that had survived a number of challenges over the past hundreds of years, declared that it was a power capable of fighting for its rights.

А. Mukha. After the39 Battle of Grunwald THE FOUNDATION OF CRIMEAN KHANATE IN 1449

The middle of the fifteenth century was the beginning of the fall of the Chingissid state — the Golden Horde. Squabbles and arguments, similarly to what had happened in Kyivan Rus, dramatically weakened the power of Karakorum, and strengthened separatist trends. It was against the background of these events that in 1449 Crimean Tatars separated from the Golden Horde and established their own state — the Crimean Khanate with the ruling house of Giray. The first Crimean khan was Hagı I Giray. It should be mentioned that at the beginning of its existence the Crimean state was rather weak. Its continuous struggle for the power significantly desta- bilized the situation in Crimea. Another adverse factor for the Khanate development was economic situation — till the end of the sixteenth century Crimean Tatars did not practice settled farming and were normally nomads. The chronicles depict the household life of the Crimean Khanate of the time as follows, “They do not cultivate even the most fertile lands and they are satisfied with what nature gives them by itself, that is with the grass for feeding cattle.” However, the Tatars quickly learnt to solve their internal problems by external expansion. Having a strong army at their disposal, the Crimean Khanate regularly raided the neighbouring lands. Self-confident robberies were also facilitated by the fact that from 1475 the Khanate became a vassal

Bakhchysarai

40 of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. The Ukrainian lands were one of the favourite places for Tatars’ raids. It was primarily determined by the location of the khanate, which was a kind of a starting ground for the Muslim expansion in Europe. The Crimean khanate, besides Crimea, included the steppes to the north of Perekop, and also a part of the Dnipro lower reaches. Gradu- ally the khanate added a part of Kuban to its territory. It is also known that the Crimean khans were presented with a part of Bessarabia by the Turkish sultan. Meñli I Giray, who came to the power in 1475, strengthened the state borders. Upon the khan’s order the Perekop fortress was built, Ochakiv was founded, and the capital of the khanate was Bakhchisaray. Administratively the founder of Crimean the Crimean khanate was divided into numer- Hagıkhanate I Giray, ous uluses, which belonged to the khan’s vassals — beys who had their servants and slaves. During the reign of Meñli I Giray the khanate became quite strong and played an important role in the European politics. It is known, for example, that with the Moscow princedom Meñli I Giray signed an agreement to fight against the Golden Horde and the Lithuanian princedom. These did not interfere with his considering Moscow princes to be vassals and require an annual contribution from them. From the times of Meñli I Giray’s reign there was an uninhabited steppe region between Ukraine and Crimean Khanate, the so-called Wild Field. It was that desert that became the arena of violent clashes between the people of the two areas. However, despite the hostil- ity, Ukrainian Cossacks and the power of Lithuania, and later that of Poland (Rzecz- pospolita), would often become temporary allies with the Crimean Khanate. Chris- tian Ukraine not only differed in many respects from the Crimean Tatars, but was also similar to them in some ways, which forced both powers to unite. Khanate Palace in Bakhchysarai

41 THE APPEARANCE OF COSSACKS

The issue of the Cossacks’ appearance has been studied not very scru- pulously, though it deserves a more profound approach. It is known that the Cossack centre was located in the Dnipro region, namely, in the part situated to the south of Kyiv. In the fourteenth — fifteenth centuries these lands belonged to Kyiv princedom, and later they were governed by Kyiv province of Rzeczpospolita. Starting from the tenth century the lands of southern Ukraine lived in the continuous expectation of a hostile attack, as M. S. Hrushevskyi reports in his work “A Study on Ukrainian People’s History.” They survived perma- nently fighting against nomads. Therefore, for a long period of time people living on the territory of Ukraine had to unite farming and armed fighting. The word Cossack is of Turkish origin. It may be translated as a “guard” or a “warrior.” That term is in line with the life style in the borderline region. M. S. Hrushevskyi states that “Along with warlike character and endurance, the life near the border encouraged the development of personality and the feeling of freedom —” In the fourteenth century the territory on both banks of the Dnipro was abandoned. The only spots of life were castles with small military units — Kaniv, Cherkasy, Bratslav, Vinnytsia, Oster and Chernihiv. Peasants lived near the fortresses. They settled in such a way that in case of being attacked by nomads they could be protected behind the walls. All the local population lived in permanent fear, actually alert and ready for defence at any time. Citizens and peasants had to have horses and weapons, take part in campaigns against Tatars, oppose enemy’s attacks. The chronicle of the sixteenth century describes a person who lived near the border in the following way, “going to work, he would carry a rifle on his shoulder, and a sword or an axe on the side.” The first data on Cossacks in Ukraine dates back to 1470. Al- though that mentioning may be Cossack bandura-player. referred to both Ukrainian Cos- About 1890. Poltava art museum sacks and the Tatar getters who

42 were also called Cossacks in the documents of the time. More specific records on Cossacks on Kyiv land appeared in 1492—1499. A Cossack camp in the way that we got used to hearing of was forming rather slowly. That process lasted the whole sixteenth century. In the middle of that century documents mention 250 Cossacks living in Cherkasy. According to the records of 1552, “— Cossacks included local peasants, town citizens, petty nobility and boyars —” Emblem A few years later Cossacks were officially recognized by Poland. Upon the Universal issued by the of Zaporizhzhia Host King of Rzeczpospolita Zygmunt II August on June 2,1572, the registered Cossack army was initiated. In his decree the king ordered crown hetman Jerzy Jazlowiecki to hire 300 lower rank Cossacks for the military service. Hence documents used the term registered Cossacks in contrast to the non- registered ones, who were left in a half-legal situation. The centre of the latter was the Zaporizhian Sich, located in the lower reaches of the Dnipro. At firstSich was the name of the fortress, built by prince D. Vyshnevetskyi on the island of Khortytsia. In general, during the sixteenth — eighteenth centuries the capital of the lower Cossacks changed its location seven times and was finally destroyed by the Russian army according to the order of Catherine the Great in 1775.

І. Repin. Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks43 to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire INTRODUCTION OF MAGDEBURG LAW IN UKRAINIAN CITIES

The unique for the time system of local self-government first appeared in the Saxon city Magdeburg, which actually was named after it. It happened in 1188. Magdeburg Law provided for liberating cities from the governance, legal and administrative power of local feudal lords and the establishment of the city self-government. Magdeburg Law also stipulated the rights of different city strata, including merchants, bourgeois and craftsmen. It introduced the order of electing and the functions of the local self-government bodies, regulated relations of city citizens, determined punishment for specific crimes. Evidently, the advent of the Magdeburg Law was a breakthrough in the public life of a medieval city. It raised the local development onto a new level. In Ukraine Magdeburg Law appeared in the fourteenth century. AccordingLviv City to Hall some in 1620 sources, the first cities in Ukraine, which were granted Magdeburg Law, were Sanok in 1339, Lviv in 1356, Kamyanets in 1374, and Lutsk in 1432. However, other sources argue in favour of the opinion that even earlier the Magdeburg Law had come to the Transcarpathian cities, and already in 1329 it was applied in Hust, Vyshkove and Tyachiv. Gradually Magdeburg law spread in Ukraine and became more significant. To persuade well-off city citizens, in 1494 the Grand Prince of Lithuania Aleksander Jagiellończyk granted Magdeburg Law to Kyiv, in his grant order reminding to Kyiv citizens, ”I hereby give you the German law.” That document was the first written documented confirmation of the introduction of the Magdeburg Law in Kyiv. It is clear that at the early stage of the Magdeburg law implementation in Ukraine cities were given self-government from Polish or Hungarian King or Lithuanian Prince. Somewhat later the practice of granting Magdeburg Law was launched in the cities by their local barons or lords. For example, it is known that Vyshnevetskyi Princes in the sixteenth century granted the right

44 to self-government to Lokhvytsia, Lubny, Pyriatyn and Pryluky. After Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s victory in the war against Poland and the establishment of Hetmanshchyna in the seventeenth century, Magdeburg Law was provided to the cities by hetman’s orders. The same procedure was in place after Ukraine joining Moscow Empire. In 1752 Magdeburg Law was granted by hetman Ro- zumovskyi to Poltava, in 1758 the grant order was given to Novgorod-Siversky. Till the end of the 17th century Magdeburg Law was granted to nearly all cities of the (Dnipro) left-bank Ukraine. It should be noted that some hetman’s orders only confirmed the rights of Ukrainian cities for local self-government, which they had had under the Lithuanian and Polish rule. According to the level of self-government the cities of Ukraine were divided into magistrate and city hall forms. Magistrate governance was recognized the most independent. The city hall local self-governance body was in place in nearly all the cities of Ukraine at the end of the 17th century. In the cities of both types craftsmen and merchants were free from the power of the governor and elected their magistrate, which was divided into two boards: one ran external relations and city affaires, while the other was dealt with the legal system. The members of the first board were called Raitsi and that board consisted of six persons. The other included six officials headed by Bauermeister. All citizens elected representatives of the local authorities.

Magdeburg City Hall

45 THE CREATION OF PERESOPNYTSIA GOSPEL

Books are an important part of our life. However, some of them become more than just books — they turn into symbols. They symbolize certain circumstances, a group of people and a historic period. The Peresopnytsia Gospel destiny was to become a symbol of the Ukrainian nation. It was so important that during the inauguration Presidents of the country hold their hand not only on the Constitution, but also on this Book. The Gospel is a tome of over 9 kilograms, written on the parchment. The Book consists of 964 pages. The creation of the manuscript combined the tradition of rewriting evangelic texts and the intention to make a manuscript and art masterpiece. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that this book was a breakthrough in the medieval thinking and an attempt to adapt written Slavic to the live spoken language. Therefore, it is both unique and scientifically valuable. In the Orthodox manuscript tradition rewriting of the Holy Writ books always played a special role. The authors were never mentioned in those works. Thus, anonymity is a specific feature of the medieval Christian culture. The authors of the Peresopnytsia Gospel com- plied with these rules, but their work managed not to follow the destiny of many manuscripts, whose creation stayed a mystery. It is known that the manuscript was started in August 1556 at the expense of Princess Anasta- sia Zaslavska. It was in the monastery at the Saint Trinity church, located in the town of Dvorets. By the end of 1556 St Matthew’s Gospel had been completed and the first part of the text of St Mark’s Gospel. The following year the work was suspended and renewed only in 1561, in the Miniature depicting Matthew Peresopnytsia monastery. Here the Evangelist St Mark’s Gospel was completed,

46 as well as the Gospels of Luke and that of John. The work on the book was finished on August 29, 1561. The book made its way through the centuries. It is likely that it was used quite frequently. This is confirmed by the fact that the cover of the manuscript was changed at least three times. In different places of the manuscript notes in several languages can be seen. These notes belong to different epochs. Special attention is to be paid to the inscription in Ukrainian, which has been preserved on the first pages of the book. It announces the transfer of the Gospel to the Pereyaslav bishop by hetman I. Mazepa. It was the great hetman who made a new cover and decorated it with precious stones. Time passed. When Peresop- Peresopnytsia Gospel nytsia monastery was converted into a Jesuit collegium in 1603, the Gospel was taken away from it and it was travelling for a long time. On the manuscript one can still see the marks of raindrops. There is also an inscription in Latin, which informs that the volume was at the seminary of Pereyaslav. In addition, it still bears the notes, which can be dated back to the nineteenth century. In the twenti- eth century the Gospel belonged to Poltava library, and then to the Kyiv- Pechersk Lavra museum. Since December 1947 the book has been stored in the funds of the V. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine.

47 THE OPENING OF OSTROH ACADEMY IN 1576

Ostroh Academy, founded in Volyn by well- known Ukrainian enlighteners of the sixteenth century, the Princes of Ostroh, was not the oldest educational institution of the kind in Ukraine. Nevertheless, its foundation may undoubtedly be considered a milestone in the history of our country. The Academy in the town of Ostroh was founded in 1576 by Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn of Ostroh. However, the prince was not the only person who encouraged the opening of the new educational establishment. Consider- able funds were provided by his niece Princess Vasyl-Kostiantyn Halshka of Ostroh. Other members of the fam- of Ostroh ily also supported opening of the school. It is to be noted that the Academy activities were traditional for the medieval Europe and based on studying ”Seven Liberal Arts”: rhetoric, grammar, dialectics, arithmetic, geo metry, music, and astronomy. Further, advanced subjects including philosophy, theo logy and medicine were taught there. The students of the Ostroh Academy learnt five languages: Polish, Slavic, Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The specific feature of the institution was in the fact that it was the first institution to attempt and unite two cultures: Orthodox Byzantine and Catholic West European. It was Halshka of Ostroh in Ostroh that jointly with the Academy there appeared a Ukrainian printing house founded by Ivan Fedorov. The Greek and Slavic ABC-Book was published in 1578; The New Testament was released in 1580; Tymofii Mykhailovych’s Collec- tion of Essential Things (Sobranie Veshchey Nuzhneyshykh) was printed in 1581. The Chronology was published in 1581 as well as the first printed Old Ukrainian masterpiece — The Ostroh Bible. The printing house also released outstanding polemic works “A Key to Heavenly Kingdom” and “The New Roman Calendar.” It was an Ostroh Academy graduate, Meletius

48 Smotrytskyi, who wrote the first fundamental Slavic Grammar in 1619. The Academy teaching staff included talented and highly qualified people of the time. They included Demian Nalyvaiko, the brother of Severyn Nalyvaiko, a leader of Cossacks and Peasants Rebellion in 1593-1596; Kyrylo Lukaris, a graduate of Padua Academy; Jan Latosz, a graduate of Krakow University; Em- manuel Moshopulos, a Greek scientist, and others. The first Rector of Ostroh Academy Portrait of Ivan Fedorov was Herasym Smotrytskyi, a prominent en- lightener and cultural figure, a teacher, a writer and a poet. by І. Tomasevic From the very opening, the Academy graduates featured a range of people who were important figures in the history of Ukraine. They included Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi, the first Rector of Kyiv Brotherhood School Iov Boretskyi, an archimandrite of Kyiv Lavra Yelysey Pletenetskyi etc. Ostroh Academy ceased to exist in 1636. Nonetheless, the outcomes of the activities of the school could not just disappear. This type of institution of higher education was later relocated to Kyiv from where it spread to Iov Boretskyi Moldova and Moscow. Today the Academy has been renewed — on October 30, 2000, University Ostroh Academy was granted the status of the national educational institution. Hence hundreds of students have been trained here in cultural studies, Ukrai- nian language and literature, journalism, philosophy and Central Building of National University Ostroh theology. Academy

49 UKRAINIAN SPARTACUS — SAMIYLO KISHKA

The time of Cossack Hetman Samiylo Kishka coincided with the period of Ukrainian Cossack development that needs further research by historians. Therefore, his biography features some inaccuracies, and different researchers do not agree about the dates of his birth and death. However, most scholars tend to believe that Samiylo Kishka was born in 1530 into a family of Ukrainian noblemen from Bratslav. Hav- ing acquired quite decent education for the time, Samiylo Kishka began to live as a Cossack since the age of twenty. He took part in several campaigns headed by Dmytro Vyshnevetskyi, and in the Za- porizhzhian forces he confronted Tatar attacks on the Ukrainian lands. In the late 1560s, having gained vast military experience and respect among the Cossacks, Samiylo Kishka headed Zaporizhzhian sea campaigns against Samiylo Kishka the Turks. It should be noted that at that time Ottoman sultan Selim II, on expe- riencing significant defeats from the Cossacks in the Black Sea, decided to use diplomatic and military means to influence the Rzeczpospolita. Thus, soon Polish King Sigismund II Au- gustus insisted on Cossacks terminating their sea campaigns. Ignoring the order, Samiylo Kishka continued practicing sea campaigns, and as a consequence, in 1573, he was defeated by the prevailing Ottoman forces and was taken prisoner. 25 years of the Cossack chieftain’s life in the galley slavery began. It should be noted that the galley slaves’ conditions in Turkey were very hard. A galley was a ship of about 50 metres long. Along the sides there were benches for rowers, by 5-6 people per each oar. The slaves were chained to Sigismund II Augustus

50 their seats and when the galley sank, they would get drowned with it. Even in case the ship was not damaged in the battle, the rowers were soon exhausted and died due to beatings and hard labour. It was exactly under such conditions that Samiylo Kishka had to leave for many years. However, galley slavery could not break the Cossack chieftain. Similar to his compatriot, Marko galley Yakymovskyi, whose life story was Zaporizhzhian ‘chaikas’ attack a Turkish reflected in the book by Polish historian, Ambrozy Grabowski, “A Brief Description of Capturing the main Alexandria galley in the port of Mytilene and the liberation of 220 Christian slaves —” Samiylo Kishka raised a revolt in the galley. It happened in 1599. As a result of the armed uprising, the slaves, that were mainly Ukrainians and Poles, were able to kill the Janissary, seize the ship and sail on it to the mouth of the Dnipro. Samiylo Kishka was lucky, as some sources inform, to meet the Zapo rizhzhian chieftain Semen Skalozub’s fleet near the Tendra Spit. On his return to Ukraine, Samiylo Kishka was elected Hetman again. After the defeat of Kosynskyi’s and Nalivaiko’s uprisings, Samiylo Kishka, through negotiations, managed to reach Poland’s recognition of the Cossacks as a social status and in 1600, being supported by King Sigismund III Vaza, set off on a campaign against the Crimean Khanate. In 1601-1602 Hetman took part in the Livonian War against Sweden on the side of the Rzeczpospolita. Samiylo Kishka died in the battle in Livonia on February 28, Semen Skalozub 1602, but his body was taken to the Motherland and he was buried in Kaniv.

51 EARLY HETMANSHIP OF P. SAHAIDACHNYI AND HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST MOSCOW

The figure of P. Sahaidachnyi is a bright example of the devoted service to the Motherland. Thus, today when nearly 450 years have passed since his birth, the descendants celebrate and commemorate the talented Cossack leader, a religious figure and a statesman. The sources of information on hetman’s life, like in the case of many other Ukrainian politicians and commanders of the Cossack time are very scarce. The date of electing Sahaidachnyi the Hetman can be found in the poetic ode by Kasyan Sakovych, written after the death of the hetman in 1622. This ode tells us that Sahaidachnyi arrived in Zaporizhzhia in 1598. He took part in sea and land campaigns against the Turkish Empire. In 1616 he was elected the Het- man of the Zaporizhzhian Host. The event took place in summer, after a successful Cossacks’ campaign against Turkish cities of Varna and Misivri, as well as the victory over the Turkish fleet in the mouth of the Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachnyi Danube. Considering that Sahaidachnyi was a talented commander, the Hetman mace in his hands ensured success of the following campaigns as well. Therefore, the decision of the Cossack Council was unanimous. One year after being elected Hetman, P. Sahaidachnyi headed the Cossack forces in the campaign of king’s son Wladyslaw to Moscow. The events deployed as follows. In April 1617 Wladyslaw set off from War- saw to Moscow heading a powerful army. The aim of his campaign was the Moscow crown. At that time it belonged to Mikhail, the first Moscow tsar of the Romanov house. At the end of September near Smolensk the P. P. Rubens. Portrait of army headed by king’s son united with the Prince Wladyslaw Vasa army of the Lithuanian hetman Jan Karol

52 Chodkiewicz. In spring next year the forces approached the Vyaz’ma River. It was decided to camp there and expect for the other forces to come. However, no money was given from Warsaw and most mercenaries left the camp. In order to save the king’s son, the king and the Polish government asked Sahaidachnyi and Cossacks to help. On July 7, the Cossacks came close to one of the best fortified cities in the southern Moscow tsardom — Livny. The result of the attack was the seizure of the city. The military governor M. Cherkaskyi was captured, another governor, P. Danilov, died on the battlefield. Having seized the fortress, the Cossacks destroyed its defenders. On July 16, Sahaidachnyi attacked Yelets. It was decided to divide the powerful military unit by drawing some forces to the field. Using some tricks, the Cossacks implemented that idea, and the following night they seized the weakened Citadel. In August-September 1618, Cossacks took the towns of Skopyn, Lebedyn, Shatsk and many others. On October 8, Cossack regiments united with the army headed by king’s son near Tushino, and on October 11, they started the seizure of Moscow. Cossacks’ efforts helped to take a part of the city wall from the Arbat Gate side. Sahaidachnyi’s Cossacks did not manage to move further, as the Polish commanders decided to seize the city siege. At the same time, Moscow citizens started negotiations with Wladyslaw’s quarters. On December 11, 1618, the discussions ended in signing a Deulino truce agreement, unfavourable for Moscow. Despite the fact that P. Sahaidachnyi was for continuing the war, the Polish army decided to go back home.

Petro Sahaidachnyi. Etching, 1622

53 THE FOUNDATION OF KYIV-MOHYLA ACADEMY

The Academy founded in Kyiv became the first higher educational establishment in Eastern Europe and a vibrant cultural and enlightenment centre. Everything started with the premises that were presented to Kyiv Brotherhood in October 1615 by the representative of Volyn Orthodox nobility Halshka Hulevychivna. The teaching staff united two existing schools. The first school was Kyiv Brotherhood School and the other Kyiv Lavra School. It is known that the Lavra School had been founded by Metropolitan Petro Mohyla. It was he who established a new institution. Later, after the Metropolitan’s death, the College was named after him — Kyiv-Mohyla. Up to the end of the seventeenth century Kyiv-Mohyla College had the status of a sec- Petro Mohyla ondary educational establishment. The major subjects taught there were Latin, Greek and Slavic languages, as well as rhetoric, theology, dialectics, astronomy, arithmetic and music. In 1701 Kyiv-Mohyla College was granted the status of a higher educational establishment and was given the title of the Academy. It was funded by the state, and the range of subjects expanded to include philosophy and theo logy. It should be mentioned that before the beginning of the national liberation war led by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi in 1648 these subjects had been prohibited by Poland. Kyiv-Mohyla Academy played an important part in the life of the contemporary Kyiv. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the city social life was centered round the Academy. Taking into consideration the high level of training, foreign students would come and study there. Owing to them the Academy maintained close contacts with many educational institutions in Europe and had a wide range of international Portrait of Ivan Mazepa contacts. This, inter alia, enabled to collect a large library. A significant part of the funds com-

(О. Kurilas, 1909) 54 prised the works by European scholars, though the books of the Academy staff were also available, as well as the works by famous Ukrainian clergy men and scholars. In the eighteenth century the library collection consisted of 12,000 volumes, including a great number of ancient manuscripts. Over the years of its existence Petro Mohyla Academy graduates featured many renowned scholars, politicians, philosophers and artists. In the 17—18th centuries it trained Ivan Mazepa, Pylyp Orlyk, Pavlo Polu botok and Ivan Skoropadskyi. Their alma mater was glorified by І. Giesel, Y. Slavynetskyi, S. Polotskyi, S. Yavor- skyi, F. Prokopovych, G. Skovoroda, М. Bantysh-Kamenskyi and many other famous persons. In its initial format Kyiv-Mohyla Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Academy existed till 1817, thus making its students. Etching, XVIII century a great contribution to the development of Ukrainian science, education and culture. Despite the attempts of the Academy staff to transform it into an advanced university, the Russian government decided to close it. Instead, in 1819 a theological academy was opened at the premises of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It existed till 1919 and was shut down by the Soviet authorities. The heir of the famous Kyiv Acad- emy is University “Kyiv-Mohyla Acad- emy” established on September 19, 1991. A year after Ukraine gained its independence, on August 24, 1992 the first students started their studies there. And in 1994 the university was granted Mazepa (Old Academy) building the national status as well as the high- of Kyiv Mohyla Academy est, fourth level of accreditation. in Kontraktova Square

55 THE BATTLE OF KHOTYN (1621)

In autumn 1621 the Turkish army of sultan Osman ІІ continued the campaign that they had a year before and approached the fortress of Khotyn on the Dniester, which was located near Kamianets in Podillia. The sixteen-year- old Turkish Emperor sought to finally demolish the Polish army, which he had defeated one year earlier near the Moldovan settlement of Tsetsora, leaving the army without its commanders. Turkish occupation was threaten- ing Ukraine. The Cossack chronicler Hryhoriy Hrabianka stated, “— in 1621, when Osman, the Turkish Tsar, having defeated the Polish forces at Tsetsora, came to the Polish land with a huge army, then Polish King Zygmunt sent his son Wladyslaw against the Turks —” The might of the Turkish army was impressive. The contemporary sources vary in the Osman II number of warriors, who participated in the

The Battle of Khotyn, 1621

56 battle. According to the data provided by a participant of the battle, Polish chronicler Ma- ciej Tytlewski, the Ottoman army included up to 400,000 warriors. They were opposed to the united Polish-Cossack forces of 136,000 warriors. It is to be noted that despite the large scale of the battle, the real quantity of its participants was much more modest. The analysis of the sources shows that Rzeczpospolita sent some 32,000 soldiers commanded by king’s son Wladyslaw and Lithuanian Hetman Karol Chodkiewicz. Before the battle they were to be completed with registered hetman Jacko Borodavka, who led the Cossack troops in Petro Konashevych-Sahai- dachnyi in the camp near total comprising around 41,000 warriors. The Khotyn, 1621 Army of Osman ІІ jointly with Tatars headed by Kantemir Murza included up to 200,000 persons. The centre of the combat actions was to be the Polish camp on the bank of the Dniester. P. Sahaidachnyi arrived there since the king had promised him to meet Cossack requirements in return of the military support. See- ing no Cossacks near Khotyn, he set off towards them, was wounded and nearly captured by the Turks. However, despite his wound, Sahaidachnyi managed to get to the Cossack camp near Mohylev. There the Cossacks, dissatisfied with the poor command of Jacko Borodavka, called up a council which dismissed him as a hetman and sentenced him to the execution. P. Sahaidachnyi was elected the Hetman. On September 2 heading his army, Sahaidachnyi entered the battle. The Sultan sent his best forces against the Cossacks understanding that by defeating Sahaidachnyi it was possible to win the war. The cruel battle lasted the whole day, from the crack of the dawn. The Turkish artillery continuously shot Zaporizhzhya lines. Nonetheless, the Cossacks not only decently opposed the attack of the Turkish army but also caused significant losses to the enemy. Daily attacks to the Polish and Cossack camp went on almost till the end of September. If Cossacks attempted to counterattack the foe, the Polish commanders were for staying and waiting in defence. On September 24 Chodkiewicz died, which entailed strengthening of the Turkish attacks, but Cossacks did not surrender. The battle was over on September 28, when it was decided to enter peace negotiations, which meant the actual defeat of the Turks. The victory in the battle of Khotyn saved Europe from the Turkish expansion, glorified Cossacks and Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi.

57 YAREMA VYSHNEVETSKYI AND HIS VICTORIES IN SMOLENSK WAR (1632—1634)

The figure of Yarema Vyshnevetskyi, the descendant of legendary Cos- sack Baida, is rather odious for Ukrainians. It is common knowledge that history shows a large number of negative actions of the prince between the time of the suppression of Cossack uprising in 1637—1638 and Khmelnytskyi’s rule. However, prince’s biography, whom his contemporaries fairly called the last knight, featured the moments, which characterized him as a smart warrior, talented commander and a real patriot of his motherland. One of them was definitely the participation in Smolensk war of 1632—1634. At the beginning of Smo- lensk campaign prince Vyshnevetskyi was a twenty-year youngster, so for him Yarema Vyshnevetskyi combatting in Moscow lands was the first knight challenge. Despite his early age and adverse circumstances for Poland (the death of Sigismund ІІІ at the beginning of the campaign), the prince managed to demonstrate real commanding skills and gain knight’s reputation on the battlefield. The operation started with a failing for Moscow attempt to seize Smo- lensk, which since 1611 had belonged Rzeczpospolita. It was then that the army of governor М. Shein tried to assault the city, but, being defeated, it retreated. Prince Vyshnevetskyi joined the war in the corps of Kamianets chatelaine Oleksandr Pisochynskyi. It may be of interest to us that the chatelain’s troops included a large corps of Zaporizhzhian Cossacks, who thus turned the allies of Yarema Vyshnevetskyi. Soldiers headed by Vyshnevetskyi appeared near Putivl in April-May 1633, after which Putivl governor ordered to set the suburbs on fire and prepare for the siege. Eventually, the siege of Putivl was a failure for the Polish-Cossack troops, as well as the attack against Rylsk, which took place several weeks later. However, the young prince demonstrated his talents in full. The attacks of Vyshnevetskyi’s regimen, reinforced by several thousands of Cossacks, kept Moscovites busy all the time. Everybody, who

58 could hold weapons, participated in opposing the attacks, and only the light weaponry of the Polish-Cossack troops and the strength of the city fortifications enabled Moscow commanders to keep Putivl and Rylsk. However, during the campaign the prince demolished and burgled many tsar mansions, ravaged and burnt many settlements. Yarema Vyshnevetskyi also distinguished himself during a fending off the attack of the Ottoman vizir Abaza Paşa, which took place within Smolensk campaign. Thanks to the decisive actions of Vyshnevetskyi’s regimen and Cossack allies the Polish army managed to defeat the Turks in the battle of Panivtsi, near Kamyanets-Podilsky on October 22, Abaza Paşa 1633. In general, it will not be a mistake to claim that Vyshnevetskyi’s contribution to the victory of the campaign in 1632— 1634 was quite significant. All in all, the Polish army was able to cut off communications between Moscow army and its rear, and it started lacking provisions and forage. Negotiations began and finished in June 1634 by entering a peace treaty. The crown returned the towns of Nevel, Starodub, Pochep, Sebez and others. Smolensk was also controlled by the Poles and prince Vyshnevetskyi came back to Ukraine as a glorious commander that was loved and respected Yarema Vyshnevetskyi by soldiers. Ju. Kossak.

59 BUILDING KODAK FORTRESS (1635) — THE FARTHEST EASTERN OUTPOST OF EUROPEAN DEFENCE

The Dnipro region was to become the Ukrainian region that abounds in extraordinarily numerous events and historic sites. One of those sights is definitely Kodak (in Polish Kudak) fortress situated on the picturesque bank of the Dnipro in a modern settlement Stari Kodaky. The fortress history can be conventionally divided into several stages. If the first two ones can be rather considered adverse for Ukraine, the third and the last period of its existence arranged everything back to order. The citadel began fulfilling its core functions defending Ukrainian land from its enemies. The first mentioning of the fortress construction near the Dnipro appeared in 1635. It was then that the authorities of Rzeczpospolita, performing the provisions of the peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, allocated some funds to build a fortress on the way from the district (called volost) to Zaporizhzhia. Well-known historian D. Yavornytskyi wrote, “— to build a fortress where it would be convenient for the Crown and Polish hetmans, to provide it with infantry and cavalry garrison as well as ammunition and immediately allocate for that 100,000 zloty —” The place was selected near the mouth of the Samara River, not far from the first river rapid called Kodak. The builder of the citadel was a well-known French engineer Guillaume de Beauplan. It should be noted that the fortress was built according to the bastion type, which was innovative for the time. It was a redoubt “with high ramparts and a deep, ditch filled with wooden fence.” On the fortress territory there was a well, casemates for the garrison and ammunition, the commandant’ house, some cellars with the peasants who had been kept in custody since they had been caught while going to Sich and “20 Cossacks that seemed suspicious to Commandant Morion.” The first period of the fortress history ended with no glory in that very 1635, when coming back from a campaign the Zaporizhzhi- ans headed by I. Sulima assaulted the fortress, massacred the whole The layout of Kodak fortress built garrison and destroyed the fortifications.

according to G.-L. Beauplan’s design 60 Kodak. Reconstruction

However, in 1639 the fortress was restored. In its each corner there were bastions built that faced all the four sides. The Kodak garrison was reinforced and it was able not only to defend but also to attack firing from its cannons. The size of the restored fortress was impressive — its area was 21 hectares, the rampart height was 12 metres and the total perimeter was 1.6 km. It turned into a real problem for the Zaporizhzhian Kosh (military unit) since it could no longer communi- cate with Ukraine and also had a powerful hostile fortress nearby. The problem was solved by B. Khmelnytskyi as one of the memorial signs erected on the fortress site runs: “Here Hetman Bogdan Khmelnytskyi with the Zaporizhzhian troops took the Polish fortress Kodak by assault on April 24, 1648.” Since then Kodak fortress was transferred under the command of the Zaporizhzhian troops and helped the Zaporizhtsy to defend the Ukrainian lands from invaders. Nowadays, each September the former Kodak fortress site is the venue of the folklore and sports festival “Vytoky” (Origins), where representatives of “Spas Storm” youth sport school demonstrate their skills in the Cossack martial arts — the The monument to Cossacks’ Cossack Spas. seizure of Kodak

61 COSSACKS’ VICTORIES NEAR DUNKIRK IN 1644—1646

The Thirty Years’ War that embraced Europe between 1618 and 1648 was the largest scale military conflict in history up to the early 20th century. The majority of the European states of the time took part in it in this or that way. One of the most dramatic events of the Thirty Years’ War was the combat near Dunkirk that lasted for about ten years. It was during at that battle that the three-thousand unit of Zaporizhzhian Cossacks, headed by B. Khmelnytskyi and I. Sirko, distinguished themselves. The Cossacks demonstrated well-expected outstanding military skills and courage. The reason for the Zaporizhzhians’ appearance near Dunkirk was that in 1635 France joined the Protestant coalition and there appeared the need to knock out the Spanish garrison from a mighty fortress Dunkirk. The search for allies began. In October, 1644, Count de Brezhi, a French Ambassador met B. Khmelnytskyi and had talks about the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks’ service in the French army. It was agreed that 2,600 Ukrainian Cossacks would serve under the French commanders’ colours. In September, 1645, the Zaporizhzhians set off on their campaign and they were shipped from Gdansk to Calais by sea.

Dunkirk Fortress in XVII century

62 The Cossacks landed on the shore of the strait Pas-de-Calais (the English Channel) in the outskirts of Dunkirk. On joining Prince of Con- dé’s army, they took part in attacking several enemy fortresses in the north of France. It is known that Prince of Condé, who was then the most famous military commander in France, officially declared that he considered the Za- porizhzhian infantry the best in Europe, and Ivan Sirko. I. Repin’s etude to that was why he would instruct the Cossacks to assault Dunkirk where a lot of units of the paintingSultan“ “Zhaporozhzhians (1889) French army had already broken their teeth. Write a Letter to the Turkish The date of the assault was scheduled and the preparations began. The Cossack corps was to be divided into two parts. A thousand of Cossacks headed by colonel I. Sirko were placed aboard French ships and were to attack Dunkirk from the sea. The rest of the Zaporizhzhians commanded by B. Khmelnytskyi stayed within the army of Condé to attack from the land. The operation started one dark night, but the factor of surprise did not turn out fully in the Cossack’s favour. When the ships with the Zapo rizhzhian landing force approached Dunkirk, they were encountered by the powerful Spanish fleet. I. Sirko, who was used to meeting the enemy face to face, ordered the Cossacks to get ready for a boarding fight. The Spaniards managed to fire with their artillery and even to damage some French ships but in the hand-to-hand fight that began after, the Cossacks gained a well-deserved victory. In addition, the Cossacks managed to take a Spanish admiral as a prisoner and Sirko suggested to him that he should either lead the French fleet past Dunkirk coast guard cannons or die. The Spanish commander chose the first option and the Cossacks quickly passed near the coast, seized one of the forts and started firing from its cannons at the other Spanish fortifications. Meanwhile, the Cossacks headed by B. Khmelnytskyi attacked from the land and completely demoralized the fortress garrison. Dunkirk raised the white flag. The Cossacks were awarded a great reward from the French government and returned to Ukraine with glory. That was Zaporizhzhian Cossacks’ participation in the battle for Dunkirk. It should be added that all the events described above are a beautiful legend and the fact of the Ukrainian Cossacks’ participation in the battle has no pro arguments and is not admitted by the official historiography.

63 THE BATTLE OF ZHOVTI VODY IN 1648

The battle of Zhovti Vody was the first large scale combat of the national liberation war of the Ukrainian people headed by Boh dan Khmelnytskyi against the domination of Rzeczpospolita. There the Polish army was utterly defeated. Moving to Zaporizhzhya in the late 1647 while seeking a shelter from repressions, B. Khmelnytskyi, in spring 1648, was granted the Hetman’s mace. After successful negotiations and signing a union treaty with the Crimean khan, the two-thousand detachment Bohdan Khmelnytskyi of Cossacks left Sich in the area of Mykytyn Rih and headed west. The battle of Zhovti Vody took placed in April-May 1648. On Aprilthe 28, Cossacks captured two soldiers, who said that the Polish army headed by S. Potocki crossed the Zhovti Vody River. B. Kmelnytskyi set off towards the enemy. On April 29, the Polacks camped on the bank of the river. Potocki hoped to keep back Cossacks till the additional units arrived. The same day Cossacks brought their cannons and started firing at the enemy’s positions. The Pol- ish troops replied respectively, with cannons. By the evening Potocki’s camp was completely seized. On April 30, Cossack infantrymen commenced the attack being backed by the Tatar horsemen. Owing to the advantage in the artillery, the assault of Potocki’s camp failed. The siege began. On May 8, Tatars left the Zhovti Vody and went to the area of Inhulets, where the khan decided to focus his forces. S. Po- tocki’s supplies and carts stayed under the Cossacks’ siege, expecting additional forces, coming down the Dnipro by boats. The chiefs Monument to defeat sent by Khmelnytskyi were able to persuade led by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi the registered Cossacks to change the side. In byof Zaporizhzhia Polish suppressors Cossacks the area of Kamiany Zaton the registered Cos- sacks executed chiefs Barabash, Vadovskyi and

in January 1648 64 Karayimovych, appointed the hetman Philon Dzhedzheliy and on May 4, they united with B. Khmelnytsky’s forces. On May, 14 Khmelnytskyi and Potocki started talks. The parties agreed that the Polish would transfer artillery and Hetman regalia to the Cossacks. Instead Khmelnytskyi promised to provide them with an opportunity to retreat. On May, 15 Tatars commenced their own negotiations with the Polacks, demanding S. Potocki to be a party therein. Later they attacked the Polish camp. It was opposed by Potocki’s soldiers but at a high cost. In the early hours of May, 16, the Polish army, being surrounded, moved to the area of Kniazhi Bairaky. The Polish lines looked like an equestrian rectangle, ready for an immediate cavalry attack. S. Potocki did not know that Tughai Bey’s horsemen were in the rear. Cossacks dug up a line on the Polish army’s way and organized an ambush there. In the small hours, when Potocki’s avant-garde had to stop, Tughai Bey ordered Tatars to start the battle. The first attack was opposed by the Polacks, the second broke their lines. At that time the avant-garde entered the combat with M. Kry- vonis detachment, which was in the ambush. Soon the battle turned into a massacre. Stephan Potocki was wounded and got captured by Tatars, where he actually died on May, 19. From the thousands of Polacks only one mercenary survived. He, being disguised as a peasant, brought the sad news to the Crown Hetman Mikolaj Potocki. The battle of Zhovti Vody became a real triumph for Khmelnytskyi and his Cossacks.

Ju. Kossak. Death of Stefan Potocki65 at the Battle of Zhovti Vody THE BATTLE OF KORSUN IN 1648

After the defeat of the Polish crown army near the Zhovti Vody, the Polish authorities were shocked. Only a day earlier the commanders of banners had promised “to whip the rebels well”, but today they have gone missing in the steppes of the south and east of Ukraine. However, further activities showed that challenges had just started. The army commanded by B. Kmelnytskyi arrived at Korsun on May, 25, 1648. The army comprising 15 thousand Cossacks, about 3 thousand Tatars was reinforced with 26 cannons. It should be noted that Hetman had left Sich with two thousand Cossacks and three light cannons. Khmelnytskyi stopped near Korsun, placing the infantry and artillery in the area of Horokhova Dibrova. At the crack of dawn on May, 26, the army of crown Hetmans М. Potocki and М. Kalynowski moved from Korsun along Bohuslavskyi way using the carts as protection. The Cossacks fulfilled Khmelnytskyi’s order and let the Po- lacks move. However, they were at all times in sight and attempted to attack from flanks and from the rear. On the way the crown army fired from their weapons, Tatars hailed the Polacks with arrows. At midday the Polish Mykola Potocki troops had suffered serious losses. Trying to evade being fired at, the Polacks went to Horokhova Dibrova. There Pototsky and Kalynovsky hoped to reduce the advantage of the Crimean cavalry and save the soldiers from arrows and bullets. However, it became later clear that by this maneuver they only made their situation worse. Being limited with the swamp on the left, and with cliffs on the right, the army, similarly to Zhovti Vody a few weeks earlier, got into ambushes and live abates, due to which it had to stop. The ravine slope in Battle of Korsun layout that place was so steep that it was

66 impossible to bypass the obstacle — carts would turn upside down, creating confusion among the Polish soldiers. Finally, the lines were broken. Panic was completed with the fact that Polacks could not manage to deploy their artillery for the fight. Being cramped on bumpy surfaces of the area did not allow heavy cavalry to prepare well for the battle, because it had been designed to act in the free terrain. That moment М. Kryvonis’s rebels, who were in the ambush in the beforehand prepared entrenchment, attacked the Polish army from the front and the flanks. Sudden cannon and gun firing caused panic in the crown army. From the rear an attack of the detachments headed by B. Khmel- nytskyi and Tughai Bey commenced. Several hours later the Polish army was completely defeated, sharing the destiny of their avant-garde near the Zhovti Vody. Sources state that the battle of Korsun finished at about three p.m. on May, 26, 1648. Some 10,000 soldiers of the crown army were killed. In addition, 80 important noble persons were taken as captives headed by Hetmans М. Potocki and М. Kalynowski. Tatars took captives including 127 chiefs and 8,520 privates. Cossacks were lucky to get the prey of the carts with ammunition, 41 cannons and numerous items of weapons. Those Polacks who had not been not killed or captured at once, were chased by Tughai Bey’s Tatars for over 30 km.

Ju. Kossak. Meeting of Khmelnytskyi67 with Tuhaj Bej at Korsun THE BATTLE OF PYLIAVTSI IN 1648

By autumn 1648 Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’s army had declared itself on the battlefields several times. At the time the Cossacks gradually moved westwards across the area of Podillya. Rzeczpospolita government, that had just claimed to break up the “slap riot” with lashes, completely evaluated the level of threat and, on mobilizing all resources available, commenced preparations for the general battle. The crown troops and Rzeczpospolita noble movement assembled near the town of Pyliava (in Polish Pilawce) in the northern part of today’s Khmelnytskyi region. The Cossack army encamped on the right bank of the Ikva River that at the moment was called Pyliavka. At the same time the Cossack infantrymen took a position on the dam near the castle. The dam connected both banks of the river and was a favorable springboard. On Septem- ber, 19, 1648 the Polish troops headed by D. Zaslavskyi, A. Konetspolskyi and M. Os- toroh arrived at Pyliava. The Polacks had to encamp on the opposite marsh bank of the Ikva. The decisive battle started on September, 21, 1648 with fierce combatting for the dam. The Polish banners began their assault on the Ukrainian camp and managed to throw the Cos- Portrait sack avant-garde away from the dam. The Wladyslawby Dominik B. Strobel Zaslawski. crown troops started crossing the river to

Battle of Piliavtsi layout

68 the right bank at once and occupy a place of arms for the further attack. However, it soon became quite clear that Khmelnytskyi would not let dam go for nothing. The fights lasted back-and-forth for a long timein the early hours of September, 23, 1648 a detachment of 4,000 Budzhak Tatars headed by Aitymyr-Murza and Adlayat-Murza came to the Cossack camp to help. In the morning of September, 23, 1648 the Ukrainian army lined up in the combat order. Ac- cording to the rules of the contemporary warfare, it was the Polish heavy cavalry that struck first. Having withstood the powerful pressure of hussar banners, the Cossack infantrymen supported by their artillery began a counteroffensive. That was the moment that made fatal mistakes of the Polish army high command evident. According to the best feudal traditions, the detachments of Rzeczpospolita noble movement would not obey the hetmans and acted at their discretion. Owing to that the Cossack troops quickly captured Mykola Ostroroh the dam, crossed the river to the left bank and began to line up in the combat order. Then the situation developed even more dramatically for the Polacks. Being seized with incomprehensible panic, Polish detachments began retreating chaotically. To avoid the complete defeat the Polish high command ordered to call the banners back and to get the whole camp prepared to retreat. Nevertheless, the Polish retreat turned into a panic escape during which the crown army commanders set speed records by covering the distance from Pyliava to Lviv within a day and a half. As a result, after the battle the Cossacks took all the enemy artillery consisting of 92 cannons and a large train of goods. On the whole, as the documents of the time report, the trophies were worth over 7,000,000 zloty. The brilliant victory of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi was of great military and political importance. As a result of the battle of Pyliavtsi the Polish army was completely defeated. That enabled the Cossacks to liberate Volyn and Podillia and get prepared to liberate Halychyna.

69 TRIUMPH ARRIVAL OF BOGDAN KHMELNYTSKYI IN KYIV

The successful military campaign in 1648 of the Cossack-peasant army headed by B. Khmelnytskyi, was over. The Ukrainians declared their rights decisively victoriously moving from Mykytyn Rih to Zamostia. Their commander, who had hidden in Sich a year before from the prosecution of Chaplynka submonitor, turned into a real threat for the existence of Rzeczpospolita the way the Polish authorities viewed it. It was the time of Khmelnytskyi’s triumph and Kyiv, a cradle of the Ukrainian state, was chosen as the place for that. Some events preceded Hetman Khmelnytskyi’s formal arrival in Kyiv. It is known that king Wladyslaw IV died on May 20, 1648. Only at the end of the year the Seim elected a new king. It was Jan II Kazimierz Waza. Khmelnytskyi understood well that the new king and magnates against whom he had been relentlessly fighting were united by their common hatred to the Cossacks. How- ever, the hetman made up his mind to bet on the king’s cautious attitude to eastern Ukrainian magnates whom he considered to be no less a threat to the Polish crown than the Cossacks themselves. And he was right — a favour- able for Ukraine peace treaty with Rzec- (portrait by Daniel Shultz) zpospolita was the result of the prompt Jan II Kazimierz Waza negotiations. Just a week after electing the new king, B. Khmelnytskyi received written peace guarantees through Oldakivskyi, a king’s messenger. He lifted the siege of Zamostia and turned his military units to the east. On December 23, 1648, Bogdan Khmelnytskyi, Hetman of the Zapo rizhzhian Troops, entered Kyiv through the Golden Gate accompanied with church bells and cannon fires. The colours and banners were above the hetman and the military drums roared. In the parade column Khmelnytskyi was followed by the Cossack detachments that had distinguished themselves in the precedent battles. Several thousands of people met the hetman. They were headed by Jerusalem Patriarch Paissy and Kyiv Metropolitan Sylvester Kosiv with the clergy. In his welcoming speech the Patriarch addressed the Cossack hetman as a “primate prince” and “Rus Prince.” And students of Kyiv-

70 Mohyla Academy present at the meeting called him “Moses, the saviour of the Rus people from the bondage of Poles, God given — that is why he was actually called Bohdan (God given).” In addition to the clergy, the Cossack chieftain was welcomed by the ambassadors of the Moldavian and Wal- lachian rulers, Semigrad Prince and even Ottoman Emperor. That fact spoke for itself: since then Ukraine became an important political force which should be taken into account by foreign states. The festivities in honour of the victorious end of the war against Poland lasted for several weeks in Kyiv. However, even after that triumph Bogdan Khmelnytskyi understood that the war was not over yet. So, engaged in state building activity in Kyiv, Hetman did not stop planning the next steps towards Ukrainian liberation. “It is true that I am a humble and insignificant man but God empowered me to become Rus autocrat now,” Khmelnytskyi said in February 1649 to the Polish Seim commissars that came to negotiate on behalf of the king, “I have already proven what I had never thought about and then I shall prove what I have planned. I will knock all the Rus people from the Polish slavery. Earlier I have been fighting for own interests and truth; from now on I shall fight for our Orthodox faith.”

M. Ivasiuk. Khmelnytskyi Arrival in Kyiv in 1649

71 THE DEFENCE OF VINNYTSIA BY I. BOGUN IN 1651

The war that had been victoriously started by Hetman Khmelnytskyi with the battle of Zhovti Vody continued. Within three years the Cossack and peasant army achieved significant success, though there were bitter losses as well. The government of Rzeczpospolita, ignoring the large scale of the uprising, made repeated attempts to regain the control over of the Cossack lands. In 1651 Warsaw decided to begin a new offensive. It was targeted at Podil- lia. The crown army corps headed by S. Lanckoroński and M. Kalinowski defeated D. Nechay’s detachment in the town of Krasny and arrived at the walls of Vinnytsia. However, Colonel Bogun’s Cossacks were ready for that run of the events. In the early hours of March, 11 both armies took their positions on the opposite banks of the Pivdennyi Buh River. It was the beginning of the battle for which Bogun had prepared a nasty surprise for the enemy. To meet the at- Ja. Madeiewski. Ivan Bohun. tacking Polacks there was a cavalry unit Lithograph headed by the colonel. The Polish cavalry bravely attacked and the Cossacks began to retreat towards the town. Soon Polish horsemen started falling down into the holes beforehand prepared and covered with straw and snow. The Cossacks turned back at once and began a counteroffensive. After the loss, the Polacks retreated to the castle on Kemp island that had been occupied by them. In the evening of March, 11 the main army headed by M. Kalynowski arrived. Realizing how difficult the situation was, at night before March, 12, Bogun ordered to set the suburbs to fire clos- ing the route to the monastery. The 3,000 Cossack troops were joined by several thousands of the armed town dwellers. On March, 12 and 13 the Cossack fortifications were attacked several times, but in vain. S. Osventsim, a Polish chronicler, recalled, “— they defended bravely with firearms as well as with braids, clubs and stones —” Negotiation attempts were made against the background of the Pol- ish attacks. The Polacks demanded to be given the cannons, banners and

72 Bogun himself in exchange for the siege relief. Instead, the Cossacks offered a ransom of 4,000 oxen and 50 barrels of honey. At night, March, 15 I. Bogun decided to go with a horse detachment for reconnaissance. Due to unfavourable circumstances the colonel was nearly taken a prisoner. As S. Osventsim writes, khorunzhy Rogalskyi even struck him with a spire but Bogun managed to get away by letting his horse gallop. Finally, the negotiating parties agreed that the Polacks would move away from Vinnytsia and provide a free way for the Cossacks. At the same time M. Kalynowski was not going to perform the agreement and was getting ready to attack the Cossacks when those appeared before the town walls. Bogun felt the trap and made an additional demand: the Polacks had to move a mile from Vinnytsia. When Kalynowski refused to oblige, the Cossacks terminated the negotiations. The final victory of Bogun’s Cossacks was ensured by the arrival of reinforcement commanded by Poltava Colonel M. Pushkar and Uman Colonel Y. Glukh on March, 21. Kalynowski escaped the complete defeat due to the ice on the Pivdennyi Buh that did not allow the Cossacks to organize a sudden attack of the Polack positions. All in all, during the month of the battles in Bratslav and Vinnytsia regions the crown army lost nearly 8 thousand soldiers and all its artillery. On March, 24 the rest of the crown hetman corps returned to Bar.

Postal block “Cossack Ukraine”. Ivan Bohun, Ivan Honta, Ivan Pidkova, Ivan Sirko 1651 Battlefield near Vinnytsia, 73 TREATY OF HADIACH OF 1685

The Soviet historians negatively interpreted Treaty of Hadiach of 1658. Hetman I. Vyhovskyi and Yu. Nemyrych, the treaty author, were depicted as people who sold Ukraine to the Pol- ish nobility. When Ukraine gained its independence the schoolars’ point of view changed. A number of historians now regard the treaty as a phenomenon of Ukrainian policy of the time. The Treaty of Hadiach was the name of the Ukrainian- Polish peace treaty signed on September, 16, 1658, near the town of Hadiach by Het- man I. Vyhovskyi and the government of the Polish king John II Casimir Vasa. On the whole the treaty provided for the return of Hetmanshchyna under the rule of Rzeczpospolita but the conditions were more than decent. The truce be- Ivan Vyhovskyi. tween Ukraine and Rzeczpospolita was The portrait of unknown artist, based on the federal structure of Rzec- XVII century zpospolita. The concept of the Treaty of Hadyach was developed by Yu. Nemyrych, who was undoubtedly one of the outstanding representatives of the Cossack élite, Hetman Vyhovskyi’s fellow-in-arms and a man with a well-rounded education, which was rare at the time. The Treaty of Hadyach runs as follows, 1) Ukraine including Bratslav, Kyiv and Chernihiv provinces (Polish voivode- ships) under the name Rus Princedom and the Kingdom of Poland as well as the Lithuanian Princedom are united into Rzeczpospolita with the equal status; 2) Ukrainian Hetman power is recognized as lifetime and after his death Ukrainian society representatives select several candidates out of whom the king appoints a new hetman; 3) Local authorities are established according to the Polish pattern; 4) The court and legal system as well as the administration and territory system are restored according to the pattern that had existed before 1648; 5) Rus Princedom is not entitled to have independent relations with foreign states; 6) Senator positions may be occupied by people belonging to Orthodox church;

74 7) It is allowed to open a separate mint for money coining; 8) The hetman army is to comprise 60,000 Cossacks and 10,000 mercenaries; 9) Land ownership and all duties that had existed prior to 1648 are restored; 10) The Cossack’s old rights and privileges are guaranteed, 100 Cossacks out of each detachment, under Hetman’s applica- tion, are awarded noble titles by the king; 11) On the territory of Rus Princedom the church union is abolished, the freedom of Or- thodox and Catholic religion is proclaimed, the Orthodox metropolitan and 5 bishops are provided with permanent seats in the Senate of Rzeczpospolita; 12) Polish and Lithuanian troops may not be stationed in Rus Princedom except for emer- on the Treaty of Hadiach gency states, however, in that Oath of King Jan II Kazimierz Waza case they are under the command of the hetman; 13) A separate point stipulates the operations of two universities: Kyiv- Mohyla Academy, equal in status with Krakow University, and a newly established higher school with the status of a university; 14) Throughout territory of the state it is allowed to establish collegiums and gymnasia with the instruction in Latin; 15) The complete freedom of publications is proclaimed (including religious issues) unless those publications have any criticism against the king personally. The Treaty of Hadiach was not to be enforced. However, it remains a document of successful Ukrainian policy in the seventeenth century.

75 THE BATTLE OF KONOTOP IN 1659

It will not be an exaggeration to say that for contemporary Ukraine the battle of Konotop in 1659 has been a symbol of the victory over the power against which we have been fighting for several centuries. It has been a landmark giving confidence to many generations of Ukrainians. Russian historian S. Solovyov perhaps gave, with bitter regret, the most accurate description of the Moscow army defeat near Konotop, “The elite of Moscow cavalry that had happily survived the campaigns of 1654 and 1655 were killed within a single day, and Moscow tsar was never able to take such a brilliant army to a battlefield any more. Tsar Aleksei Mikhailo vich came out to the people in the mourning clothing and the terror embraced Moscow —” How did all that begin? Tatar archer In September 1658 the Tsar issued a decree on breaking the war against Hetmanshchyna. Moscow tsardom did not put up with the fact that I. Vygovskyi had rejected the union and signed the Treaty of Hadiach with Rzeczpospolita. The number of soldiers in the Moscow army that invaded Ukrainian territory headed by Prince O. Trubetskoy is estimated differently but the majority of historians tend to believe that it did not exceed 50,000. On their way the Muscovites destroyed the towns of Sribne and Borzna and set the suburbs of Nizhyn to fire. However, they failed to take the fortress of Konotop by storm. It was fearlessly defended by 4,500 Cos- sacks of Nizhyn and Chernihiv detachments commanded by Colonel H. Hulyanytskyi. On April, 21, 1659, the town siege began, and it lasted for about two months. After that I. Vyhovskyi’s corps reinforced by Tatar cavalry came up to Konotop. On the eve of the decisive battle they were joined by some detachments of Rzeczpospolita crown troops and some mercenaries.

76 On the whole, the Ukrainian army comprised about 50,000 people thus being equal in number to the invaders’ army. The battle began on June, 27, when the avant-garde of the Moscow army was defeated. In the morning of 27 the Cossacks attacked Trubets- koy’s troops but after the counteroffensive Vyhovskyi had to retreat towards his camp. On June, 28, Trubetskoy sent 30,000 horsemen headed by boyar S. Pozharskyi to catch up with Vyhovskyi. Pozhar- skyi crossed the River Sosnovka and encamped on the opposite Moscow horseman, XVII century bank. The rest of the army headed by Trubetskoy remained at the camp. At that time the 5,000 detachment headed by Hulyanytskyi moved to the rear-guard of Pozharskyi and seized the bridge over the river. On June, 29, 1659 the Cossacks attacked Pozhar- skyi’s camp luring the enemy into the field. Anticipating an easy prey, the Muscovites left their camp and started chasing the Cossacks. When they entered the village of Sosnovka, the Cossacks began a counteroffensive. On realizing that it was a trap, Pozharskyi tried to retreat but his cavalry and cannons stuck in the damp soil near the river. The massacre commenced. During the day nearly all of Pozharskyi’s 30,000 soldiers were either killed or taken prisoners. Pozharskyi himself was also taken prisoner and died there. After the report about Pozharskyi’s loss, О. Trubetskoy called the troops from around Konotop and late at night, June, 29 started a retreat from Ukraine. His troops’ retreat was also accompanied with considerable losses since it was followed by І. Vyhovskyi’s troops and Konotop military unit.

Commemorative coin, devoted to 350-year anniversary of the battle of Konotop

77 LVIV UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION IN 1661

Lviv University history dates back to the late sixteenth century. It was in 1586 that a brotherhood school, turned into a collegium in 1608, was opened in the capital of Halychyna. This educational institution was famous, inter alia, for the fact that the future hetman B. Khmelnytskyi studied there. It is to be said that Polish authorities of the time were reluctant to open a higher school in Lviv that could become a Ukrainian political and cultural centre. So Ukrainian youth had to get study at Krakow University or other European universities. How- ever, the times were changing and in 1658, according to the Treaty of Hadiach, the government promised to establish two universities in Ukraine — in Kyiv and Lviv. The academies were to enjoy the rights similar to those of Krakow University. Emblem The founder of Lviv University was Society of Jesus, better known as Monastic Order of the Jesuits. The monks of the Order made their ap- pearanceof Lviv in University Lviv in the late sixteenth century and it was they who turned the brotherhood school into a collegium in 1608. Nonetheless, it was reported that the collegium activities decreased by the middle of the seventeenth century, so it was necessary to reform it. After several applications of the monks of the Order, on January, 20, 1661 King John II Casimir signed a universal that awarded Lviv collegium the “title of a university” along with the right to teach all university subjects of the time. However, the difficulties were not over yet. As soon as the King’s decree was signed, there was considerable resistance from Krakow University administration and some influential people in Rzeczpospolita. Anyway, all the conflicts were finally solved and a new university began its activities in Lviv. Studies at Lviv Academy modelled those at European universities. Philosophy, theology, astronomy, mathematics and foreign languages were taught there. Hundreds of future scholars and clergy men studied there. The university building was located in the very centre of Lviv, and gradually the educational institution expanded, regularly building and purchasing new buildings. Thus, after a while its premises included several buildings, its own library, the largest printing house in Lviv and outbuildings. Since its foundation and up to 1773 Lviv university was governed by the Order of the Jesuits and was subjected to the Order

78 authorities in Vatican. However, when Halychyna became a part of Habsburg Empire in 1772, the Order activities terminated there. From 1787, based on Lviv University, there was opened a scientific university “Studium Ruthe- nium,” which was designed to educate Orthodox (Greek) and Catholic clergy and existed till 1809. Nowadays the university carries on training highly skilled specialists in a variety of scientific fields. Judging by the resulting data of 2014, Ivan Franko Lviv University was among five top universities in the general national ranking and three top classical universities of Ukraine. (1765) Sillabi of Lviv University

Former main building of Lviv79 University (1851—1923) COSSACK CHRONICLES

Cossack chronicles are an important documentary source that enables us to learn about the history of Ukraine. They differ from the chronicles of the Kyivan Rus epoch. Ancient Rus chronicles comprise articles written by different scholars and dated by different years. They acquired their final look under some editors’ pens and were mostly collections of works. In contrast to those chronicles the Cossack authors’ annals are comprehensive authors’ works dated the 17—18th centuries. The authors of the Cossack chronicles were representatives of the Cos- sack elders. Their works deserve to be called the most valuable historical sources of not for Ukraine, but also for Belarus, Moldova and Russia. The attention of the Cossack chronicles is focused on the events of Hotyn war of 1621, Cossack and peasant war against Rzeczpospolita in 1635—1638 as well as Khmelnytskyi times. The Cossack chronicles feature high literary value and reliability of depicting events. The first among well-known works is “The Chronicle of Samovidtsa (Witness),” which describes the events of 1648—1702. Though the author is anonymous, scholars mainly believe that the chronicle was written by general treasurer (in Polish Podskarbi) R. Rakushka-Romanovskyi. Unfortu- nately, the original chronicle has not been preserved. Instead several copies made in the 18th or early 19th centuries have been preserved. The most comprehensive of those copies were made by Yakov Kozelskyi, who was a graduate of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and by Hryhorii Iskrytskyi, a centurion of Sumy detachment that serves the basis for scientific publications related to this chronicle. Osyp Bodianskyi was the first to publish “The Chronicle of Samovidtsa (Witness).” Another well-known chronicle of the Cos- sack epoch is the work by Hryhorii Hrabianka, a colonel from Hadiach. “The Cronicle by Hryhorii Hrabianka” depicts the history since the appearance of Cossacks up to 1709. The text contains a range of statutory documents, hetman universals, decrees and charters. The chronicler often makes references to “The Chronicle of Samovidtsa (Witness)” in his work. It should be mentioned that in Hadiach Colonel’s work as well as in the previous chronicle the focus was set on the war headed by Bohdan Khmel- Osyp Bodianskyi nytskyi in 1648—1654. Besides, Hryhorii Hra-

80 bianka describes the events of 1621 when the Cossack troops commended by P. Sahaidachnyi, jointly with the crown army of Rzeczpospolita, made the stopped the Turkish empire near Khotyn. One can also find in the text numerous other interesting historic events. The third of the best-known chronicles of the Cossack epoch was definitely the work by Samiylo Ve lychko, a scribe of the general office of the Zaporizhzhian Army. The most valuable for us is the first volume of the chronicle entitled “Legends about the Cossack war against the Polacks” and the description of the Khotyn battle written as a diary. Those and other Cossack chronicles were based on real “The Chronicle of Witness”. documents of the time, contempo- Title page of Kyiv edition, raries’ memoires and the evidence of 1878 foreign chroniclers. They enable Ukrai- nian historians to trace in detail the run of events in Ukraine and abroad in the sixteenth — seventeenth centuries, the development of contemporary social life, national liberation movements etc.

Host Samiylo Velychko Emblem of Zaporizhzhian 81 PYLYP ORLYK CONSTITUTION (1710)

Our Constitution was born under difficult conditions. Describing the process of writing Modern Ukraine Constitution in a new chapter, we can ask ourselves whether it was the first time in 1996 that Ukrainian politicians wrote the constitution of our country? Certainly, not. The first Constitution of Ukraine appeared owing to Pylyp Orlyk, the Hetman of the Zaporizhzhian Army, in 1710. Orlyk’s Constitution, in fact, a treaty between the hetman and the elders as well as Cossacks was signed by the Cos- sack camp ataman K. Hordiyenko, defined Cossacks’ rights and duties. The treaty was entered during hard times — the battle of Poltava had recently taken place and Tsar Peter’s subordinates were furious to suppress any traces of I. Mazepa’s rebellion. The author of the Constitution then lived outside Ukraine — in the Ottoman Empire. However, it did not prevent the Portrait of Pylyp Orlyk Swedish king, Carl XII, from approving of the treaty with his own seal, thus giving it the status of an international legal act. by М. Pidgornyi According to the content of the document itself, it was written in Latin and Old Ukrainian. It contained the preamble and sixteen clauses that regulated the relations between the Hetmanshchyna authorities and the Zaporizhzhian Army, i. e. Sich. According to historians’, the document was one of the first European Modern Constitutions. Unfortunately, P. Orlyk’s Constitution was not enacted on the territory of Ukraine. The fact that it had been written in exile was the reason. The complete title of the document runs as follows, “The Treaty and Establishment of the Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhzhian Army and the whole free Ukrainian people between the majestic hetman Pylyp Orlyk and General elders, colonels and the abovementioned Zaporizhzhian Army that, according to the ancient customs and military regulations, were approved by free voting of both sides and by majestic hetman’s solemn oath.” The modern title of the document originates from its Latin title, “Pacta et Constitutiones legum libertatumque exercitus zaporoviensis.” For us the document is also interesting as its authors call the Cossack state Ukraine. The preamble to the Constitution recalls the history of Ukrainian people and the Zaporizhzhian Army, proclaiming the articles below,

82 1) Ukraine lost its independence fighting against Poland; 2) Bohdan Khmelnytskyi restored Ukrainian independence; 3) Moscow tsardom failed to keep and fulfil its promised duties, so the Zaporizhzhian Army had to stand for the Ukrainians’ rights and rise in arms; 4) Ivan Mazepa was a defender of Ukraine’s interests and his ally, Carl XII was a patron and the protector of Ukrainian independence. It was essential that P. Orlyk’s Constitution proclaimed Ukraine as a sovereign state under the protection of Swedish kingdom and the state religion of Ukraine was Or- thodox. History unfairly treated the document that was quite advanced for the time. It was similarly unfair to the later documents of Kyiv Rus descendants. Nevertheless, despite Title page of the P. Orlyk Constitution the above, the descendants of Pylyp in Old Ukrainian. Orlyk who was sent to exile by the Russian State archive Muscovites, remember his attempts of ancient acts to win independence.

Monument to Pylyp Orlyk Constitution in Bendery fortress

Memorial sign, devoted to Pylyp Orlyk, in the town of Kristianstad, Sweden, 2011

83(authors B. Krylov and О. Sydoruk) TRANS-DANUBE SICH AND COSSACK PARTICIPATION IN THE WARS AGAINST TURKEY IN LATE XVIII — EARLY XIX CENTURIES

In 1775 the Russian Empire felt at last that the work of demounting the state system of Hetmanshchyna implemented for about a century had brought its fruit. The Tsar governors felt so confident in Ukraine that could openly stand against the Cossack state. That is, they managed to destroy the Zaporizhzhian Sich that remained a hostile military and political organization for the Russians. The Rus- sian army invaded the territory of the Zaporizhzhian troops and ruined the Sich fortress. However, it soon became clear that the Sich liqui- dation could not eliminate the Ukrainian Cossacks as a The Trans-Danube phenomenon. The Cossacks started to relocate to the Cossack troops plains between the Danube and the Kuban and the stamp (early XIX century) most unsubmissive of them left for the lands controlled by the Ottoman Empire. There, near the mouth of the Danube, the Ukrainian Cossacks founded the Trans-Danube Sich. The new fortress was first situated on the Danube left bank but then, by the Turkish authorities’ order, it was moved to the right bank. The Danube Sich was a copy of the Pidpilnivska Sich ruined by the Russian soldiers. The Cossack economic activities had not changed greatly, either. The main freedom loving principle was preserved among the Cos- sacks while on the former Zaporizhzhian lands serfdom was actively introduced. The Trans-Danube Sich was the centre of old Cossack freedoms. That converted it into a magnet attracting the disadvantaged people from Ukraine. It is known that the Danube Cossacks often visited Ukraine and came back with large detachments of runaways. For instance, it is known that in 1779 in the town of Samar the former Zaporizhzhian Cossack, Yakiv Chornohir was arrested for gathering several thousands of those who were willing to run away to the Danube. However, the relations of the Danube Cossacks and Turkey were left much to be desired. In their resistance to be a weapon in the hands of the Ottoman Empire and fight the fellow believers, some Cossacks began returning to Ukraine between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, where they joined the ranks of the Chornomorskyi (the Black Sea) Cossack troops. That process was triggered in 1828, when another Russian-Turkish war broke out. It was then that the Trans-Danube Sich elders had to decide

84 whose side to join in the confrontation. Finally, in contrast to the order of Sultan Mohammed II, the Head of the Trans-Danube Sich Yosyp Gladkyi entered secret negotiations with the Russian commanders. As a result of those talks, in May, 1828, near Izmail, fifteen hundred Danube Cossacks headed by Y. Gladkyi took the Rus- sian side. Unfortunately, Y. Gladkyi did not consider possible consequences of his action: after his betrayal the Turks cruelly dealt with the Cossacks that remained in the Trans-Danube Sich and destroyed it completely. However, the Cossacks continued to fight against the Ottoman Empire and significantly helped the Russians to win. By Adrianople peace treaty of 1829, Turkey transferred the mouth of the Danube and the S. Vasilkivskyi. eastern shore of the Black Sea to Russia. As to the destiny of the Trans-Danube Cossacks, most of them continuedZadunaiskyi their service kozak in the Chor- nomorskyi Cossack military units.

85 THE FOUNDATION OF ODESSA (1794)

In the area where Odessa is located today there used to be ancient settlements. During the Bronze period there lived the tribes of pit grave and catacomb cultures. In the seventh century before Christ there appeared ancient Greek settlements. The harbor, where Odessa is situated, was used by the Greek seamen to call at and repair their vessels. At the end of the fifteenth century in the Northern Black Sea region the Turkish Empire established its rule. The city of Khadjibey, which was later renamed as Odessa, then was inhabited by Ukrainians, Greeks, Armenians etc. In the harbor, where a beacon was built, vessels were loaded with wheat, cultivated in Podillia and Dniester region. 1794 marked the start of the new city construction. That year has been considered the time of Odessa foundation. On May 27, 1794, the Imperial Majesty’s Edict was issued running that, “Respecting the beneficial location of Khadjibey on the Black Sea coast and related advantages it has been recognized as required to establish there a military harbor along with the merchant’s port.” A dedicated expedition headed by Y. M. Deribas was set up. It included a talented engineer F. de Wollant and the task was to complete the construction of the harbor and city within 5 years. It is to be noted that the foundation of Odessa was an effect of the long-lasting struggle of the Ukrainians for returning their ancient Black Sea lands. The city was growing rapidly: in 1803 its population was 9000, while in 1827 — over 32,000. In 1858 the number of inhabitants was already 104 000 people. As early as in 1805 Odessa became the centre Novorossiya (New Rus- sia) general-governor, which embraced the southeast of Ukraine, Azov and Crimean regions, whereas from 1828 it also included Bessarabia. The status of Odessa as a large port city determined a specific population structure. Dur- ing the first years of its existence people were enrolled as Odessa citizens without checking their so-

Y. М. Deribas, a Founder of Odessa 86 cial status. Therefore, quite quickly there appeared a large number of enslaved peasants, who had run away from their landlords. The city also hosted many seasonal workers, and there established economical- ly strong and influential bourgeois elite dealing mainly in foreign trade and banking transactions. Even in the early decades of its existence Odessa became a significant cultural centre. In the early 19th century there were several schools and boarding schools in the city, while in 1817 the Richelieu Lyceum was opened and later it was converted into the Imperial Novoros- siya University. In 1830 a city public library started operating there. It became the second public library Monument to Duke de Richelieu in the Russian Empire after the one in Saint-Petersburg. Odessa Philhar- monic Society deployed its activities after 1839, and it was followed by the introduction of the local periodical press. Dramatic events took place in Odessa during the liberation struggle in 1917—1921 , and also during World War II. Various conqueror and invaders tried to get control over this strategically beneficial sea port. After the heroic battles against Hitler troops, Odessa was granted the status of the City-hero. Nowadays the Southern Palmira, as it is also called, is a real jewel of Ukraine, a large hospitable and important element of the economic potential of our country.

87 ENEIDA BY IVAN KOTLIAREVSKYI

Ivan Kotliarevskyi (1769—1838) is justly considered one of the best writers, poets and playwrights of all the times. It is he who enjoys the glory of the founder of the new Ukrainian literature. And among all the master’s works the most significant place is definitely occupied by famous “Eneida.” The poem was initially intended by its author to be a satirical work. It is known that I. Kotliarevskyi worked on “Eneida” for nearly 30 years. In contrast to the work by Virgil that contained twelve parts, Kotliarevskyi’s poem comprised only six. The first three chapters were published in 1798, the fourth one was released in 1809 while the fifth one — in 1822. The poem was completed be- Ivan Kotliarevskyi tween 1825 and 1826 and was published in full, posthumously, in 1842. The poem plot mainly repeated Ae- neas’s adventures as told by Virgil. But it had striking differences as well. For instance, I. Kotliarevskyi depicted Aeneas and Trojans as courageous Cossacks. In the Ukrainian poem Olympian gods are described as bribe-takers, intriguers and persons disrespecting common people. One could easily recognize contemporary feudal and landlord upper classes of Ukraine. The first edition of “Eneida” was published thanks to the promotion by M. Purpura, a landlord from Konotop that lived in Saint Petersburg at the time and belonged to the group of First edition of Eneida. the Ukrainian language and literature In Malorussian adapted supporters. Purpura published the first by I. Ivan Kotliarevskyi, three parts of the poem at his own ex- 1798 pense and wrote the dedication, “To all

88 lovers of the Malorossiysky word” (where Malorossiysky stands for Ukrainian — translator’s note). It is known that I. Kotliarevskyi was not pleased with the action of the publisher and did not consent to the publication. In 1808 the second edition of the poem was released by I. Glazunov’s publishing house in Saint Petersburg. It is interesting to mention that the poetic text was copied from the edition of 1798 with the mistakes. That edition, as well as the previous one, was published without the author’s notice and consent. In 1809 І. Kotliarevskyi completed the fourth part of “Eneida” Aeneas with Cossack army. and it was published alongside the Illustration to Eneida by G. Narbut first three. The book was entitled in Russian and the title was rather long, “Virgil’s Eneida translated into Maloros- siysky language by I. Kotliarevskyi. It has been revised and completed. It has been published in medical printing house in Saint Petersburg.” On a separate page I. Kotliarevskyi indicated that the previous publications had been released without his consent. The book contained a glossary from the first edition and the author’s supplement entitled “Supplement to Malorossiysky dictionary”. In 1821 I. Kotliarevskyi finished writing the fifth part of “Eneida” and in 1827 there appeared the sixth, final part. The author also compiled a new Ukrainian- Russian dictionary to “Eneida” that comprised 1547 words. Memoirs of the author’s biographers provide evidence that I. Kotliarevskyi worked on “Eneida” till the end of his life. Not long before his death he transferred the manuscript rights to O. Volokhinov, a publisher from Kharkiv who published the six parts Golden of the poem in 1842. The publication of “Eneida” was commemorative coin a great event in the cultural life of Ukraine. It was Eneida, introduced the first printed book written in lively folk language. to 200-year anniver- It confirmed the beginning of Modern Ukrainian sary of poem literature. publication, 1998

89 OPRYSHKY UPRISING LED BY OLEKSA DOVBUSH

The name ‘opryshky’ was given to the rebels that acted in Halychyna, Bukovyna and Transcarpathia starting from the 16th century. The most outstanding leader of theirs was Oleksa Dovbush. In the first half of the 18th century his detachment fought in Kolomyia district. Later it attacked wealthy estates on the territory of modern Ivano- Frankivsk and Lviv regions as well as Bukovyna and Transcarpathia. Oleksa was born in 1700 in a poor peasant family in the village of Pechenizhyn. Legends say that the boy could not walk until he was 6. His parents worked as hired labourers, so since his very childhood Dovbush saw all injustice in treating working people by the rich. The first references to the he- Oleksa Dovbush roic struggle of Oleksa Dovbush’s opryshky against landlords’ violence are dated by 1738. When attacking the nobility and wealthy clergy estates, the opryshky sacrificed a part of their prey to local poor people and in return the peasants loved and respected them. The peasants hid them from punitive detachments, treated and fed them. There is no exaggeration to say that peasants considered Dovbush as their saviour. The Oleksa Dovbush’s activities reached their climax in 1738—1745. The Polish authorities were trying to catch a courageous leader but in vain and all punitive measures were a failure. For Dovbush’s opryshky the most dangerous periods were long Carpath- ian winters. During those periods the rebels had to disperse somewhere for the winter, while in the spring Oleksa had to pull his rebels together. The composition of the detachment changed from year to year. It is known that Dovbush engaged special speakers to recruit novices. Every spring there was an appointed venue where old and new detachment members gathered. One of those meeting points was Mountain Stig on the border of Austro-Hungary, Romania and Poland. It was on that mountain that Dov- bush’s detachment was defeated for the first time. During one of their raids,

90 the Polacks found opryshky there, killed and taken prisoners the majority of them. Dovbush and some of his fellows-in-arms managed to escape. Gradually opryshky made the government so angry that it allocated considerable amounts to fight against them. In particular, they promised rewards for arresting Oleksa Dovbush and his people. Soon that policy appeared fruitful. For a consideration, some rich peasants, M. Didushko from Dovhopillia, I. Mocherniuk from Mykulychyn and S. Dzvinchuk from Kosmach, agreed to oppose Dovbush. They undertook to assembly a detachment and do away with the rebels. However, Dovbush learned of the conspiracy and decided to act ahead of time. By his order, first Didushko and then Mocherniuk were killed. Stepan Dzvinchuk was luckier. He was rather well-off but not so much as to have his own guards. Therefore, Dov- bush set of to remove him with only two of his people. During the fight in Dzvinchuk’s yard the latter shot down the opryshky leader. Oleksa Dovbush’s rebellion was the brightest page in the struggle of Western Ukraine peasants against social and national yoke. People remember their protector. Hundreds of legends and myths about Dovbush have been heard in the Carpathians till nowadays.

V. Skocilas. The march of Opryshky. Coloured etching (1916)

91 CYRIL AND METHODIUS BROTHERHOOD AND THE MAIN RUS RADA IN 1845—1851

The name of “Cyril and Methodius Society” was given to the first Ukrai- nian secret political union that was established in Kyiv late in 1845. The idea of the union was to revive Ukrainian cultural and nation as well as activate all-Slavic liberation movement. The Society members called themselves as “bratchiks (brothers).” The Society key people were teachers and graduates of Kyiv and Kharkiv Universities. Among them there were such prominent Ukrainian figures as T. Shevchenko, M. Kostomarov, P. Kulish, M. Gulak, V. Bilozerskyi and H. Andruzkyi. The brotherhood programme was entitled “The Law of God.” It was proclaimed in “The Book of Ukrainian People Existence,” “The Charter of the Slavic brotherhood of St. Cyril and Methodius” and in the monograph book “The Note,” whose authors were M. Kostomarov and V. Bilozerskyi. The documents were based on the ideas of Ukrainian national renaissance, autonomy and democracy. During its existence the Society ideology evolved and changed significantly. The idea of uniting Slavic peoples into one people that had been the basis for establishing the society was gradually specified into the struggle for equal rights of all Slavic peoples and national renaissance of Ukraine. Cyril and Methodius Society made its main aim to build the society based on the Christian morality and to create a democratic union of Slavic peoples following the principles of equality and sovereignty. A separate point in the brotherhood’s programme, which later caused cruel authorities’ repressions in reference to the ‘brothers,’ was ruining the tsar regime and abolishing serfdom accompanied with establishing democratic rights

Taras Shevchenko Panteleimon Kulish Mykola Kostomarov

92 and freedoms for all citizens. In March, 1847 the society activities were revealed and its members were arrested. The actions of the secret police that had been investigating the case were personally monitored by Tsar Nickolas I. As well as Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood, the Main Rus Rada (MRR) was created to fight for the Ukrainian people’s rights. It was founded on May, 2, 1848 in Lviv. In its manifesto issued on May, 10, 1848, the MRR proclaimed the unity of all Ukrainian people and support of national rights of the oppressed peoples’ of the Austrian Vasyl Bilozerskyi empire. The main demand in the MRR program was to divide Halychyna into two separate administrative units. In the east the region was to belong to the Ukrainians while in the west — to ethnic Poles. The MRR members also suggested that Halychyna, Bukovyna and Transcarpathia should be united a single administrative unit where the Ukrainians would live while schooling and university studies would be conducted in Ukrainian. The MRR consisted of the representatives of Greek Catho- lic clergy and Ukrainian intelligentsia. Bishop H. Yakhymovych was elected the Head of Rada, later he was replaced by M. Ku- zemskyi. The Rada included 30 members and comprised the departments of political affairs, education, agrarian, finances etc. It is known that it was the MRR that created people’s self- defence forces and a battalion of alpine riflemen to fight against Hungarian invaders in Transcar- pathia. The MRR activities terminated in June, 1851. of the Head Rus Rada meetings, 1848 The first page of the minutes 93 THE OPENING OF GALICIAN RAILWAY

Lviv railway is one of the oldest in Ukraine. Its history originates from the times, when western Ukrainian lands were a part of the Austrian Empire. The construction started in April 1856. It was then that the Pol- ish and Galician statesman Leon Sapieha was granted the concession to build the first rail road in Galicia. The new way had to cross the territory of Ukraine to the north of the Carpathians and link the cities in Galicia and Vienna as well as other cities and towns in Austria, Germany and Hungary. On November, 3, 1861, just before the birthday of Prince Karl Ludwig, after whom the Galician railway was named, everything was readyRailway for opening. station in In Lviv the early hours of November 4th, the first train arrived from Vienna to Przemyśl. The steam engine, which pioneered and covered the distance of nearly 100 km of the new branch, was called “Yaro- slav.” At 10 o’clock in the morning it left for Lviv. “Gazeta Lwowska” wrote the following about that event, “The long-awaited joyful day is coming. It marks the start of regular railway communication on the Karl Ludwig rail road. It is going to link Lviv directly to a number of European rail roads. By railway Eastern Galicia will be united with the civilized Europe... it will establish a path from the eastern borders of Austria to the Adriatic coast. The capital of the region, as well as Galicia on the whole, now will have an opportunity to increase the activity of industry and trade.” In October 1861 the construction of the Lviv railway station was completed. It immediately became the starting point to four destinations: Krakow, Chernivtsi, Brody and Tomashov. The total length of the rail road was 110 miles. Chernivtsi trains started running in 1866, after which the construction continued towards Brody. In 1869 a 92-kilometre line Lviv—Brody reached the Russian border and on July, 12, it was officially opened. Soon the line was prolonged from the Russian side to Radyvyliv. On December, 28, 1870 the railway was laid to Ternopil, while on November 4, 1871, the rail road to Volochysk also started functioning. The dream of linking the Black and the Baltic Seas with railway came true. Hence the rail road was used to transport Podillia crops and cattle, Moravian coal and Austrian and German industrial products.

94 In theConstruction early 20th centuryof a new thereLviv railway station. End of ХІХ century emerged the need to build a new station in Lviv, and on March 26, 1904 one of the largest European railway stations of the time was officially opened. In total, by the time of the First World War break- out 2676 km rail roads had been built in Galicia. During the war Galicia became the field of heavy battles, and its Photo 1894 Galicia Karl Ludwig railway station in Lviv. population, industry and transport were badly affected and damaged. Railroad construction actually froze, and only front line branches were made. Despite all the odds, Gali- cian railway operated properly. During that period the measures were taken to improve train running, prevent damage and thefts. In 1919 the representative office of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic ministry for road construction in Galicia was opened in Lviv. Lviv railway still duly performs its obligations of transporting cargos and passengers.

95 THE FIRST EDITION OF THE KOBZAR BY Т. G. SHEVCHENKO

It will be true to remark that over its history Ukraine had few poets and writers who would play such a vital role in the establishment of the Ukrainian nation, as T.G. Shevchenko. His poetic works, filled with affection to Motherland, respect to its glorious past and compassion to its hardships, have been time-tested and are moving to the future together with our country. Today “The Kobzar” is understood as all poetic works by Shevchenko, i. e. 235 poems. But it has not always been so. Being first released in 1840, “The Kobzar” size was much more modest in volume. It is also interesting to note that the first edition of T. G. Shevchenko’s poetic works was published nearly against his will. The story of publishing “The Kob- Taras Shevchenko. Self-portrait, zar” was as follows. Landlord P. Martos presented to V. Repnina. decided to order his portrait from the 1843 young, but already well-known in Saint- Petersburg artist Taras Shevchenko. Once, while working on the painting, the artist went out of the workshop for a while. Expecting for his return, Martos noticed and lifted a sheet of paper from the floor. He saw verses written on that paper. The landlord liked the poem so much that he persuaded Shevchenko to give him the manuscripts to read. Reluctantly, but the artist agreed on condition that the former would not show the verses to anybody. Fortunately for us, the landlord did not keep his promise and showed the manuscripts to the famous Ukrainian writer, teacher and publisher Ye. P. Grebinka. According to P. Martos’s memoirs, it took Shevchenko time to agree to have “The Kobzar” published. It was obvious that the young artist was not confident in the poetic perfection of his own works. However, long persuasions were effective and the author gave his consent to publishing. The first edition of the book was released on April, 26, 1840. The circula- tion was rather modest — just a thousand copies. It consisted of 115 pages printed on cheap rolling paper. The collection included eight poems, “Prelude” “Perebendia”

96 “Kateryna” “The Poplar” “Song” (“What use are coal-black brows to me?”) “To Osnovianenko» “Ivan Pidkova” “The Night of Taras” The title page of the book was decorated with the illustration by Vasyl Sternberg “The Kobzar and a Guide.” The release of “The Kobzar” was advertised in Saint-Petersburg newspaper “Severnaya Pchela” on May 4, 1840. The advert ran that, “In the bookshops of V. P. Polyakov, in Nevsky Avenue, on the corner of Mikhailovskaya Street, in Countess Stroganova’s house and in Gostiny Dvor, in Sukonnaya Liniya, No. 17, you can find on sale, “The Kobzar” by T. G. Shevchen- ko, Saint-Petersburg, 1840, at the price of 1 silver rouble.” Finally, it is to be added that Т. G. Shevchenko was not pleased with the first edition of his poetical works. He, like any other genuine artist, was not self-confident and was impressed by the misery of the financial reward, which he mentioned to his friend М. Lazarevsky. Regarding the fact above, we can state that today writer’s or poet’s work is still evaluated similarly.

Flyleaf of the first edition of97 the Kobzar by Т. Shevchenko THE FOUNDATION OF PROSVITA SOCIETY IN LVIV

The Prosvita Society has not only a long history but also the history that any public political organization in Ukraine can be proud of. This association appeared 150 years ago in the city of Lviv. It was founded on December 8, 1868. In its early days the “Prosvita” activities were headed by public and political figure, composer, educator and journalist Anatoly Vakhnianyn. From its establishment, the Prosvita Society set itself the task to contribute to the cultural, educational and spiritual development of the Ukrainian people. The purpose of founding “Prosvita” was determined by the great philanthropist and the patron of Ukrainian literature, priest Stepan Kachala, “To encourage people’s enlightenment in moral, material, political fields by means of publishing practical books, pamphlets and other works in the language that the people speak.” It is hard to overestimate the contribution of the Prosvita Society to the development of Ukrainian culture. The organization supported opening new schools, it published and distributed books in Ukrainian by mail, encouraged the appearance of libraries and reading rooms, as well as the exhibitions of Ukrainian books. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the Prosvita Society founded three vocational schools in Galicia. They included the “Economic School” in the village of Mylovannya, “Women’s School of Households” in the village of Uhertsi Vinyavski, as well as the “Trading

Lviv Prosvita98 Society School” in Lviv. The first edition of “Prosvita” was the reader Zorya (Dawn), which was published in 2000 copies in 1868. In the 1890s, “Prosvita” became such a powerful instrument of social life in the west of Ukraine, that its activists intensified parliamentary activities, participated in demonstrations, national holidays, folk meetings, and also became the founders of the first political parties in Galicia. Over time, “Prosvita” expandedBuilding itsof Prosvitaactivities. Society, For example, Lviv it is known that all the ministers of education of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and State secretaries of educational affairs of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic from 1917—1920 were members of “Prosvita”. Fur- thermore, 122 members of the “Prosvita” were in the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. In 1924, with the assistance of “Prosvita”, the so-called “traveling libraries” were established. They were in fact organized mobile bookshops. By 1939, when the Second World War began, the Society had had 3 thousand libraries with the total funds consisting of 700 thousand registered books. In addition, 3 thousand reading rooms were working. After the arrival of the Soviet power in Galicia, the “Prosvita” members suffered heavy repression. According to instructions from Moscow, punitive governmental bodies arrested them, closed educational and cultural centres massively, and burnt reading rooms. “Prosvita” relaunched its activities on June 13, 1988, under the name “T. Shevchenko Society of the Ukrainian Language.” It was later renamed as “Taras Shevchenko Prosvita Society.” Today the society is engaged in the affirmation of the Ukrainian national idea, the popularization of the Ukrainian language, the development of the national culture and the revival of historical memory. Lo- cal “Prosvita” grass-root centres are located in each regional NBU Commemorative coin dedicated to centre of Ukraine. 140-year anniversary of Prosvita Society

99 THE CARPATHIAN TRAM (1873)

When one hears the title “the Carpathian tram” for the first time, imagination involuntarily draws a picture of a red or a yellow tram that we are used to seeing in the streets of large cities. So the question arises at once: how could a tram appear in the Carpathians, a mountainous terrain that is by no means similar to the large city landscape? For what purposes was it left among mountain valleys, rivers and gorges? In fact, our imagination fails us and nobody left the Carpathian tram in the Carpathians. On the contrary, it turned out to be rather useful in the area it is named after. In fact, it is not a tram in the conventional meaning of the word — “The Carpathian Tram” was actually a network of narrow- gauge railways that has been operating for over a century and a half to transport wood and, lately, as an attractive tourist route in the Carpathians. The reason for opening a network of narrow-gauge railways that at first was named “Vyhodska narrow-gauge railway” was the industrial growth of Austro-Hungary and, consequently, Galicia late in the 19th century. Indus- try started demanding a lot of wood, in which the Carpathians abound. Thus, the railway, opened in 1873, joined the Boykiv region with forestry enterprises of Austria-Hungary. The network of narrow-gauge railways became indispensable for cutting, processing and selling wood. Gradually, it expanded and included a lot of colourful local views. Before World War I the owners decided to sell the railway to the “Sylvinia” British joint venture that breathed a new life into the project.

The Carpathian tram

100 In 1918 they began to build an extension to the railway. The construction was over in 1920. Being the longest and most prosperous under the Soviet power, the “Carpathian Tram” started declining. The second life was given to the “Carpathian tram” only when Ukraine became independent. Though it is partially used to transport the wood, the real function of the road network has been a picturesque tourist route. It goes along the Mizunka River in the picturesque vicinity before the Car- pathian Mountains. The railway width is 760 mm, which is nearly twice as narrow as a traditional road. The “Carpathian tram” rail length is 7 metres, height is 8 cm, and the weight of one rail is 85.4 kg. There are 11 crossties per two rails. The train includes an engine that in addition to the driver’s place embraces 12 tourist seats, and three carriages for various weather conditions and tastes. One of the carriages is covered and with comfortable seats, another one is a cabriolet. The other is an open platform for merry- making and taking unforgettable pictures. On the way a guide tells tourists about the history of the narrow-gauge railway network, its purposes and how the only narrow-gauge railway in the Carpathians has been preserved. Several stops are organized on the way. One of them is near the bridge over the Mizunka River, another one is near the spring of healing mineral water “Gorianka”. The train stops near the hanging bog Shirkovets, at the Dubovyi Kut station and near the Mizunskyi cascade.

101 THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL THEATRE COMPANY (1882)

The first professional theatre company, which included the best Ukrai- nian actors, was created by famous Ukrainian playwright, director, actor and musician Mark Kropyvnytskyi in 1882. It is this company, currently referred to as “The Theatre of Coryphées” nowadays, marked the prosperity of the Ukrainian professional theatre of the 19th century M. Kropyvnytskyi was born in 1840 in the village of Kropyvnytske, in today’s Kirovograd region. As a follower of T. Shevchenko’s traditions, Kropyvnytskyi dedicated his whole life to the struggle for the cultural growth of the Ukrainian nation. He used his dramatic works and actor’s play to awaken the national consciousness in the audience, urge them to keep and defend their cultural identity, to fight against as- similation with Russian culture and language, the attempts of which were actively pursued by the imperial power. It should be noted that the dra- Mark Kropyvnytskyi. matic works by M. Kropyvnytskyi were 1890s. closely related to the folklore, the best examples of Ukrainian literary clas- sics. The author was inspired to write them by creative legacy of such figures as I. Kotliarevskyi, G. Kvitka-Osnovianenko, T. Shevchenko and M. Gogol. Being established in Yelisavetgrad, the theatre of M. Kropyvnytskyi was a real source of the Ukrainian cultural identity then. Kropyvnytskyi managed to bring together such talented actors as the Tobylevych brothers, who we know under their pseudonyms of Ivan Karpenko-Karyi, Mykola Sadovskyi and Panas Saksahanskyi, in his theatre. The members of the company included Mykhailo Starytskyi, Maria Zankovetska and others. It will not be an exaggeration to say that one of the most prominent figures of M. Kropyvnytskyi’s company was Ivan Karpenko-Karyi. It is him who wrote eighteen original pieces, among which were “The Unlucky, “ “The Handmaiden” and “Martyn Borulya.” His actor’s work featured sincerity and psychological depth of feel-

102 ings. His brother Panas Saksahanskyi did not lag behind. As their contemporaries recalled, he was an outstanding and multifaceted actor with an exceptional temperament, with a gift of instant dramatic identifica- tion and brilliant acting techniques. His various roles included comedies and dramas as well as tragedies. During his acting career, P. Saksahanskyi played over a hundred leading parts and in- numerable episodic ones in theatrical productions. Each of them was the top of acting art. The roles included that of I. Bogun in the play “Bohdan Khmel- nytskyi,” the role of Voznyi in “Natalka Poltavka.” The role of Golokhvastov from the play “For Two Hares”, as well Mark Kropyvnytskyi as the role of Solopiy Cherevyk in “Soro- as Taras Bulba chynskyi Fair,” and many others did not yield in their brightness. Speaking about the participants of the “Theatre of Coryphées,” it is impossible to avoid the works of M. Sadovskyi and M. Zankovetska. Sadovskyi’s acting was marked by plasticity, simplicity and exceptional sincerity of feelings. Sadovsky played in the plays “Bohdan Khmelnytskyi,” “Sava Chaly,” “Hetman Doroshenko,” and became famous for his leading roles in other well-known productions. The repertoire of M. Zanko vetskaia comprised over 30 roles. These were mostly dramatic and heroic char- acters such as Kharytyna in Karpenko-Karyi’s “The Handmaiden,” Olena in “Hlytai, or Spider” by Kro- pyvnytskyi, Aza in “Gypsy Aza” by Starytskyi, Katrya in Yelisavetgrad theatre, where on October 27, “It was not to be” (in Ukrai- 1882 there was the premiere of the Society nian «Не судилось») and of Ukrainian artists headed others.

103 by М. L. Kropyvnytskyi THE FIRST OFFICIALLY RECORDED FOOTBALL MATCH IN UKRAINE

It is not known whose idea was to call football competitions “a game of millions,” but the fact is that the author of the cited phrase hit the mark. It is unlikely that anyone will question the leadership of the game among popular sports. At least it is true for the European continent. And if so, why not remember how it all started. When did football come to Ukraine and when did the first officially recorded football match take place? It was in 1894 in Lviv. It is the date of the first officially recorded football match in Ukrainian history. And it had been preceded by some events. In 1894, the con- Match in Ukraine. Poster struction of the stadium was com- The First Officially Recorded Football pleted in the centre of Lviv. It was located in the area where the modern Stryi Park is. The stadium comprised a football pitch and the stands for 7000 spectators. On July 14, 1894, a significant event in the history of Ukrainian football took place here — the first match between the Sokil company teams of Lviv and Krakow. The event attracted so much attention of the city residents that even the central “Gazeta Lwowska” could not ignore the match. It was reported that sporting competitions would be held for spectators’ enjoyment. They also gave a brief description of the event that had already got well established on the pages of the European press. The newspaper journalists remembered to announce that Lviv football players would come out onto the field in gym pants and white T-shirts, while the football players from Krakow would be wearing blue pants and white T-shirts. It should be noted that the first officially recorded football match on the territory of Ukraine was devoted to celebrate another special occasion. At the same time, the regional exhibition of the achievements of the national economy was held in Lviv, so the football match had to be in high demand. That day in Lviv the weather was not too hot, +24°C. Reporters from Germany, Lithuania and Bohemia arrived to highlight the football event. About 3000 Lviv citizens came to the stadium. One of the Lviv football players, a second-year student of the pedagogical gymnasium, Volodymyr Khomytskyi, recalled that remarkable match as follows,

104 “The teams came out on to the field in the presence of the public for the first time, so the game immediately became nervous and cha- otic, football players’ actions often created comic situations, so the audience was having fun and rejoicing. They did not understand the rules at all, and the players themselves had the only aim to score a goal between the flags on the half of the opponent at any cost. There was a big fuss. Stopping the ball was out of question.” Most likely, the first football match did not please the spectators too much. It is known that the match lasted Memorial sign at the site of the first football match only 7 minutes. That is, until the momentin Ukraine. the ballLviv (Stryifirst Park)and only hit the net of the goal. The author of the first Ukrainian goal was the abovementioned Volodymyr Khomytskyi. Although the players of the Krakow “Sokol” demanded to continue the match, their willingness was not ignored by the organizers. The players were simply asked to leave the field under the pretext that the gymnasts were to go out for group exercises. Thus, it is apparent that football events of the late nineteenth century differed greatly from modern tournaments, though they were no less enthusiastic and passionate.

105 THE DISCOVERY OF TRYPILLIAN CULTURE BY V. KHVOIKA

A famous Ukrainian scholar of Czech origin, Vikentii Khvoika discovered Trypillian culture in 1896. That discovery was, without any exaggeration, a real breakthrough in Ukrainian and world archaeology. The event could be compared to the discovery of ancient Ilion by Heinrich Schliemann in 1873 or Tutankhamen’s tomb found in the sands of Egypt by Howard Carter in 1922. Vikentii Khvoika was engaged in archaeological research from about 1890. Then he tried to prove that Ukrainian lands had been inhabited long before the historians of the time believed. And they had been populated neither by hunters nor nomads, but by an agrarian civilization similar to modern Ukrainians. It is known that the future excavation sites were marked by Khvoika when he was travelling round the villages near Kyiv. He asked local Vikentii Khvoika people if they had ever found ancient things, potsherds when working in the fields. For a small reward peasants were willing to bring their findings and showed where they had been found. By studying the artefacts V. Khvoika was getting more convinced in correctness of his hypothesis, namely, that modern Ukrainian culture dates from pre-historical times. Near the village of Trypillia located to the south of Kyiv, V. Khvoika found the remnants of old settlements with numerous samples of artfully painted dishes. The ploughmen had been discovering not just painted potsherds but

Archeological finds of Trypillian106 culture in Bessarabia large pieces of burnt clay with the imprints of straw and wooden piles. Khvoika hired a team of diggers and ordered them to dig trenches. Even the initial excavations revealed multi- meter clay platforms with unbroken or crushed painted vessels from the huge, over a meter high, to the little ones as if they were toys. There were clay figurines of people and animals, stone arrow heads, spearheads as well as axes and bones of domestic and wild animals. In August 1899 Vikentii Trypillian ceramics Khvoika demonstrated his excavation findings to the participants of the XI Archaeological Congress that took place in Kyiv. In particular, there were painted pots found near the village of Trypillia. One of the pots was completely full of wheat grains. V. Khvoika believed that Trypillian culture creators were local agrarian people, that is, the Slav ancient ancestors. And the tradition to burn dead bodies that was noticed in the excavation process, in his opinion, had been wide spread in the Dnipro region since Trypillian time till the Baptization of Rus. That was to certify to the uninterrupted existence of one and the same people there. It should be noted that later researchers disproved V. Khvoika’s conclusions about the continuous development of Dnipro Slavs since the Trypillian time till the princedom. In their opinion, Trypillian culture natives were the tribes that originated from Commemorative coin with the Mediterranean and Danube regions. How- the portrait of Vikentii ever, recently there have been heard voices Khvoika sharing V. Khvoika’s theory. In any case, the finds of the famous archaeologist near the village of Trypillia in Kyiv region prove that three thousand years BC the territory of modern Ukraine was populated by intelligent and hardworking people that had been cultivat- ing the land, sowing rye and wheat, building their towns and showing the skill of making extremely beautiful ceramics.

107 WILHELM HABSBURG — VASYL VYSHYVANYI

Vasyl Vyshyvanyi is one of the most vivid persons of the epoch of national liberation movements of 1917—1920. The biography of the outstanding military, social and political figure is interesting not only because of his own contributions to the struggle for Ukraine. In fact, the name of Vasyl Vyshyvanyi was taken by a descendant of the famous dynasty of the European monarchs — Archduke Wilhelm Franz von Habsburg Lothringen. Wilhelm was born on February 10, 1895 in the family estate near the town of Pula in Austro-Hungary at that time. His father was Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria. His mother was Archduchess Maria Theresia, Princess of Tuscany. Till the age of 12 the boy lived with his parents in the family estate. In 1913, after finishing his studies in Vienna, Wilhelm was sent by his father to study at the Wilhelm Franz von military academy in the town of Wiener Neustadt. His father emphasized that at the academy Wilhelm should not differ from allHabsburg-Lothringen the others and resided in the common room with other learners. Studying at the academy was easy for Wilhelm. In addition to warfare he studied the Ukrainian language and literature. In 1915 Wilhelm graduated from the academy, got the rank of lieutenant and was sent to 13th Uhlan regiment. That military unit was mainly made up of Ukrainians. Under the Austrian archduke’s command the unit was fully converted into Ukrainian. At that period of his life Wilhelm Habsburg not only mastered Ukrainian perfectly but started considering himself a Ukrainian. It is known that one of the soldiers from his regiment presented Wilhelm with a vyshyvanka (an embroidered national Ukrainian shirt) and the latter began to openly wear it. At the same time, according to the ancient Zaporizhzhian custom, the archduke decided to take a pseudonym — Vasyl Vyshyvanyi. Together with his soldiers, he participated in the battles for liberating Galicia from the Russian army. For his bravery and heroism Wilhelm was awarded with several orders.

108 In April, 1918, Vasyl Vyshyvanyi, an Austrian archduke who spoke Ukrai- nian, headed the Legion of the Ukrai- nian Sich Riflemen. However, in the early 1920s, having been disappointed in the Ukrainian politics, Wilhelm returned to Europe. In 1921 he was elected head of the Ukrainian national Cossack society where he founded the newspaper “Sovereign Ukraine.” Dur- ing World War II Wilhelm resolutely refused to cooperate with the Nazis and was under Gestapo surveillance since the Germans suspected him to be connected with the English Intel- ligence Service. After the war Wilhelm opened a Wilhelm Habsburg in his uniform, paint producing factory in Vienna and 1918 got married. He had a son, his family life was changing for the better. However, on August 26, 1947, he left his house in Fazangasse Street in Vienna and disappeared. As it was found out later, Wilhelm was kidnapped by the SMERSC, the Communist secret service. They probably wanted to learn from him about his contacts with OUN and UPA and Western countries intelligence services. Late in November, 1947, Wil- helm Habsburg was taken to Lukianivska prison in Kiev. On August 18, 1948, after tortures, the heart of a fighter for the freedom of Ukraine stopped beating, but his relatives learned about that only after January 16, 1989, when Vasyl Vyshyvanyi was post- Wilhelm Habsburg not long before his death humously rehabilitated.

in Lukianivska prison, 1948 109 “PLAST“ — UKRAINIAN SCOUTS

The Ukrainian Scout organization named “Plast“ was formed to foster young people patriotic education. It is considered that the organization was founded in autumn 1911. The first Plast groups were created independently by Galician teachers and public figures I. Chmola, O. Tyssovskyi and P. Franko. Plast members participated in defending Ukrainian interests and took part in national-liberation events. Scout movement tradition came to Ukraine from the West. In 1908, the movement founder, an Englishman R. Baden-Powell published the book “Scouting for boys.” It was translated into Ukrainian by O. Tyssovskyi. During the year 1912 Plast groups spread in Galicia. Austro-Hungarian authorities cared for creating sports youth organizations and thus Plast co-founder they supported “Plast” activities. In 1913 the Petro Franko first tourist camp was held and early in 1914 Plast groups existed in all big cities of Galicia. Within three years information about “Plast“ as a military-patriotic organization spread throughout the western part of Ukraine, and at the beginning of World War I the majority of Plast members agreed to join the ranks of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (USR). On the whole, about 2,500 members of “Sokil,” “Sich” and “Plast” organizations joined the USR. They were repeatedly praised in different combat actions, particularly in the battles on the mountain Makivka and mountain Lyssonia. Upon proclaiming Ukrainian People’s Re- public (UPR), “Plast” began to be spread in the central part of Ukraine. The first boy scouts’ Plast detachment was set up in Bila Tserkva. Its founder was a former Russian boy scout instructor Ye. Slabchenko. The Ukrainian authorities considered creating Plast groups to be essential, so the UPR state institutions promoted the organization development. During Plast co-founder 1918, with Hetman P. Skoropadskyi’s support, Ivan Chmola

110 Plast groups were set up in every Ukrainian gymnasium. Soon Plast activities embraced Fastiv, Katerynoslav, Kaniv, Kyiv and Vinny tsia. After the overthrow of the Hetmanate and the Directory coming to Power, the Plast member constituted the core of petty officers in the newly created UPR Army. After the defeat in the national liberation events Plast experienced hard times. On the territory occupied by Bolsheviks it was prohibited and ousted by pioneer movement. Somewhat better situation was in Galicia that had become a part of Poland. It should Stepan Bandera in “Plast.“ 1923 be noted that Plast members there became the core for Ukrainian Military Organization that was later, with the assistance of Ye. Konovalets, transformed into the Organization of Ukrainian Nation- alists (OUN). Practically, all nationalist underground leaders were former Plast members. After the end of World War II “Plast” had to stop its activities on the territory of Ukraine focusing on the education of the new generation of Ukrainian emigrants. The organization groups appeared in Germany, UK, France, Australia and the USA. Upon Ukraine’s gaining its independence, “Plast” returned to our country. Currently, the organization groups continue working on youth patriotic education, making Ukrainian history popular and teaching the warfare basics.

Plastuns on a shift hike. 1914

111 FOUNDATION OF THE LEGION OF UKRAINIAN SICH RIFLEMEN

On the eve of World War I the Austro-Hungarian Empire was trying to find the possibilities to found new military units that would enable the crown of the Habsburgs to feel more confident in the time of challenges. One of the decisions was to set up a unit in Ukrainian Galicia that would become the cradle for the Ukrainian army. On March 18, 1913, the assembly, initiated by Subdivision badge Galicia statesmen, proclaimed the establishment of a new military association under the name “Sich Riflemen” (USR). V. Staro- solskyi was elected the first chieftain of the “Sich Riflemen,” and D. Kata- may — the Captain. Within a short period the army infrastructure was organized. It was divided into riflemen choty, sotni and kureni. Officer schools were established. The association bought 100 rifles and had training in Lviv outskirts. In spring, 1914, the USR statute was created that got known under the title “The rules of the infantrymen.” It contained 17 chapters which regulated the rules of internal service, preparation for combat action, as well as infantry combat methods.

Military Executive board. March 31, 1915. Vienna. Sitting (from left to right): doctors V. Starosolskyi, T. Kormosh, K. Tryliovskyi (head), S. Tomashivskyi, D. Katamay (scribe).

Standing: I. Borevskyi (treasurer), V. Temnytsky,112 doctor L. Tsegelskyi (deputy head) The document contained translation of military commands into Ukrai- nian and it was considered in force in the Legion from June 20, 1914. On August 6, 1914, Lviv newspaper “Dilo” published the address of the Main Ukrainian Rada “To all Ukrainian people” where they declared the necessity to form regiments of volunteers under the name Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. More than ten thousand volunteers responded to the appeal of the Main Ukrainian Rada. In winter 1914—1915 USR sotni, within the ranks of the Austro-Hungarian army defended the Carpath- ian passes from the Russians. In March 1915 the Austrian commanders subjected the USR under General Gofman who abolished the position of the USR head and divided the legion into two independent kureni and a reserve sotnia. The first success of the USR Legion was their victory at mountain Makivka in April-May, 1915. Then the Sich Riflemen distinguished themselves in the battles near Bolekh, Halych, Zavadiv and Semykivtsi. In early July, 1917 during the battle near Koniukhy a lot of the Sich Riflemen were taken prisoners by the Russians. Not more than 400 legionnaires escaped the imprisonment. They set up a new USR kurin’ that moved on a campaign to the river Zbruch, and in February, 1918, the unit went eastwards to Kherson region where it joined Archduke Wilhelm Habsburg group. In early October, 1918, the USR was transferred from Kherson region to Bukovyna. During the battle against the Poles, the USR Legion arrived in Lviv only on November 3, and could not change the situation in the city. Later the USR Legion was within the “Skhid” UGA group and in January, 1919 it was reorganized as the First USR Brigade containing two infantry regiments, a cavalry sotnia, a cannon regiment and some auxiliary units. Being reinforced with the Ukraini- ans who were leaving the Russian army, the Sich Riflemen formed in Kyiv, in No- vember, 1917, Galicia-Bukovyna kurin’ that later developed into a regiment and then into the USR corps that became one of the best subdivisions of the Ukrainian army. The USR Soldier on duty

113 THE FIRST POLITICAL PARTIES IN GALICIA AND DNIPRO REGION

The specificity of the political situation in Ukraine at the end of the 19th century led to the first appearance of the socialist-oriented parties. In October 1890 in Lviv I. Franko, Ye. Levytskyi, M. Pavlyk, S. Danylovych and Ye. Levytskyi established the Rus-Ukrainian Radical Party (RURP). The party program followed the ideas of scientific socialism, demanded democratic freedoms and the transfer of lands to peasant communities. In September 1899 left radicals and representatives of social-democratic organizations established the Ukrainian Social-Democratic Party (USDP). Its leaders were guided by the theoretical foundations of Western Euro- pean social-democrats and parliamentary measures for achieving its aims. The party took part in the mass peasant strike in Galicia in June-August 1902. As a result of RURP interference a treaty on pay rise was signed with landowners. In contrast to Galicia, in Dnipro region Ukrainian political parties were created illegally. In the early 1900s, the Revolutionary Ukrainian party (RUP) appeared in Kharkiv. The RUP had local organizations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv and Lubny. The party ideas were expressed in M. Mikhnovskyi’s booklet “Independent Ukraine.” The RUP was engaged in publishing, cultural and educational work. In December 1902, the first RUP Congress was held in Kyiv. It elected the Central Committee, which included D. Antonovych, Ye. Golitsynskyi and V. Kozinenko. In 1903 Kyiv the RUP offered “The Program Essay” to be discussed. The Essay voiced the demand of the complete autonomy for Ukraine. Discussions started within the party as to the correlation of the struggle

І. Franko Ye. Levytskyi114 М. Pavlyk for national and social liberation that did not stop throughout the period of the Ukrainian social-democratic organizations existence. In December 1904 the RUP attempted to hold the second congress in Kyiv but it did not take place due to different attitudes to Russian social-democrats and the views on further relations with Russia. The second RUP congress took place a year later. A new party was organized — the Ukrainian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party (USDWP). Its leaders, M. Porsh, D. Antonovych, S. Petliura, M. Tkachenko, and V. Vynnychenko, proclaimed the main party aims as the idea of “the autonomy of Ukraine with a separate state institution (seim) that is a legislative body in internal affairs of the population on the territory of Ukraine only.”

D. Antonovych S. Petliura

М. Tkachenko Later the USDWP actively worked with the workers and peasants of Ukraine. The party leaders collaborated with All-Russian political parties, organizations of Jewish and Polish workers in Ukraine. The defeat of the 1905 revolution affected the activities of all political parties in the Russian Empire, the USDWP included. The party leaders and their periodicals had to go abroad. The USDWP renewed its activities in 1911—1912 but then the development of national liberation processes was interrupted by World War I.

115 OPENING OF THE FIRST CINEMA IN UKRAINE (1908)

After its first appearance at the end of the 19th century, cinema soon gained the popularity and turned into the favourite art for the overwhelming majority of people around the world. At the beginning of the 20th century the famous Lumiere brothers’ invention appeared in Ukraine. It is known that the first stationary cinema appeared in Kharkiv and became the first one not only in Ukraine but also on the territory of the whole Russian Empire. That cinema was the famous “Bommer.” The founders of the firm were two French men, Bommer brothers, and they had their head office in Ros- tov. At the beginning of the 20th century they decided to open a cinema in Kharkiv, moreover, it was to appear not on the hired premises but in their own building. So soon the construction started in the very heart of Kharkiv — in Katerynoslavska Street, near the building of Russia hotel. Bommer cinema architects managed to prove that they were real experts. The new building impressed people with its size, elegance of style and grandeur of the layout. The cinema did not look like those crammed halls in which the shows had been on before. The house was designed for 380 people and marble staircase decorated with intricate carving led to the second floor where the guests could visit a café and a summer ground. The audience could enjoy a brass band while waiting for a new show. Thus, no wonder that in spite of a high ticket price for that time, nearly each show gathered a full house. After the October coup in Saint Petersburg the civil war came to Kharkiv. Being unsure of their own safety, the Bommer brothers decided to stop their activities. The favourite cinema of Kharkiv citizens was shut down. It was opened for cinema goers in early 1920. Then it was renamed as “Cinema No. 5.” It was that year that an accident happened in the building and it caused an unprecedented boom in the city. The matter was that then the cinema administration did not stamp “Bommer“ cinema fayer seat numbers on the tick-

116 ets, so each cinemagoer tried to get into the house and occupy the best seats. Being overcrowded, the railing on the stairs collapsed, and some people fell down and died. After that seat numbers were indicated on tickets. The cinema has experienced a number of changes during its history. In 1927 it was renamed again as Karl Marx cinema and in the 1940s — Dzerzhynskyi cinema. The cinema premises underwent reconstruction in 1951. That was the time when the equipment was updated, major repairs were made and the second part of the house for 280 seats was opened up- stairs. The first cinema in Ukraine was renamed for the fifth time in 1993 as “Zustrich” (in Ukrainian Meeting). Finally, in 2003 the cinema reclaimed its first historical name. Currently, the renovated “Bommer” keeps attracting cinemagoers by the best cinema art works.

117 THE BATTLE FOR MOUNT MAKIVKA (1915)

The battle for Mount Makivka was between the 55th Austro-Hungarian Infantry Division, that included a corps of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (USR) and the 78th Russian Infantry Division late in April 1915. Getting prepared for the offensive that was later called Brusilov breakthrough, the Russian commanders tried to occupy the leading high places along the defence borderline of Austro-Hungarian troops. Mount Makivka was on the way of the Russians. Austrian detachments were retreating and, as the participants recalled, were ready to yield the mountain to the enemy. It was then when the USR troops joined the battle. On April 29, the first combat took place and the USR soldiers stood the Russian attacks and did not let them settle. The Rus- sian losses were about 200 people. The following day the Russians resumed the attack on the right wing of the USR positions. However, the attack was repulsed, and during the counteroffensive the Riflemen inflicted considerable losses on the enemy and took 173 people as prisoners. The third and the fiercest battle broke out on May 1. After the artillery firing, a detachment of the Russians attacked the part of the front defended by the Sich Riflemen. The attack was turned and the USR counteroffensive was a success. As a result, the Riflemen took the mountain top back and the remaining Russian battalions retreated leaving a lot of dead bodies on the battlefield. In its daily report the commandment of the 55th Austro- Hungarian army emphasized the USR legionnaires’ decisive role in fending the attack onto Makivka, “During the two days of combatting the enemy managed to take a part of the positions under our banners. Then, at the most critical moment, the Ukrainians appeared... With great enthu- siasm, inspired by true pa- triotism, on a large scale, like a raucous storm, the young brave sons of the country defended their motherland Trenches in Makivka. Field guard of Ukrainian from the enemies and made them leave the positions they of the central peak of Makivka had taken. The danger was Sich Riflemen in trenches on the eastern slopes 118 over. The Ukrainian Riflemen twice changed the battle in our favour”. After the defeat the Rus- sian troops needed time to pull themselves together and regroup their forces, therefore, on May 3, the USR legion detachments were put on standby. The decisive Russian army offensive on Mount Makiv- ka took place in the early hours of May 4. At 6 a. m. the headquarters of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, April 1915 78th Russian division received a message (Mailabout Art Makivka’s Museum, takingLviv) into their hands. However, the combat on the mountain top and its south-western slopes lasted till noon. Then the Austro-Hungarian army headquarters realized that the mountain had been lost completely. Despite Makivka’s conquest, the Russian commandment suffered a strategic defeat. The bitter defence of April 29 — May 4, 1915 allowed the 55th Austro-Hungarian Division to fulfil its task — it did not let the 11th Russian Army headed by General A. Selivanov break through the Carpathian passes and enter the Hungarian low lands. At the same time it gave a possibility to the German troops, on May 2, to begin a strategic offensive on the East- ern front, the so called, Gorlitz breakthrough that led to the Russian army general retreat from Galicia. It was on May 13, that the Russian troops left Makivka that was soon taken over by the Austro-Hungarian troops. The USR toll in the combatting was 42 people killed, 76 wounded and up to fifty taken prisoners. The Austrian commanders highly estimated the USR role in confronting the Russian of- The Battle of Kozyova fensive. (Austrian postal stamp)

119 THE ORGANIZATION OF UKRAINIAN CENTRAL RADA

In February, 1917 in Petrograd, as a result of armed uprising there was a coup d’état. The Provisional Govern- ment formed by representatives of liberal bourgeois circles existed paral- lel to the Council of Workers’ and Sol- diers’ Deputies. In Ukraine, alongside with the Provisional Government and the Council of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, there was another institution that rallied Ukrainian national- democratic forces. It was the Central Rada (CR). That social institution was established on March 7, 1917, in Kyiv on the initiative of a range of political and social organizations. M. Hrushev skyi, a historian and public figure, was elected the Chairman of the Central Rada. Mykhailo Hrushevskyi The CR set the demands for Ukrai- nian autonomy, supported the measures on establishing the Ukrainian press, introducing the Ukrainian language at schools, the abolishment of the restrictions to the development of Ukrainian culture and social and political life. Soon the CR established its exe cutive body — the General Secretariat headed by V. Vynnychenko, a well-known writer. The Secretariat comprised 8 ministries with the executives representing the social-democratic party. The CR activities entailed dissatisfac- tion of the Provisional Government and only another failure of the Russian army offensive in Galicia made the government start negotiations with the CR. The negotiations were held between A. Kerenskyi and I. Tsereteli for the Provisional government and M. Hrush- evskyi and V. Vynnychenko for the CR. The Provisional government was made to reco Volodymyr Vynnychenko

120 gnize the General Secretariat as the governing body for five Ukrainian provinces — Kyiv, Pol- tava, Podil, Volyn and Chernihiv. However, the Central Rada was deprived of its legislative rights. That compromise with the Rus- sian government was stipulated in “The provisional guidelines for the General Secretariat.” The CR Oleksiy Pedagogical museum competency no longer included the seat of Ukrainian Central Rada military, law, and food affairs as (1909—1911), well as the post-office and the telegraph. It should be mentioned that disagreements between the CR and the Provisional Government were related only to the national issue and the future administration of Ukraine. The issues of the state system, economic, land, social and military policy were insignificant. In its activities the Central Rada made a number of errors. It did not practically deal with social and economic problems but focused merely on the national issue. Besides, its leaders lacked the expertise in solving urgent problems such as law enforcement, public food provision and the organization of railway operations. Ideological conflicts between social-democrats and social-revolutionaries took a lot of time. Communication with masses was limited to speeches at meetings. The essential mistake was made by the CR as to the destiny of the Ukrainian army. For instance, in summer 1917 about 300,000 soldiers were reorganized into Ukrainian troops and took the loyalty oath to the CR. In addition, General P. Skoropadskyi set up a corps of 40,000 soldiers available for the CR. Neverthe- less, the suggestion to form a powerful army was rejected. The Central Rada leaders, being influenced by pacifist feelings, believed that a democratic society would not need an army. On April 29, 1918 there was a military coup that proclaimed General P. Skoropadskyi the Ukrainian State Hetman. Hetman P. Skoropad- skyi ordered to dissolve the CR and terminate the laws that had been issued by it. Pavlo Skoropadskyi

121 I—IV CR UNIVERSALS DECLARATION

The CR Universals issued in 1917—1918 were an initial attempt of the young Ukrainian state to define its state-legal status and put itself at a certain distance from the Russian Empire. In total four Universals were published. The first Universal was issued on June 23, 1917. It declared Ukrainian autonomy within Russia and establishment of the legislative body — the National Assembly of Ukraine. The Universal empowered the CR to head the organization of the state system in Ukraine. The document contained the main CR requirements to the Provisional Government: legal status of Ukrainian autonomy, and introduction of the position of Ukrainian Affairs Commissioner that was to be elected by the CR. The universal subordinated all local administrations to the CR and called on Ukrainian society to agreement and mutual understanding with the people of other nationalities. The second Universal was issued on July printing house of the 16, 1917. It documented the results of the UkrainianUniversal Central І, issued Rada in the and negotiations between the representatives of distributed to the the CR and the Provisional Government. In the second Universal the CR still declared that national military session it had no intention to separate Ukraine from Russiaparticipants and promised of ІІ Ukrainian not to act by itself in providing Ukrainian autonomy. The CR membership was to be completed with the representatives of national minorities. The Central Rada undertook to submit to the Provisional Government its suggestions for organizational structure of the General Secretariat — the highest provincial executive body of the Provisional Government in Ukraine and, with the approval of national minorities, to prepare a Bill on the autonomy organization to be submitted to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly to approve. The CR representatives at the Ministry of Military Affairs, General headquarters and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Russia were to take part in the establishment of Ukrainian military units. The third CR Universal was issued after the October coup in Petrograd. It was on November 20, 1917. The document declared the foundation of the

122 Ukrainian People’s Re- public that preserved its federal relation with Russia. It also defined the territory of the UPR: Kyiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Podil, Volyn, Kharkiv, Katerynoslav and Kher- son regions as well as a part of Tavriia. The Universal abolished the private land ownership and established an 8-hour working day Declaration of Universal І of the Ukrainian Central Rada to the people of Ukraine after the Mass in Sofia in the UPR. The act also Mykhailo Hrushevskyi Square. М. Kovalevskyi is reading. In the centre — declared abolition of death penalty, amnesty to political prisoners, judicial system reform and the autonomy for national minorities. It was proclaimed all democratic freedoms to be provided in the UPR. The fourth Universal was issued on January 22, 1918. The Universal declared independence of the UPR as a sovereign state of Ukrainian people and its wish for peaceful coexistence with its neighbouring countries. It reaffirmed the CR authority till the moment when the Constituent Assembly was held. It was also declared the army dis- solution and the establishment of people’s militia. The Universal also appointed elections to local authorities and set the term for transferring lands into communal property. The document also ran about controlling banks, trade and pricing. Moreover, the fourth Universal reaffirmed all the democratic freedoms that had been declared in the previous document and emphasized DeclarationPetliura, Mykhailo of Universal Hrushevskyi, ІІІ in Sofia the right of all the UPR nations Square, Kyiv. In the centre — Symon Volodymyr Vynnychenko. 1917 to national autonomy.

123 THE FIRST KURULTAI OF THE CRIMEAN TATARS IN 1917

Kurultai is the name of the national assembly of the Crimean Tatar people that serve as the highest representative body. The range of the tasks performed by Kurultai is rather wide and involves nearly all the aspects of the Crimean Tatars’ life. The history of establishing Kurultai started about a hundred years ago. It was first open on November 26, 1917. As it is known, the Crimean Tatars’ attitude to the Bolsheviks’ coup in Petrograd was negative. Their political elite formulated their position as follows, “Bloody events that took place in Petersburg have paralyzed the authorities in force and have opened the way to anarchy and civil war whose scale and grave consequences are difficult to imagine.” The history of Kurultai opening was preceded by the negotiations of the Crimean Tatar people’s representatives and the UPR government on cooperation and mutual assistance. The negotiations were held in summer 1917. Certain understanding was reached. After gaining the Ukrainian elite’s support, the Crimean Tatars started to create their national state. On November, 26 (according to the Old Style) the first Kurultai of the Crimean Tatar people was opened. At the opening session, the mufti of Crimea N. Chelebidzhykhan said, “Our political life that was suspended a century and a half ago is experi- encing a real revival.” Immediately after its opening, Kurultai adopted a democratic constitution. It presupposed universal right to voting, abolished titles and

Participants of Kurultai in 1917

124 class privileges, introduced male and female equality as well as the procedure of convok- ing the parliament and electing the national government the Directoria. Kurultai voted for N. Chelebidzhykhan as the Head of the Government and Head of the Justice Depart- ment. D. Seidamet took the positions of Min- ister of Defence and the Minister of Foreign Affairs while S. Khattatov was responsible for finances in the new government. When the first Kurultai was closed, the Crimean Tatar Constitution was published. It is interesting to know that its release was Noman Chelebicihan positively perceived even by those Crimean residents who did not sympathize with the Tatars. For instance, a well- known Crimean journalist and a participant of the Jewish liberation movement, D. Pasmanyk wrote in the newspaper “The Voice of Yalta” in January 1918, “How it happened that the Tatars who had been oppressed for centuries, presented a wonderful lesson of state wisdom to the Russian citizens who had been the only carriers of Russian statehood before the revolution is another question. But the fact remains a fact. And all Non-Tatar residents of Crimea should do their best to support all Tatars’ attempts to build a state. By support- ing them, we shall save Crimea from anarchy and decay.” Similar to the Ukrainian Central Council, Kurultai did not last long. In January 1918, the Bolsheviks put forward an ultimatum and after some bloody combatting dissolved Kurultai. The Crimean Tatars’ self-defence detachments tried to oppose them but the Bolsheviks were several times more numerous. During the period between the 22nd and 24th February, 1918, in the Sevastopol Prison over 600 people were executed, including N. Chelebidzhykhan. His death caused indignation among the country’s Muslims but it could not prevent further oppression of the Crimean Tatar people.

NBU commemorative coin dedicated to the First Kurultai

125 NESTOR MAKHNO REVOLUTIONARY INSURGENT ARMY OF UKRAINE

The figure of Nestor Makhno was negatively interpreted by the Sovi- et historiography. Guliaipole chieftain and his supporters were labelled as a bandit group that was aimed at robbing the working people for their own profit. But were those people, mainly peasants, who rebelled struggling for their rights, really thieves and robbers? Definitely, they were not. To comprehend the phenomenon of Nestor Makhno insurgent movement, it is necessary to consider what the 1918—1923 Civil War was like. It was the confrontation of the ‘Red’ and the ‘White’ who, proclaiming their “bright” ideas, were fighting not so much against each other but against peasants, who were suffering from the raids of both warring parties. It was at that moment that Nestor Makhno appeared with his simple but quite a logical slogan under the circumstances, “Beat the Red until they whiten! Beat the White Nestor Makhno until they redden!” Nestor Makhno Insurgent Army was created in 1918 and was active till 1921. Its number was constantly changing but it is known that the maximum number of rebels reached 150 thousand. Nestor Makhno army embraced not only Ukrainian peasants but also Kuban and Don Cossacks, a detachment of the German colonial peasants headed by Klein, a Greek regiment and Jewish company. At first Makhno Revolutionary Insurgent Army fought against the White Guard who were trying to restore the tsar power in Ukraine. Nestor Makhno entered into short lasting unions with the government of UPR Directoria and the Bolshe- viks. However, during the whole period of its existence his army set the defence of working peasants’ rights as a priority for themselves. The significance of Makhno Pavlo Dybenko and Nestor Makhno in 1919 army at the Civil War fronts be-

126 comes evident due to the number of memoirs of the witnesses of those events. For instance, it is known from the diaries of the commanders of Denikin ‘voluntary’ army that the battles with Nestor Makhno cavalry and artillery were considered the most difficult and terrible. Denikin officers also mentioned that the interaction between Makhno subdivisions was much better than in their regiments. The Red commanders also respected Makhno army fighting capacity. It is known that the Red Army divisions never attempted to take a sabre battle with Makhno troops even in case of essential ad- Nestor Makhno, 1919 vantage in number. For example, on Novem- ber 26, 1920, there were about 200 Makhno cavalrymen in Guliaipole surrounded by the Red. However, they managed to defeat the Red Army cavalry regiment and left the entrapment without losses. It should be added that Nestor Makhno never used his insurgent army for punitive actions against local residents as his opponents often did. Besides, sticking to anarchist views, Makh- no supporters always set free the prisoners in the towns they took and destroyed prisons. Units and subdivisions of Makhno troops fully The rebel leaders in 1919 (from left to right): observed the principles S. Karetnyk, N. Makhno, F. Schus of freedom of speech, conscience, press, political and party affiliation. In all the settlements liberated by Makhno army all prohibitions imposed by the previous authorities were cancelled. Under the circumstances it becomes clear why the Soviet power attempted to discredit Makhno rebel army after the Bolshevik power finally got to rule Ukraine.

127 THE BATTLE OF KRUTY (1918)

In January, 1918 the Russian troops began their offensive on the UPR. Ukraine turned out to be unable to confront the attack and on January, 28 the corps commanded by Muravyov and Berezin met at the railway station of Bakhmach ousting the UPR troops to the station of Kruty. Bolsheviks’ forces included about 4,000 soldiers while the Ukrainians could gather about 500. Only students and gymnasia pupils were able to defend the capital. The students’ detachment that fought near Kruty was organized on January 5, 1918. It embraced about 200 volun teers headed by A. Omel chenko. The volunteers had a week-long training so ad- equate military training was out of question. Later the detachment was headed “For the freedom of Ukraine. by A. Honcharenko and the Kyiv poster, 1918 volunteers were relocated to To deceased sons in the battle of Kruty” — Bakhmach where the detachment, together with 400 of cadets of B. Khmelnytskyi military school, was to defend Kyiv. The battle of Kruty began on January, 29 with the clashes with the Avant- guard Bolshevik detachment that was attacking the station. The Russians significantly prevailed in number and tried to encircle the students. The Ukrainians were supported from the rear by an armoured train that was firing at the Russians. In a fierce battle that lasted about five hours the Ukrainians suffered great losses but managed to oppose enemy’s attacks. At the time the lack of ammunition became evident. The armed train cannon shot its ammunition load, too. Omelchenko asked for reinforcement but got no answer from the headquarters. It was found out later that the commanders had left the soldiers to their fate and escaped to Kyiv. The situation became

128 even meaner due to the fact that the train with the fugitives also had taken an ammunition carriage to Kyiv. Under such conditions the students and Junkers began to retreat. There was an open area in the rear of A. Omelchen- ko’s soldiers so the commander ordered to demoralize the enemy by a bayonet attack and then to retreat. During the hand-to-hand combat the Ukrainians suffered heavy losses including A. Omel chenko himself who perished but did not leave his subordinates. The situation was improved by the reserve that came for a help in time. At 17:00 the scattered units gathered at the station of Kruty. The cross on Askold grave to It became then clear that a reconnais- commemorate the battle of Kruty sance unit comprising thirty riflemen was missing. As it was found out later, the students got lost and had been taken prisoners by the Bolsheviks. The Russians tortured the young men cruelly and then shot everybody. In that tragic way the battle of Kruty was over. According to the participants’ and witnesses’ estimates, the Ukrainians’ death toll was about 400 people and many were wounded. Nevertheless, the students and gymnasia pupils managed to detain the Bolsheviks, winning precious time. It was that heroic deed that enabled the Central Rada to enter the Brest- Litovsk peace treaty on February 9, 1918, and preserve the UPR. In the Soviet time the memory about the deceased near Kruty was concealed. The students’ tombs were taken away from Askold Mount and a park was organized there. Later, after World War II the Soviet soldiers were buried there. In the 1990s, there was an idea to honour the students and set a wooden cross was set on their tomb. Today the young people’s heroic deed in the battle of Kruty has become a symbol of courage and love for Motherland. Commemorative coin “80 years of the battle of Kruty”

129 COLONEL BOLBOCHAN CRIMEAN CAMPAIGN (1918)

As it is known, according to the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty of 1918, Crimea was to be taken by Germany. The UPR delegation then gave up the peninsula. However, two months later Kyiv realized that it had made a mistake. Crimea provided a way to the Black Sea and supplied the republic with the necessary resources. Moreover, the proclaimed in Crimea “the Soviet Repub- lic of Tavrida” became the communists’ clot who repressed the local residents. The task of taking the Crimea back to the UPR was given to Zaporizhzhia military corps that was formed in April, 1918 under the command of Z. Natiyev. In fact the unit was headed by Colonel P. Bol- bochan. Petro Fedorovych Bolbochan The campaign began on April 11, 1918. The troops set off from Kharkiv to Lozova and then to Pavlograd. On April 17, the ‘Zaporizhzhians’ arrived in Oleksandrivsk. At the same time the USR detachments commanded by V. Vyshyvanyi arrived in the town. From Oleksandrivsk the offensive went on to Melitopol and on April 18, the town was controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. German troops headed by General R. Kosh followed the Ukrai- nian corps — the general considered an attempt to breakthrough to the peninsula an adventure in vain since the Ukrainian troops lacked heavy artillery. From Melitopol the main part of the Ukrainian army was moving by railway while the rest rode horses. In the morning of April, 20, Colonel Bolbochan signalled to attack Chon- gar which was well fortified by the Bolsheviks. Since the attack was unexpect- ed, the Russians did not manage to blow up the bridge and the Ukrainians seemed to break into the enemy fortifications. On April 22, Zaporizhzhia military corps reached Dzhankoi and divided into two parts: the main one moved towards Simferopol and the other — to Bakhchisarai. At that moment the German headquarters commanders, for whom the Ukrainian army’s success turned out to be a complete surprise, began putting forward their prerequisites. In Simferopol the Germans caught up with P. Bolbochan and demanded to take the troops away from Crimea. The colonel refused referring to his commanders’ order. During the negotiations with Kyiv, the

130 Germans blocked the Ukrainian armoured trains in Simferopol. Meanwhile, P. Bolbochan sent the cavalry to the mountains and ordered to move towards Sevastopol and Feodosiia so that the Germans did not guess their plans. Being assisted by the Crimean Tatars that group managed to reach the Black Sea shore. The Tatars did not just provide foods for the Ukrainians and showed the way, but they also joined the UPR troops as volunteers. As the campaign participants recalled, there were so many Tatar volunteers that there appeared the idea to create a separate Crimean Tatar battalion. Meanwhile, the conflict between the Germans and P. Bolbochan’s headquarters grew. To settle it the group commander Z. Natiev came to Crimea with the UPR Military Secretariat’s order to leave Crimea. All the efforts of the Ukrainian troops were given up for lost and on April 27, 1918, O. Zhukivskyi, the UPR Defence Minister ordered Zaporizhzhia division to leave the Crimean peninsula immediately. Despite all the odds, the Crimean campaign was not useless. One of its consequences was the transition of the Black Sea Fleet to the Ukrainian side, which could have become a decisive advantage in the further confrontation.

P. Bolbochan and Z.131 Natiyev (in the centre) SIGNING THE ACT OF UNITY BETWEEN UKRAINIAN PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC AND WEST-UKRAINIAN PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC

After World War I was over, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Rus- sian Empire ceased to exist. Owing to that Ukraine had its chance to gain independence. At first, in the form of two states — the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) and the West-Ukrainian People’s Republic (WUPR). Despite the ethnic unity of both parts of Ukraine, there was a difference between them. In their policy the UPR focused on social issues, while the WUPR authorities’ priorities were in the field of the national sovereignty. The political elite of the two parts of Ukraine also differed. The new generation politicians were in the UPR government whereas the WUPR government comprised representatives of the Ukrainian aristocracy and intelligentsia with their expertise in parliamentary activities. However, the epoch set its requirements. Facing the threat of abolition, the governments of both the UPR and the WUPR made a step which enabled them to stand in their struggle and was logical in its intentions. Both parts of Ukraine decided to unite. The initi- ator was the WUPR that had to face Polish and Romanian aggression. Thus, on November 6, 1918 a delegation of the WUPR came to Kyiv to ask P. Skoropadskyi for military and political support. After that a special committee was sent from Kyiv to Lviv to settle all technical issues, and on November 10, the WUPR Rada adopted a resolution, “The State Secretariat is to work out the necessary measures to unite all Ukrainian lands into a single state.” Nonetheless, it was not possible to proceed immediately. The Hetmanat’s overthrow did not allow the parties to implement the resolution. The negotiations were resumed after the Directoria setup in Kyiv. On December 1, 1918 in The Act of Unity, Fastiv, a treaty between the WUPR Rada and the UPR Directoria was

signed on January 22, 1919 132 signed on “uniting both Ukrainian states into a single state.” At their meeting on January 3, 1919, the WUPR National Rada unanimously adopted the resolution on the unity with the UPR. The resolution said, “The Ukrainian National Rada exer- cising the right to the Ukrainian people self-determination solemnly declares the unity of the WUPR and the UPR into one sovereign People’s Republic.” Soon the WUPR delegates went to Kyiv for the official Act of Unity dedicated to the first anniversary of the declaration of the UPR independence. On January 22, 1919 Kyiv was crowded. At noon the state anthem was played in Sofiiskyi Maidan. The WUPR Minister of Foreign Affairs L. Tsehelskyi read out the West-Ukrainian address on the national Rada Resolution and handed it out to V. Vynnychenko, the Head of the Act of Unity, January 1919 Directoria. In turn, F. Shvets, a member of the Directoria, read the UPR Govern- ment Universal that ran as follows, “— From now on the parts of Ukraine that have been separated from each other for centuries, the West-Ukrainian People’s Republic (Galicia, Bukovyna and Hungarian Rus) and Naddniprianska Great Ukraine. The everlasting dream, for which the best sons of Ukraine have been living and dying, has come true. We hereby proclaim the united independent Ukrainian People’s Republic...” The act of Unity of the UPR and the WUPR was of great historical significance as a fact of uniting all Ukrainian lands into United Sovereign State. However, no real union took place. Several days af- Nearly three million of people ter the Unity declaration, the Directoria stood hand in hand, uniting Ivano- had to leave Kyiv under Bolsheviks’ pressure. Soon the WUPR also surrendered Kyiv on the day of 71 years of the Act down under the Polish troops’ attacks. Frankivsk, Lviv,of Rivne, Unity Zhytomyr and

133 IGOR SIKORSKYI AND HIS HELICOPTER

Igor Sikorskyi’ life was bright and dramatic. He had to change his place of residence and work several times. He became an aviation designer, first took off and set the first world records in Kyiv, continued working in Saint- Petersburg, and in February 1918 he had to emigrate to the USA. Igor Sikorskyi was born on May 25, 1889 in Kyiv. In 1906 he finished the Marine Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg, intending to become a naval officer. However, his health did not let him make these plans come true. Later Sikor- skyi himself recalled that at rapid changes in weather he had nose bleeding, and the small- est exposure to cold would guarantee going ill. Therefore, in 1907 young Sikorskyi entered Igor Sikorskyi, 1950s Kyiv Polytechnic Institute majoring in aviation design. An important factor for the choice was the news about Wright brothers. In 1912, studying at the institute, І. Sikorskyi began working on his first aircraft. The result of his design research included several biplanes and one model of a helicopter — a fundamentally new type of aircraft, whose idea I. Sikorskyi had from the air propeller created by Leonardo da Vinci. It is to be mentioned that Sikorskyi’s designs were not just student’s attempts to show off. On the first plane of his own design called С-5 Sikorskyi passed the examination for a pilot, and a year later — С-6 could set the world record in speed, which then was 111 km/hours. Eventually, the talented designer was spotted and he, in addition to governmental awards, was offered a position of the head designer of the military plant Ruso-Balt in Saint-Petersburg. It was at that time that Igor Sikorskyi developed heavy four-engine planes Russian Vitiaz’ and Illia Muromets, which set world records of carrying capacity, and then they were used at Igor Sikorsky, a famous the fronts of World War I as bombers. By that aviator, 1914 time І. Sikorskyi had managed to increase the

134 service ceiling of his air carriers to 4 km, while the carrying capacity rose to nearly 1.5 tons. After the October coup in 1917 І. Sikorskyi had to move to the USA. In 1923 overseas he founded his own aviation construction company Sikorskyi Air- craft. Making a name for himself on the new motherland by de- Russian Vitiaz’, 1915 signing and constructing fifteen plane models, І. Sikorskyi could fully start working on the dream of his life — the development of as helicopter. Despite high competition, after the announcement by the US Government a grant of $ 3,000,000 in 1938 for the construction of a helicopter for the army, І. Sikorskyi managed to stay the best in that field and the design offered by him with a single antitorque propeller was accepted as the base in the construction of helicopters. Afterwards, Sikorskyi’s company became a recognized leader not only on the American but also global market. Its helicopters have been widely used in all areas of life. A great success for the company was the development of helicopter S-55 — the first aircraft in the world that in 1952 made a transatlantic flight.

Fire helicopter S-64E

135 THE BEREZIL THEATRE FOUNDATION BY L. KURBAS IN KYIV (1922)

National liberation events of 1917—1921 were left behind. Being defeated, Ukraine had to get used to a new regime. However, life went on. One of the vivid and bright episodes of the early 20th century was The Berezil theatre founded by Les Kurbas. It became the first Ukrainian theatre of the Soviet time. The Berezil was opened on March 31, 1922 and the first play first night was on November, 7 of the same year. The show was entitled “October” and was produced on the communist power demand. At the time of its prime The Bere zil included 6 acting studios, there of which were in Kyiv while the others were in Bila Tserkva, Uman and Odesa. The theatre company comprised 400 actors, there was a director’s workshop, a theatre museum and 10 committees that applied innovative methods in teaching.Les Kurbas It is of interest to know that in their creative activities Berezil administration declared the fight against ‘art for art’s sake’ as well against routine and clichés in theatrical productions. On Septem- ber 29, 1925 a studio of the Ukrainian language and terminology was founded at the Berezil theatre to work out theatrical terminology for a special dictionary that was a breakthrough in Ukrainian cultural life of the time. In May, 1926, the theatre life experienced some changes. The All- Ukrainian theatrical Rada adopted a decision of renaming Kyiv Berezil theatre into Central Republican Ukrainian Theatre and the company was to move to Kharkiv. On October, 16, 1926 the first theatrical season in Kharkiv began. “Golden Womb” first night was presented in the building in Sumska street. It should be noted that a number of vivid personalities made their name in Kharkiv. They were L. Kurbas himself, V. Meller, an artist, M. Kulish, a playwright, other talented actors and directors. The period between 1926 and 1936 was for the Berezil the time that was later called the national synthesis. The vivid examples of the

136 theatre new orientation were the plays “Popular Malakhyi” in 1928 and “Myna Mazailo” in 1929. At the end of March, 1927 an All-Ukrainian theatrical dispute was held to define the directions and areas of the Ukrainian theatrical art development. The main opponent of L. Kurbas at the dispute was H. Yura from I. Franko theatre. While L. Kurbas stood for avant-garde theatre interpretation, his opponent supported the realistic psychological drama. It was from that moment that the authorities started attacking L. Kurbas. The theatre was accused of being incomprehensible for public, and the director himself was accused of antidemocratic and counterrevolutionary position as well as bourgeois nationalism. In 1933, after L. Kurbas arrest, the theatre was closed and the actors’ company joined the Shevchenko Kharkiv Ukrainian drama theatre. The famous director, actor and playwright, L. Kurbas perished at the hands of the Bolshevik executioners on November 3, 1937 in a camp situated in Sandarmokh area of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Russia.

Director’s laboratory at Berezil theatre, 1925.

Sitting (from left to right): Ja. Bortnyk, V. Vasylko, B. Tiagno, Z. Pigulovych, L. Kurbas, F. Lopatynskyi, Yu. Lishanckyi. Standing: P. Bereza-Kudrytskyi, І. Kryga, А. Avramenko-Yriy137 THE HOLODOMOR (1932—1933)

After the defeat of national liberation events in the early 1920s, Ukraine, its western regions excluded, turned out to be totally controlled by the communist totalitarian regime authorities. It was time for the Kremlin to remind disobedient Ukrainians of their attempts to build their own state, their opposition to the invaders and numerous popular rebellions that accompanied the establishment of the Soviet power in Ukraine. The Holodomor was preceded by forceful collectivization and dispossession of well-off peasants called kulaks (dekulakization). The terror by hunger that lasted for about two years in Ukraine was a conscious policy of Stalin’s Govern- Peasants sumitting bread Baryshivsky ment. It should be noted that such district of Kyiv county, 1930 atrocious idea had been thought over in the Kremlin since 1928; it was aimed at making Ukrainian peasants obedient as well as at the physical execution of those who was potentially able to begin new rebellions against the regime. Once the decision had been made in the halls of power, the events developed quickly. On November 18, 1932, the Political Bureau of the KP(B)U Central Committee adopted the decision that presupposed to fine debtors in bread provisions, and on December 6, there appeared the first decision on putting villages on a black list because of the “evident failure to meet the target of bread providing and malicious sabotage organized by ‘kulaks’ and counterrevolutionary elements.” The population of the black- listed villages could not be en- vied. There the repression fly- wheel proceeded to collecting maximum turnovers — all the Exit of the red string of carts with bread. food was taken away from the Collective farm “Wave of Proletarian peasants, the villages were sur- Revolution“. Harkiv region, 1932 rounded with the troops and

138 people were destined to deaths. The cruel regime was lenient neither to the old, nor to the children. People began to die massively. One can evaluate the scale of the event but approximately only. The total number of the victims of the 1932—1933 famine, according to different researchers’ assessment, differs greatly and reaches 10,000,000 people. The majority The victims of hunger on the streets of victims were children. However, of Kharkiv in 1933 Moscow powers refused to give a hand even in spring 1933 when mortality reached its peak. Even that single fact proves that the action was directed to kill Ukrainian people. Above mentioned facts are not sporadic, but systematic. The documents of the Political Bureau of the KP(B)U Central Committee preserve some evidence of the organization of ‘green echelons’ from Ukraine in autumn 1932 to provide food for industrial centres of Rus- sia. Not just seeds were taken from Ukraine but also pickled cucumbers, cabbage and tomatoes. The deep negative trace that the 1932—1933 Holodomor left in the history of Ukraine is hard to estimate comprehensively. It is overlapped with the traces of other tragedies that the Ukrainian people experienced in the 20th century. However, if it is possible to compare them, the humanitarian consequences of the Holodomor are incomparable to any other disaster. For its anti-Ukrainian direction and scale of using, the Holodomor turned out to be the most terrible weapon of mass destruction and peasant social oppression used by the communist regime. Unfortunately, the majority of people who witnessed that genocide of the Ukrainians by Moscow have passed away. Still, as their descendants, we should remember those events and make respective conclusions. The Holodomor of 1932—1933 in Ukraine has been officially recognized as genocide of the Ukrainian people by the following states: Australia, Vati- can, Georgia, Ecuador, Estonia, Canada, Columbia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Hungary, Portugal. On November 28, 2006, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law “On the Holodomor of 1932—1933 in Ukraine” that recognizes the Holodo- mor as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

139 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF UKRAINIAN NATIONALISTS

A number of events preceded the establishment of the Organization of Ukrainian nationalists. In spite of the defeat in the national liberation events of 1917—1921, the struggle of the Ukrai- nians for their independence continued. As Colonel Ye. Konovalets, the founder of the OUN said, “Even under the most unfavourable circumstances we should not give up or fall into despair.” And the Ukrainians, it is to be noted, did not surrender. In Europe and in the west of Ukraine there appeared Ukrainian political unions of national orientation. In 1924 in Czechoslovakia, Yevhen Konovalets the Group of Ukrainian National Youth (GUNY) was founded, and the following year, in 1925, also in Czechoslovakia the League of Ukrainian Nationalists (LUN) was found, whereas in 1926 in Galicia there appeared the Union of Ukrainian Nationalist Youth (UUNY). All those organizations closely collaborated with the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO) that had existed in Galicia and Volyn since 1920. The unification of all those organizations into a single powerful one began with holding two conferences. The first of them took place in Berlin in 1927. The second was held in Prague in 1928. At the Berlin conference a coordination centre entitled Ukrainian Nationalists’ Provid (PUN) headed by Ye. Konovalets was set up. A year later they decided to separate the PUN from other Ukrainian political parties and hold the Congress of Ukrainian Nation- alists (CUN) in Vienna. The Congress was opened on January 28, and lasted till February 3, 1929. Thirty representatives of the abovementioned organizations (UMO, GUNY, UUNY and LUN) took part in the Congress. Meetings of special committees enabled to define the principles of the program documents for the new organization named the Organization of OUN Emblem Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). At the plenary meeting

140 of February 2, 1929 the preliminary results of the Organization committees’ work were announced, the Congress decisions and the Organization Statute were adopted and on February 3, and the OUN executive bodies were elected. Ye. Konovalets was unanimously voted for as the OUN Head. D. Demchuk, M. Kapustianskyi, M. Stsiborskyi, V. Martynets, P. Kozhevnykiv, D. Andriievskyi, Yu. Vassiian, Ya. Moralevych and L. Kostariv were also elected as members of the PUN. Ya. Dub became the Judge-in-Chief. It should be noted that the OUN foundation was a final step in uniting Ukrainian nationalist organizations into one underground liberation power. As a result, the newly formed political organization differed from the rest of Ukrainian parties and organizations. The OUN declared the priority of common national interests over private, party and class ones. Its ideology denied foreign policy orientation on the historic enemies of Ukraine, including Russia, Poland, Romania and Hungary. Instead, the OUN supported the idea of creating a Ukrainian Independent Sovereign State (UISS). The building of that state was to be finalized by the complete expulsion of all the invaders from Ukrainian lands. Proceeding from the objective of establishing the Ukrainian state, the OUN called for the struggle against the occupying regimes and preparation for national liberation revolution on all Ukrainian lands.

The First Congress of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in Vienna, 1929

141 THE ACT DECLARING THE INDEPENDENCE OF CARPATHIAN UKRAINE

After the end of World War I and the collapse of Austro-Hungary, Trans- carpathia appeared within the state of Czechoslovakia. According to the treaty signed in Saint-Germain on September 10, 1919, Czechoslovakia was to give autonomy to Ukrainian lands. However, it was in no hurry to do so, explaining that the territory was not ready for self-government. In the late 1930s the world was moving towards the horrors of World War II. In con- nection with that the balance of power in Eu- rope was changed and Munich treaty made the government of Czechoslovakia reform the country transforming it into a federation. Transcarpathia looked forward to the opportunity of acquiring the autonomy. In October 1938 A. Brodiy, the leader of the Ruthenian movement, was allowed to form autonomous administration. Some representatives of the so called people’s movement were included Avhustyn Voloshyn in it. Soon afterwards A. Voloshyn, the leader of the movement, was to form the administration. In spite of the evident progress, the administration of the Carpathian Ruthenia, former Transcarpathia, was in a difficult position. A. Brodiy was accused of collaboration with Hungarian intelligence service and arrested. Nevertheless, the Carpathian Ruthenia government began active state building. Having insufficient support of the population, they started to cooperate with the OUN and to create their own army — the Or- ganization of the People’s Defence “Carpathian Sich” (OPDCS). In its turn the attempt to create their troops caused a conflict with Czechoslova- kian authorities. Combatting began during the night March 13 to 14, 1939 when Czechoslova- kian army defeated OPDCS detachments that tried to take some ammunition warehouses. The events developed quickly. On March 14, 1939, the 40 thousand corps of Hungarian The Emblem troops invaded the territory of the Carpathian

142 Ruthenia. The Czechoslovakian army was ordered to retreat without any combat by the order from Prague. In those difficult conditions the Carpath- ian Sich detachments that included about 2,000 soldiers remained facing strong and well-armed enemy. But, as further events demonstrated, the resistance of the Ukrainians considerably impeded the Hungarian army offensive. The decisive battle was near the town of Khust. Against the background of those fateful events, on March 15, 1939 the Congress of the Carpathian Ukraine was assembled. It declared the independence of the territory from Czechoslovakia. The Act of the Carpathian Ukraine independence ran, 1) The Carpathian Ukraine is an independent state. 2) The name of the state is the Carpathian Ukraine. 3) The Carpathian Ukraine is a republic headed by the President elected by the Carpathian Ukraine Congress. 4) The Carpathian Ukraine state language is Ukrainian. 5) The colors of the Carpathian Ukraine flag are blue and yellow. A. Voloshyn was elected the first President. However, the new state could not exist even for a short period of time though it was supported by the OUN. On March 18, 1939 the state territory was occupied by the Hungarian army and the government had to migrate to Romania. Indi- vidual OPDCS detachments opposed the invaders till late April but could not stop the aggression. In any case, the establishment of the Carpathian Ukraine showed the aspiration of the Ukrainian people to found their own state.

Czech postal stamp Announcements in Harbin newspaper for Carpathian Ukraine, Far East on the establishment 1939 of Carpathian Ukraine, 1938

143 OLEKSANDR DOVZHENKO: THE WORLD CINEMA GENIUS

A real artist whose creativity impressed even Charlie Chaplin, Olek- sandr Dovzhenko was born on August 29, 1894 in Chernihiv region. The future cinema scriptwriter’s family was not rich — though Oleksandr’s parents owned their own lands, they were not fertile and could not give much profit. In 1911 O. Dovzhenko finished school and entered Hlukhiv Teacher’s Institute from which he graduated in 1914 and was appointed a teacher in Zhytomyr. When the Art Academy was opened in Kyiv, he entered it. In 1917 Ukraine was embraced by revolutionary events followed by the Civil War. At that time O. Dovzhenko joined the ranks of the Third Serdiuk regiment of the UPR army and even participated in cracking down Communist strikes at Oleksandr Dovzhenko the ‘Arsenal’ factory for which he was arrested later. In 1920 O. Dovzhenko joined the communist party. Though the step was ambiguous, one should understand that in the realities of the time he was forced to do that, being a former ‘Petliura’ soldier, who wished to go on living and working in Ukraine. In 1921 Dovzhenko was sent abroad on a diplomatic mission. In 1922—1923 he lived in Berlin and took the post of the secretary of Ukrainian SSR General Consulate in Germany. In 1923 Dovzhenko came back to his motherland. Since then he worked as an artist illustrator in Kharkiv newspaper The VUTsVK (All-Ukrainian Cen- tral Executive Committee) News. It was then that O. Dovzhenko got interested in cinematography. He was in close touch with the film-oriented literary association Hart that embraced such outstanding literary figures as Volodymyr Sosiura, Mykola Tarnovskyi, Pavlo Tychyna and Mykola Khvylovyi. O. Dovzhenko finally made his choice in 1925, when he became a trainee in the campaign film “Red Army.” In his creative career O. Dovzhenko directed 14 feature films and documentaries as well as wrote 15 literary scripts and cinema stories, two plays and autobiographic story “The Enchanted Desna.”

144 Master’s heritage includes over 20 short stories and novelettes, a number of publicist articles and theoretical works on cinema art. His cinema poems “Zvenygora” and “Arsenal” and cinema story “The Land” were recognized as world cinema masterpieces by world cinema critics. Quite a productive period in the writer’s activities was World War II. In 1942—1943 he created 18 articles, 10 short stories, a play and a cinema story. Witnessing the events at the front, O. Dovzhenko began working at the cinema story “Ukraine in Flames.” That film was to become a turning point in O. Dovzhenko’s creativity. He wanted to tell the truth about Ukraine burning in the war flame. That work was to be quite different from pathetic films with which the Communist authorities used to depict their “victories’. It was just common truth of life, which Stalin did not like, and it was prohibited to release the story or di- rect a film based on the script. The great cinema script writer, director and artist died on Novem- ber 25, 1956 in Moscow. At Vsesvit (Universe) magazine editor’s office (from left to right): Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Kost’ Hordienko, Mykola Khvylovyi. Kharkiv, 1925

O. Dovzhenko at the film shooting site, 1932

145 THE URA VICTORY OVER THE GERMAN ARMY NEAR KOSTOPOL

The unity of the OUN with Hitler Germany did not last long. When in June, 1941 the attempt to revive the Ukrainian State failed, the OUN went underground and started preparing for the armed opposition. Soon the first detachments of the newly created Ukrainian Rebellion Army (URA) made themselves known on the territory of Volyn. In February, 1943 the URA actions embraced Rivne region, in early March the rebellion movement also spread to Zhytomyr region. The attacks on German army communications, social facilities and warehouses became systematic. The occupation army commandment treated the new threats seriously. They sent numerous reports of the officers about the rebels’ activities to the Reichkommissariat “Ukraine” in Rivne. Near Kostopol the Germans noticed the detachment comprising about 1,000 people. The German reconnaissance reported, “From the intercepted secret orders it became clear that the forces are concentrating for the coup. The OUN central authorities order all propaganda refer- ents to begin a new campaign. Anti-Bolshevik slogans that have been used earlier are now forgot- ten. The reliable sources inform that the URA has about 15,000 rifles, 45,000 hand grenades and 1,550 revolvers —” The victorious battle of the URA against German troops took place on March 28, 1943, near Kostopol. On the eve of that the Leaflet “What do Ukrainian rebels German commanders organized the offensive fightonto for?” the territory occupied by “Shavuly” URA detachment. The German troops were relocated from Rivne and settlements of Kosto- pol, Mezhyrichchia and Berezne. The total number of the punitive corps was about 1,500 soldiers and officers. The Germans included infantry detachments, artillery and numerous mortars. Even by the most optimistic estimates, the rebels were thrice less in the number of soldiers and had practically no heavy weaponry. However, the Ukrainians were not going to give up. The “Shavuly” detachment was supported by the URA “Skyrdy”

146 hundred that was the first to start the combat. The rebels were headed by A. Rudyk, A. Dovgalets, S. Gunko. The German troops began their attack on the URA positions with a powerful artillery preparation. However, as it became known later, the rebels had dug trenches securely and the enemy shells did not cause much damage. Thus, the next attack of the German infantry was met by the dense rifle fire. Having experienced great losses, the Germans retreated. At that time, the URA commanders organized a counteroffensive intending to destroy the enemy artillery and mortars. The attack on the cannon battery was not a success but they managed to destroy the mortars. Later the Germans tried to storm the Ukrainian positions three more times but in vain. As a result, the German commanders decided to retreat. About 70 dead German soldiers were left on the battlefield. 20 people were wounded and 9 went missing. The battle near Kostopol was a little tactical victory but its significance should by no means be diminished. The URA, which was being developed, felt its power and ability to oppose the enemy.

147 YALTA CONFERENCE. UKRAINE AS A UNO FOUNDER IN 1945

In early 1945 it became clear that the Hitler Germany collapse was inevitable. The landing of allied forces in Normandy and the break of Hitler coalition had to result in the Nazi defeat in World War II. Alongside with that there started activities to create an organization that would aim at preventing global conflicts in future. The conference on the issue was to be held in Yalta. In spite of the fact that Ukraine was one of the Union Republics within the USSR at the time of founding the United Nations Organization in 1945, it became one of its founders. In Sep- tember 1944 preliminary talks were held between the USSR, the USA and the UK leading to the issue of the “A Proposal UNO Flag for the Structure of the World Organiza- tion” that later served as the basis for the UNO Charter. At the Yalta conference in February, 1945, the Russian delegation made a proposal to invite several Soviet republics to the UNO conference as its founders. Though the allies were opposed to that as they did not want to give more than one vote to the USSR in the organization, all parties eventually agreed to recognize Ukraine and Belorussia as founders. Finally, the foundation UNO conference was scheduled for April 25, 1945 in San- Francisco. The Ukrainian government carefully prepared for the conference. A memorandum was written in which there was a comprehensive description of the historical and cultural development of Ukrainian lands and the legal right of Ukraine as one of the states that had suffered most from the Nazi aggression to take part in creating the UNO was proved. The Russian delegation raised the issue of including Ukraine and Belorussia to be discussed by the states-founders during the first days of the conference. This demand was satisfied and on May 6, 1945, a Ukrainian delegation headed by D. Manuilskyi arrived in the USA. D. Manuilskyi was to head the conference committee where the aims and principles of the UNO Charter were formulated. On the initiative of Ukraine several important provisions were included in the Charter, namely the provisions on facilitating international cooperation and observing personal rights and freedoms irrespective of race, gender, language and religion.

148 Group photo of the conference participants: W. Churchill, F. D. Roosevelt

On June 25, 1945, the conferenceand J. Stalin plenary meeting approved of the UNO Charter. Together with that the International Court Statute and the Treaty on preparatory committee were approved. The next day those documents were signed. Two months later, on August 22, 1945 the Presidium of the UkrSSR Verkhovna Rada ratified the UNO Charter. Since the day of its foundation and up to the day of declaring Ukrainian independence, the UNO was the only stage where the international society received information on the Ukrainian people history and culture. Ukrainian representatives have been several times elected to high posts in the Organization various bodies. A principally new stage of Ukrainian participation in the UNO began on August 24, 1991 when Ukraine became independent. Then, for the first time during the 45 years of its membership, the delegation from Ukraine could take part in the UNO General Assembly session following only its national interests.

149 UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY STRUGGLE AGAINST THE SOVIET AUTHORITIES

After World War II fronts moved to the west, the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) underground and the rebel army was facing the enemy that was more blood-thirsty than the Third Reich troops. Stalin’s executioners returned and brought with them the atmosphere of terror that reigned over the lands liberated from fascist occupation. However, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (in Ukrainian UPA) fighters were not going to stop their struggle. In summer 1944 the UPA was reinforced with the soldiers of Galicia division that was defeated near Brody. At the time important changes took place in the UPA organization and tactics. Since the summer of 1945 its activities were transferred to Galicia, Bukovyna and Volyn. Most of the UPA political and armed actions were aimed against the Soviet punitive bodies, in particular, against forced mobilization to the Red Army ranks and banning of the Greek- Catholic church. Combat actions were to terminate deportation of civilians, organization of collective farms and confiscation of peasants’ grain stock. In addition to that, the UPA commanders headed by R. Shukhevych worked out the plans of creating the URA-East detachment that was to take combat in the central regions of Ukraine. In 1946 the Kremlin decided to powerfully attack the Ukrainian rebels. Large-scale punitive operations supported by the artillery, tanks and aviation intended to finally do away with the UPA resistance. By February 10,

The front page of The Svoboda newspaper devoted to the rebellions in the Carpathians, 1959

150 1946, following Moscow order, over 585 thousand soldiers, mainly NKVS (People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs), had been relocated to Western Ukraine and it essentially prevailed over the rebel forces. The Communists did not ignore some “dirty” methods, creating the “hawks” battalions of local traitors and fake UPA subdivisions that terrorized local residents. It is known that 156 groups of the kind were organized in Western Ukraine. All those measures led to significant cuts in the rebel ranks and forced R. Shukhevich to partially withdraw the troops from Ukraine and the rest were ordered to go deep underground. In 1947 OUN and UPA were in fact united into one formation that was entitled “OUN-UPA armed underground.” The rebels made raids to the territory of Eastern and Central Ukraine as well as Poland and the Czech Republic with the aim to inform local residents about the Ukrainian nationalists’ struggle for Ukrainian freedom and sovereignty. There were held numerous combat actions aimed at punishing the traitors and those representatives of the authorities whose hands were stained with the Ukrainians’ blood. In spite of the rebels’ mass heroism and self-sacrifice their struggle was doomed. The artificial famine organized by the Communists in 1947, under- mined the material base of underground fighters. Besides, NKVS punitive activities each time inflicted new losses of the OUN-URA. On March 5, 1950, General cornet R. Shukhevych was killed, and on May 23, 1954 V. Kuk, that had substituted for the deceased UPA commander was taken prisoner. For some time, the underground fighters continued their resistance and established contacts with the US and UK intelligence services. However, the expectations for the assistance from the West failed. In autumn 1959 in Munich the OUN leader S. Bandera was killed and that was an especially grave blow. Despite that some underground units continued fighting in Ukraine, and the last partisan, Ilko Oberyshyn agreed to come out of the woods only in 1991 after Ukraine had gained its independence. UPA Campaign poster, 1948

151 CRIMEA JOINING UKRSSR IN 1954

World War II moved away from Crimea in spring 1944. Till that period the peninsula economy had suffered a lot of damage since the frontlines had been there twice. The war consequences in Crimea and other regions of Ukraine, Belorussia and Russia did not differ greatly. They had not managed to achieve the pre-war level of production. However, in Crimea the economic crisis was still worsened due to the Crimean Tatars deportation in 1944. The total number of the people taken away from Crimea was about 300,000. The relocation of the Russians to the Crimea did not bring positive results. The relocated people experienced difficulties adapting to the steppe and mountain terrain. It was still difficult was for them to adapt to specific agrarian culture in Crimea. The Russians saw gardens, vineyards, tobacco planta- tions and even maize for the first time. Before the war Crimea specialized in growing wheat. In 1940 the area under wheat was 447,500 hectares, while in 1950 it was merely a half. The area with industrial crops decreased considerably. Gardening, grape growing and winemaking were all neglected. In reference to that difficult situation there was an issue raised about the immediate measures for reviving the peninsula economy. The most logical thing to do was to transfer the peninsula to the composition of UkrSSR. It was

Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the UkrSSR, 1954

152 Ukraine with great agrarian experience, hard-working people and neighbor- ing the Crimean territory that could promote its development. The fact that farming on neglected steppe land might affect the economy of the UkrSSR itself bothered nobody in Moscow. Therefore, on February 9, 1954, the Pre- sidium of the USSR Supreme Council issued a decree, according to which the Crimean region was transferred to the UkrSSR. The corresponding changes in the status of Crimea and Sevastopol were introduced to the USSR Constitution. The Crimean region was within the UkrSSR till 1991. In 1991, following the referendum results, the Crimean Autonomous Republic was restored and on May 5, 1992 the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted the act “On declaring state independence of the Republic of Crimea.” That and other documents did not correspond with the Constitu- tion of Ukraine and in March 1995 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine revoked the act of the AR Crimea Constitution. It should be noted that the State Duma of the Russian Federation, by its Decree from May 21, 1992 recognized the decree of the Presidium of the RSFSR Supreme Council “On transferring the Crimean region from the RSFSR to UkrSSR” as such as not corresponding to the RSFSR Constitution and having no legal force. Later the Russian authorities’ actions demonstrated their lack of recognition of the fact that Crimea belonged to Ukraine. Mak- ing use of the degree of the Ukrainian powers dependence on Moscow till 2014, Russia conducted the populist policy in reference to the population of Crimea. Russian politicians repeatedly proclaimed their wish to return the peninsula to the Russian Federation. All that as well as the orientation of Ukraine at the integration into Europe, in March, 2014 led to the annexation and occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula by the Russian troops. In spite of such Russian policy, no civilized countries of the world recognized the legal status of Crimea belonging to the RF.

Northen Crimean Canal Trolleybus on an alpine road

153 APPOINTMENT OF UKRAINIAN SERHII KOROLIOV CHIEF SPACE ENGINEER

Serhiy Koroliov, a famous scientist, was born in Zhytomyr region in 1906. His destiny turned out to be quite difficult and tried the strength of the future designer not but once. He experienced wars, revolution and Stalin concentration camps before becoming the head of the Soviet space program. However, despite all the odds, S. Koroliov passed all the tests with honours and glorified his Motherland for many years to come. Certain events preceded Koroliov’s appointment as the principal designer of spaceships and rockets. In 1945, after the war was over, Koroliov was sent to Germany as a member of the group of several scientists to get acquainted with trophy rockets. On coming Serhii Pavlovych back to Moscow in 1946 he was appointed as Koroliov the principal designer of the long-distance ballistic missiles. It was S. Koroliov who generated the idea of intercontinental multi-stage ballistic missile and in August 1957 managed to launch it successfully. Being engaged in designing ballistic missiles, Koroliov did not forget his long-lasting dream of man’s conquest of space. From 1949 he began experimenting with studies of the space parameters, Sun and space rays, the Earth magnetic field as well as the studies of the means of a person’s life support while being in space. On October 4, 1957 the space era in the history of humanity began. That day the first artificial satellite was launched into orbit under S. Koroliov’s supervision. In 1958 S. Koroliov’s design bureau launched a geophysical satellite into space as well as several space modules of the “Electron” series Photo of S. Koroliov after his arrest in 1938 to investigate the earth radiation

154 belts. The next year three more automatic spaceships were launched. In early the 1960s, the first manned spaceship “Vostok” was created under S. Koroliov’s guidance. On April 12, 1961 the scientist managed to launch the first spaceship with a man on board. As it is known, the first cosmonaut was Yu. Gagarin from Russia. The talented scientist’s activities were not over. On August 6, 1961 the second spaceship, “Vostok was launched and its flight lasted a day and night. Eleven Soviet cosmonauts were launched into orbit aboard the spaceships designed by S. Koroliov’s design bureau while the scientist was alive. In addition to Vostok rocket model in Mos- that, on March 18, 1965, during his flight aboard cow at VDNKh expo-hall “Voskhod-2” spaceship, A. Leonov made the first step into the open space. Having conquered that peak, S. Koroliov began to realize the idea of a manned orbital station. Its prototype was a principally new “Soyuz” spaceship. It had a living module where the cosmonauts could stay without spacesuits. Dur- ing the flight it was presupposed that the two “Soyuz” spaceships would be automatically locked and the cosmonauts would transfer from one spaceship to the other. The latter project was implemented after the death of S. Koroliov due to the inappropriate surgery on January 14, 1966. It was thanks to S. Koroliov’s, a Ukrainian, genius that the Soviet Union became the world leader in making rockets in the 1960s. Tests in Nakhabino, 1933. Reactive Researtch Institute,

on the left — S. P. Koroliov, on the right — 155 Yu. О. Pobedonostsev ROBERTO KOZAK: A CHILEAN OSKAR SCHINDLER

Ukrainians have been scattered throughout the world, and many of them have become well-known on the global arena, or even heroes for their new motherlands. However, in Ukraine few people know about them. For example, the family of Roberto Kozak’s father emigrated to Chile at the end of the nineteenth century. His mother, who was also of Ukrainian origin, was born in Buenos Aires. Roberto himself, perhaps, did not speak Ukrainian at all, but his story is of the global significance. From the early age Roberto was good at school and read a lot. After school, which he finished in the late 1950s, he entered the engi- neering faculty of the University of Buenos Aires. Having graduated, he worked by profession for several years before he came across a job advertisement in a newspaper for a post in a migration organization. Finally, he decided to change his life and in 1968 he did retraining and got a job at the Argentinian office of the Inter-governmental Committee for European Migra- tion. Having completed his training Roberto Kozak in Western Europe, Kozak worked at the office of the Organization in Geneva for two years, after which he was appointed to go to Chile. The following year he witnessed a coup, plotted by the supporters of General Augusto Pinochet against the power of the Chilean President Salvador Allende. The Republic of Chile suffered hard times. The military, having seized the power, started repressions. Not only communists and socialists were affected, but also common people, who were not involved in any political games. Over 80 concentration camps were set up in the country, the main being the famous stadium Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago. There prisoners were tortured and executed without charges or trial. Therefore, Roberto Kozak, as a representative of an international human rights organization, got down to work at once. He began visiting the concentration

156 camps, where he would meet the prisoners and would make their lists. It should be noted that it was often only due to Kozak and his colleagues’ efforts that the families of the prisoners could find out about the destiny of their relatives. In fact, during such visits Roberto demonstrated his diplomatic talent — to solve issues he faced Kozak was forced to get on well with officials and officers of Pinochet’s secret police. An important role was played by frequent receptions, organized in Roberto Kozak’s house in the suburb of Santiago. There Chilean generals, secret police and intelligence officers could enjoy real feasts. It was during these banquets that Kozak could personally request to organize or facilitate the conditions for prisoners. And he quite often succeeded. In 1978 Kozak became so famous in Chile that he managed to go to a meeting with Pinochet. According to the US Government calculations, at that time the organization headed by Roberto Kozak took around 600 people from Chile every year. But even this figure is underestimated since the total number of saved people was about 30,000 persons. It was similar to German Oskar Schindler, who during World War II saved some 1,200 Jews from the Nazi, thus Roberto Kozak was called the Chilean Oskar Schindler. The renowned diplomat died on September 4, 2015, and he was buried in Buenos Aires.

157 DYNAMO KYIV WINS 1975 UEFA CUP WINNERS’ CUP

The 1975 football season became the most successful in the history of the Kyiv club Dynamo. Being coached by Valerii Lobanovskyi the Kyivans won not only the USSR championship but also two European cups. In addition, the Kyivan scorer O. Blokhin was awarded the “Golden Ball” for 1975 season. A year before the Kyiv players were still developing but in early 1975 the team’s performance and players’ interchangeability looked perfect. Kyivan defenders could easily play in the attack while the forwards, founding themselves on their own part of the pitch, would ensure reliable defence. Thus, when it was time to show their skills in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup Final, the Dynamo players did not fail. To the final match against the Hungarian Oleg Blokhin Ferencvárosi club in Basel, Switzerland, Dy- namo went not in the best shape. The matter was that a day before the Final they had a game with Yerevan Ararat, during which the Armenian team violated the fair play principle so grossly that O. Basylevych, the team coach, recalled later, “— When the match was over, our team’s changing room turned into a field hospital. Nearly all the players suffered an injury. The doctors put five stitches on O. Blokhin —” In spite of unfavourable conditions the players went onto the pitch and did their best. The Kyivans played almost flawlessly. Since the very first minutes the Hungarians found themselves under the Dynamo attacking pressure. Their goalkeeper, Greci, wearing the captain’s band, had plenty of work to do opposing accurate strikes of L. Buriak, V. Troshkin and V. Muntian. The first goal was scored on the 17th minute after Onishchenko’s kick and Blokhin’s pass. Onishchenko scored the second goal on the 39th minute. It is interesting to know that Onishchenko scored the second goal by ignor- Dynamo ing coaches’ instructions, since those had told him Emblem to pass the ball back to Muntian. The forward later tried to justify his actions by saying that he simply

in 1972—1989 158 had not heard coaches’ instructions. Oleg Blokhin was the third to score a goal between the Hungarians’ goalposts on the 66th minute after Vladimir Muntian’s pass. As UEFA President, Artemio Franchi said while handing out the Cup silver amphora, “I have not seen the finals where one of the teams so convincingly proved their advantage over the rival for a long time. Dynamo is a top international standards club.” At the end of September Dynamo players won another European trophy — they won the UEFA Super Cup in the two matches against Munich Bayern. Though there were six world champions in Bayern — Maier, Beckenbauer, Müller, Rummenigge, Schwarzenbeck, Kapellmann, the Kyivans won both games. At first they won 1:0 in Munich and then confirmed the result winning 2:0 at home. O. Blokhin, who scored all the three goals, especially distinguished himself in the matches against bookmakers’ German favourites. However, one should not underestimate the merits of other players, particularly those of Kolotov, the captain, who showed heroism playing at Olympiastadion with his leg unhealed. Even now, so many years after the event, football fans warmly recall Dynamo’s performance in 1975.

Dynamo (Kyiv) with the 159first European trophies. 1975 UKRAINIAN HELSINKI UNION FOUNDATION

The name of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union (UHU) was given to a civil rights organization founded in Lviv on June 7, 1988. It would be no exaggeration to note that the significance of the event was truly seminal. The UHU was the first mass opposition organization that set the goal of facilitating social and political processes, fought against the Soviet repression mechanism and had its own political program. The UHU establishment was declared rather openly for the time, “The 66-year experience of Ukraine being Emblem of Ukrainian Hel- sinki Union a member of the USSR proves that neither the Ukrainian SSR government that had never been a really sovereign government but just an executive body of the central power nor the Ukrainian Communist Party that had been just a regional depart- ment of the CPSU, could or wished to protect the Ukrainian population from total famine, from barbarian execution of the nation productive forces and intellectual potential, from denationalization of Ukrainians and non-Russian minorities, and from artificial changes in the Ukraine ethnic composition. The Ukrainian Helsinki Union main objectives were as follows, 1) Restoration of Ukrainian state as the guarantee of ensuring all Ukrainian people’s rights. 2) Recognition of people’s or their unions rights to demand a state status as a federation or confederation with other peoples of the USSR or Europe as well demand state sovereignty. 3) The total abolition of Stalin and Brezhnev constitutions, ensuring citizens’ rights and freedoms according to international treaties and agreements, leaving only advisory and coordination bodies on the union level and delegating the full scope of managing economic, political and cultural life to the sovereign republics. 4) Giving up the empire term of the “Soviet people”.

Levko Lukyanenko 160 5) The new constitution of Ukraine is to contain the article on the Ukrainian citizenship that grants the right to elect and be elected to councils and work in the governmental bodies of Ukraine. 6) Introduction of temporary preventive measure against long- term policy of Russification in the form of controlling the right to enter for permanent residence and recep- tion of citizenship. 7) Constitutional recognition of the official state status of the Ukrai- nian language. 8) Guarantees to national minorities to have their national and cultural autonomy. Restoring the Crimean autonomy within Ukraine and organizing the comeback of the Newspaper “Central Rada“ repressed Crimean Tatar people. edition supported by Ukrainian Helsinki — These and other program is- Union, 1990 sues raised by the UHU, were a real breakthrough in the life of the Ukrainian society. The Soviet power saw the foundation of the UHU as a challenge. Leading party bodies, KGB and Ministry of Internal Affairs put their efforts on opposing the Union, using formal and informal warnings, threats, ar- rests, and discrediting and disinformation campaigns in the party press. Owing to these activities, the UHU authority was only increasing, and it enabled national and democratic forces to sweep the election to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in March, 1990 in the city of Kyiv and Western regions of Ukraine.

161 UKRAINIAN “MRIIA“ IN THE SKY

On April 3, 2018, after an 18-month modernization, the aircraft that Ukraine can be justly proud of, took off on a commercial flight to Germany from the Hostomel airport in Kyiv region. We mean the world famous AN-225 “Mriia” airplane, which is the largest and the most powerful aircraft worldwide. The idea of creating a plane with those characteristics appeared at the Antonov design bureau long time ago. АN-225 designing started in 1985. It should be mentioned that it lasted for a record short time — for only three and a half years. Those tight deadlines were met due to the wide unification of “Mriia” units and parts with the units of another Ukrainian cargo transportation aircraft — АN-124 “Ruslan” that made its first take off in Kyiv on December 24, 1982. The general designer of the unique plane was P. Balabuyev. The leading designer was A. Vovnianko. The aim of creating AN-225 was to get a plane for the needs of the space program. To be more specific, they needed the means to transport new “Buran” spaceship Petro Balabuyev shuttles as well as the parts of the “Energy” rocket system, which were used by the Soviet Union to try and prove to the USA its ability to reach the American level in rocket and space technologies. The experimental sample of AN-225 “Mriia” first took off on December 21, 1988. And in March, 1989 during the flight with the maximum take-off weight of over 500 tons the Ukrainian pilots immediately set 106 world records for that class of aircraft. “Mriia” operations began on May 13,

An-225 “Mriya,“ 2002

162 An-225 with Buran in the air 1989 when AN-225 transported space shuttle “Buran” from the town of Zhukovskyi in Moscow region to Baikonur spaceship airdrome. А month later, the aircraft and shuttle tandem was shown at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget where it caused well-worthy approval of specialist and common spectators. But the “Mriia” epic just began. In September, 1990, AN-225 was demonstrated at air show in Farnborough, England, and in 1991 — again at Le Bourget. In August, 1993 AN-225 “Mriia” arrived at MAKS-93 air show in Moscow with the Ukrainian flag on its tail and UR-82060 number aboard. AN-225 “Mriia” technical specifications are of interest as well. The weight of the empty aircraft is 250 tons while the maximum take-off weight reaches 640 tons. During the flight the aircraft needs about 18 tons of fuel per hour. In addition, today “Mriia” is the only cargo airplane that has 6 jet engines at once. All other planes have no more than 4 engines, giant Boeing-747 Freighter included. Besides the widely advertised Ukrainian giant, there exists another AN-225 plane. Around 70% of the works have been done for its construction. It has been kept in the hangar and a sum of some 90 million dollars is required to complete it. However, the feasibility of building the second “Mriia” is still being studied. The main reason is the fact that the aircraft currently in operation is not too loaded with flights. Therefore, it is not worth expecting the creation of similar aircraft in other countries since designing and making them cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

163 DECLARATION OF UKRAINIAN INDEPENDENCE

The early 1990s brought the changes that Ukraine had long expected. The USSR was shaking and Moscow at last lost the possibility to manage union republics. In August, 1991, the State Committee for the State of Emergency created some more factors for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Immediately after the coup the Ukrainian SSR Verkhovna Rada was assembled at the extraordinary session scheduled for August, 24. Then, as in any critical period, events developed rapidly. On August 24, 1991, the Ukrainian SSR Verkhovna Rada voted for the Act of Declaration of the Independence of Ukraine. It is interesting to know that out of 450 deputies 346 voted for the independence whereas the Communist majority, demoralized with the failure of the coup in Moscow, did not openly oppose the decision. Besides, some communists consciously supported the Act. Thus, a new sovereign democratic state under the name of Ukraine appeared on the world map. To support that historical act by people it was decided to hold an All-Ukrainian referendum on December 1, 1991. It should be noted that the coup defeat was a failure for communists. The Communist Party started collapsing and thousands of its members began leaving its ranks. A large group of the Ukrainian SSR Verkhovna

A meeting in the square in front of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Kyiv, August 24, 1991 (Central State cinema-photograph archive of Ukraine)

164 Rada deputies headed by L. Krav- chuk applied for leaving the CPSU. On August 31, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the decree on the temporary suspension of the activities of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Soon the first Presidential election campaign in the history of Inde- pendent Ukraine began. Altogeth- er 95 candidates were nominated for the post. However, only seven of them managed to collect the required 100,000 signatures for the official registration by the election committee. The candidates for the Presidential office were: L. Krav- chuk, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada, V. Chornovil, head of Lviv regional council, L. Lukianenko, head of the Ukrainian Republican Newspaper “Voice of Ukraine“ (Holos Party, V. Griniov, deputy head of text of the resolution and the Declaration the Verkhovna Rada, Academician Ukrainy)of Ukrainian № 165 of Independence27.08.1991 with the I. Yukhnovskyi, head of the Narodna Rada in the parliament of Ukraine, L. Taburianskyi, head of the Ukrainian People’s Party, A. Tkachenko, Minister of Agriculture. On December 1, 1991 the presidential election was held in Inde- pendent Ukraine. About 32,000,000 voters came to the polling stations. 90.3 % of them voted for approving of the Act on Independence. Thus, the overwhelming majority of Ukrainian people expressed their support of building the sovereign Ukrainian state. L. Kravchuk won the election with 62% votes of the voters. V. Chornovil, supported by the west of Ukraine, gained 23.3% of the votes and came the second. On December 5, L. Kravchuk took an oath to the people of Ukraine at the official meeting of the Verkhovna Rada. On the same day, I. Pliusch was elected Head of the Verkhovna Rada. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine made a statement “To the parliaments and peoples of the world,” in which it declared the 1922 agreement on the establishment of the USSR invalid on the territory of Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada address ran that Ukraine was building a democratic state with the rule of law aimed at ensuring people’s rights and freedoms.

165 VIACHESLAV CHORNOVIL AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT OF UKRAINE

People’s Movement of Ukraine appeared as a political party in De- cember 1993, and the first head of the party was its creator and inspirer Viacheslav Chornovil. However, the actual foundation of the new political power had taken place earlier. The work on the establishment of the People’s Movement of Ukraine started in October 1988. It was then that at the seminar of the Ukrainian Writers’ Union there appeared an idea to create the People’s Front of Ukraine similarly to other organizations, which had been founded in the Baltics and other Soviet Republics. Soon the initiative group was formed to promote the new organization. at the same time a related group was also formed at the Shevchenko Institute of Literature, and afterwards at the party assembly at this Institute it was decided to unite both Viacheslav Chornovil groups and create the People’s Front of Ukraine. Later the agreement was reached that the new public association would be called the People’s Movement of Ukraine. The date of birth of the People’s Movement of Ukraine is considered the 9th September, 1989, when the organizational meeting of the People’s Movement of Ukraine for changes adopted the charter and programme. The primary registration of the public political organization dates back to February 9, 1990. After gaining its independence Ukrainian most patriotic political forces faced new challenges. That At the meeting, 1990 was the time to build our own

166 country based on the principles of national interests, and still oppose the political parties, which had pro-Moscow policy and called for the imperial revenge. At that time the founders of the organization, which included, in addition to V. Chornovil, І. Drach, D. Pavlychko and М. Horyn, passed the decision to transform the People’s Movement of Ukraine into a political party, which was announced in December 1993 at the 5th meeting of the People’s Movement of Ukraine. At the presidential elections in 1994 the People’s Movement of Ukraine decided not to nominate its own candidate. However, the party participated in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections, receiving 5.9 % of deputies votes. And already at the 7th Ukrainian national meeting of the People’s Move- ment of Ukraine, held in Kyiv in October 1997, the party announced its preparation for the parliamentary elections of 1998. That time, following the results of the Verkhovna Rada elections the party received 9.4% votes. Over all that period Viacheslav Chornovil stayed the ideological inspirer of the People’s Movement of Ukraine. However, in January 1999 some key persons of the party headed by Yu. Kostenko openly acted against Chor- novil, and the People’s Movement of Ukraine experienced the divide. On February 28, 1999, the party opposition organized its own non-chartered meeting, calling it the tenth meeting, and proclaimed Yu. Kostenko the head of the People’s Movement of Ukraine. Despite that, the meeting that was held later, confirmed the powers of V. Chornovil. Against the background of the political fights V. Chornovil decided to nominate for the coming presidential elections in Ukraine. However, he was not to participate in those elections. The tragic end of the life of the creator of the People’s Movement of Ukraine. Chornovil was on March 25, 1999, when he got into a car accident on the Zolotonosha — Boryspil motorway.

V. Chornovil was buried at Baikove cemetery in Kyiv. Meeting of People’s Movement of Ukraine to honour the National Flag on the Kyiv City

1990 Council, July 24, 167 FIRST OLYMPIC GOLDEN MEDAL OF INDEPENDENT UKRAINE WON BY OKSANA BAIUL

Winter Olympic Games in the Norwegian town of Lillehammer were the first events of that level in the history of independent Ukraine. It was there that out country showed off. The Olympic golden medal was won by figure skater Oksana Baiul. The ceremony of the Games opening was without Oksana’s participation. The reason was that the future Olympic champion in 1994 was a small girl. Therefore, her coach H. Zmievska did not let her athlete to the ceremony as Oksana just did not have warm trousers and the risk of catching a cold. Oksana’s performance was not to be all roses. At that time the undoubted Games of 1994 favourites of the competition were Americans Т. Hard- Logo of the Olympic ing and N. Kerrigan. The intrigue was in the opposition between these girls. And the opposition was heated by the fact that several weeks before the Olym- pics a criminal hired by Harding had mugged Kerrigan and injured her leg with a metal stick. Only due to the wonderful American doctors the latter managed to re- cover before the Olympic Games. Harding, in turn, managed to participate in the Games due to the wonderful American lawyers. At the Games Oksana Baiul performed one of the best short programmes in the history of figure skating. The first part of her performance was lyrical, decorated with a combination of spiral etudes. Instead, the second part became emotional and even bois- terous. As a result, after the short programme Oksana came second, Oksana Baiul at the Olympic Games while the first place was held by of 1994 N. Kerrigan.

168 And the next day the Ukrainian athlete suffered a very unpleasant incident, which generally questioned her further participation at the Games. During the training session Bayul collided with the German figure skater Tania Shevchenko. The trauma turned out to be rather serious — Shevchenko’s skate got three centimetres deep into Oksana’s leg. She had a pain chock and even could not stand up at once. In addition, when falling she badly hurt her lower spine. Another German athlete К. Witt pulled Oksana to the wall, where the doctor provided her with first aid. Ukraine has always won under adverse conditions. Oksana Baiul after the failing training session had stiches, and two days later, she, with pain killers, appeared for the final free programme. Oksana confidently performed all elements and was going to finalize her programme with a triple fly element, when she heard her coaches’ voices. Halyna Zmievska and Viktor Petrenko, feeling that Oksana was still yielding to the American, cried, “You need a combination!” And that was quite a fair prompt. The Olympic golden medal is not an ordinary thing and it requires extraordinary actions. But Oksana Baiul managed to do that. 15 se Postage stamp of Ukraine, conds before the end of her performance she 1995, of the value changed the programme and with the last of 50,000 karbovanets notes performed a number of complicated to honour Oksana Baiul elements. They included a double axel and a double toe loop. Our out of nine judges gave the vote for N. Kerrigan while four more — voted for Oksana Baiul. Everything was settled by the German judge, the former World champion Jan Hoffmann, who gave Oksana the highest marks for presentation (artistry) and thus brought her to the first place. Ukraine was awarded the first Olympic golden medal.

169 UKRAINE JOINS THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE (1995)

On November 9, 1995 Ukraine gained the status of the member state in the Council of Europe (CE). That event meant primarily an obligation to comply with the regulations and rules defined in the documents of the Council of Europe. Currently these law instruments form the legal field that determines the standards in protecting people’s rights and ensures Emblem of the Council of the rule of law. It should be mentioned that the Europe procedure of our country joining the Council of Europe was initiated in the first year of Ukraine existence as a sovereign state — Ukraine applied for joining the organization on July 14, 1992. And on September 16, Ukrainian Parliament delegates were given the status of being “specially invited” to the CE Parliamentary Assembly. On July 27, 1995, Ukraine addressed the Council of Europe with a letter signed by L. Kuchma, President of Ukraine. It emphasized that “the constitutional, legal and economic reforms implemented in Ukraine are aimed at building a state system that would fully meet European standards, ensure human rights and freedoms, in particular, observe the provisions of the European Convention on Human rights.” At the same time the governmental commission for Ukraine joining the Council of Europe prepared the answers to the Parliamentary Assembly questionnaire, which served the basis for setting Ukraine obligations to be undertaken when joining the Organization. September 11, 1997 was an important date for Ukraine. That day the Сhargé d’affaires of Ukraine to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg submitted the document on ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights by Ukraine to the General Secretary. A separate issue among the obligations of Ukraine was abolition of the death penalty. It should be admitted that it was due to the constant CE pressure, executions of criminals were cancelled in Ukraine. However, the issue of death penalty abolition was not fully settled and remained outstanding in the relations between the CE and Ukraine for a certain period of time. Only in June, 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly considered and approved of Ukraine’s performance of its obligations. Prior to that event, the Verkhovna Rada had adopted the law on the system of justice. As a result, the CE general assessment sounded as “achieving certain progress on the way of performing the obligations taken by Ukraine.”

170 It should be noted that the abolition of death penalty in Ukraine is not the only the positive consequence of the cooperation with the CE. Along with the obligations, the Council of Europe offers facilitating programs including expert, information and financial support to its new members. All these steps considerably improved the position of Ukraine on the international arena. Gradually, the scrupulous everyday activities in the Council of Europe Parliamentary As- NBU commemorative coin sembly prove that Ukraine has been on the dedicated to 60-year anniver- way of integration into Europe and observes sary of the Council of Europe European democratic values. In its turn, that (reverse) enabled to increase the flow of tourists from the EU to Ukraine, intensify economic cooperation and the work of legal institutions.

The plenary meeting room at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg

171 THE LAUNCH OF HRYVNIA AS UKRAINIAN NATIONAL CURRENCY IN 1996

The USSR collapse in 1991 and gaining the state sovereignty by Ukraine triggered adverse processes in our country’s economy. Hyperinflation started. Though the introduction of the new currency — hryvnia — was planned from 1991, it was decided first to use a temporary currency. Ukrainian karbovantsy or coupons were to experience the whole inflation burden that was inevitable during the transition to the market economy. It was first expected that the coupons would exist for up to 6 months, but it became possible to cancel them only 5 years later. In 1992 the highest denomination was a note of 100 Symbol karbovantsy while in 1995 there appeared a note with de- of modern nomination of 1,000,000. It was due to those dramatic leaps hryvnia of prices that hryvnia was not launched for a long time. Thus, hryvnia waited for 4 years. During all that period new notes with denomination from 1 to 200 hryvnias were stored in the NBU repositories. It is to be noted that the new currency fundamentally differed from the old Soviet money. There no banknotes of 3 and 25 karbov- antsi any longer. At first it was planned to introduce these units and even their samples were made. But later they were replaced with the banknotes of 2 and 20 hryvnias. There disappeared communist leader’s images and Moscow landscapes. Instead, there appeared such historic figures as Volodymyr the Great, Yaroslav the Wise, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Ivan Mazepa, Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Taras Shevchenko and Lesia Ukrainka.

500,000 karbovantsy of Ukraine, 1994

172 Afterwards, there appeared a banknote of 500 hryvnias with the portrait of Hrygoryi Skovo- roda. On the reverse side of the new Ukrainian currency there were pictures of Ukrainian sights, well-known architectural buildings etc. It was initially planned to name small change coins as “sotyi” or “resana,” but finally it was decided to preserve the name of “kopeck.” At first the pieces were coined at the Luhansk machine-building plant and partially at the Mint of Italy. The coins were made of stainless steel, aluminium A banknote of 20 hryvnias, or brass and were nominated dedicated to 160 years of Ivan Franko’s birth, as 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 kopecks as 2016 well as 1 and 2 hryvnias. In spite of the fact that at the time of introducing hryvnias into circu- lation, in September, 1996, the hyperinflation was over, the time for the reform turned out to be unfavourable. The launch of the new currency was not supported with other measures in tax and budget areas. The fact that half of the whole monetary mass concentrated in the shade economy during the next years proves that. A significant predominance of foreign currency purchases by its population over its sales did not strengthen the national currency either. While it was possible to keep the hryvnia exchange rate for two initial years, the situation worsened in 1998. Along with the essential growth of the public debt and respective interest payments, as well as due to the inefficient use of budget funds and the reduction of NBU currency reserves, the financial standing of Ukrainian enterprises worsened. Consequently, it led to gradual devaluation of hryvnia, and late in 1998 the exchange rate of dollar to hryvnia increased by two and a half times. Afterwards, the national currency value has suffered drops in value several times. Despite that, the Ukrainian hryvnia, somewhat updated, is still a part of our public life.

173 KLITSCHKO BROTHERS — THE STRONGEST BOXING FAMILY IN THE WORLD

1996 was rich in landmark events or Ukraine. One of them was definitely the beginning of the professional boxing career of Vitalii and Volodymyr Klitschko — the family that has made a bright contribution in the global sports chronicles and glorified Ukraine with dozens of fights on the ring. Before Klitschko brothers’ appearance in professional boxing, super heavyweight category had long been dominated by dark-skinned sportsmen. The whole world, sitting at the edge of their seats, watched Moham-

Klitschko brothers: Volodymyr (on the left) and Vitalii (on the right)

174 med Ali in the 1970s and enjoyed Mike Tyson’s victories in the 1980s and early 1990s. The world celebrated the winning blow by Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Against the background of these professional ring stars young Ukrainian boxers looked rather mean and many could not imagine Vitaliy and Volodymyr at the same level with the champions. However, time put everything in their places. The common professional debut of the boxers was on November 16, 1996, in Hamburg. Then brother knocked out their opponents. Though the first victories on the ring for Klitschko brothers were gained against the so called punching bags, that did not diminish their level in any way. Profes- sional boxing has its own rules and strategy. The anthem of Ukraine and the yellow-blue flag above Klitschko brothers’ heads after another victory were the things that almost every Ukrainian was proud of. However, rating fights passed fast. The first among Klitschko brothers world champion was Vitalii. That happened in 1999 after the victory over the British Herbie Hide. Volodymyr was behind his elder brother by one year only. In October 2000 he became WBO world champion after the victory over American Chris Byrd. Those were the dates from which it is worth starting the epoch of full domination of Vitalii and Volodymyr on the professional ring. Then the boxing family began their glorious path aiming to collect both all championship belts in their weight category. Though there were bitter losses, Vitaliy and Volodymyr proved that they were worth the highest titles. In total Vitalii had 37 fights on the professional ring, out of which 35 were victorious. As early as in 1999 the elder brother was marked in the Guin- ness Book as the first world champion, who won 26 fights by knockouts in the minimum number of rounds. Volodymyr Klitschko did not lag behind, winning all champion belts, one after another. In 2006 he defeated Chris Byrd, winning the title in IBF and IBO, and in November 2007 he added the earlier lost WBO to them. In 2009, after the victory over Uzbek boxer Ruslan Chagayev, Volodymyr completed his trophies with the champion belt under IBC. The only missing belt, the WBA one, was won by Volodymyr after defeating David Haye on July 2, 2011. After finishing his boxing career, Vitalii Klitschko decided to do politics, establishing Udar (Blow) party, which during the Revolution of Dignity became one of the main forces, opposing Yanukovych’s regime. Volodymyr Klitschko announced his termination of the sports career on August 3, 2017 and he is preparing for new achievements in a new area, where, according to Volodymyr, he has already been working for several years.

175 ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE (1996)

For any country the Constitution is the main law that establishes the foundations of the state system and the life of society. Having become an independent state in 1991, Ukraine needed its own constitution and the political élite of our country put their efforts to adopt it. After the declaration of independence the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR was in force for a while as it was determined by the transition period. The constitutional process in Ukraine actually started earlier, with the adoption of the Declaration of state sovereignty of Ukraine on July 16, 1990. The document Ukrainian postal stamp, provided for the establishment of the new devoted to the adoption Constitution. It was at that time that the con- of the Constitution stitutional committee and the correspondent working group were set up. They prepared the Constitution concept that was approved by the Verkhovna Rada. The declaration of independence and the referendum of December 1, 1991, sped the process up. In 1992 the working group prepared the Draft Constitution that in July of the same year was tabled for a open public discussion. The revised Draft was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada in May 1992 and, after some more corrections, again in October, 1993. Owing to different reasons, all those drafts did not become the main law of Ukraine. The first stage of the constitutional process failed. Life demanded immediate solution of the problems of state building and social order. As a result there emerged the idea of the so called “Small Constitution of Ukraine.” That intention was implemented in the Bill on state power and local self-government in Ukraine. However, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed the bill again. That entailed a legal collision between the President of Ukraine and the legislative and executive branches of power. To resolve the conflict, on June 8, 1995 the Constitutional treaty between the Verkhovna Rada and the President of Ukraine “On the fundamentals of organizing and functioning of the state power and local self-government in Ukraine for the period till the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine” was passed. Finally, on March 11, 1996 the constitutional committee approved of the draft Constitution and it was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. On April 24, the draft was approved in the first reading. Soon, on May 5, 1996 a pro- visionary Constitution revision committee was organized and it included representatives of all deputy factions and groups in the Verkhovna Rada.

176 The scrupulous work on discussing the revised draft Constitution began. However, political discussions impeded effective work for a long time. The Verkhovna Rada could not pass a single article of the Constitution till June 26, 1996. Considering the delay in the constitutional process unacceptable, the President of Ukraine issued a Decree, under which he scheduled the national Ukrainian referendum on the issue of adopting the new Constitution for Sep- tember, 1996. After that, on June 27, the Verkhovna Rada resumed considering the new Constitution. A number of working groups were set up on the debat- able issues — regarding property issues, national symbols, power organization Newspaper “Voice of Ukraine“ (Holos Ukrainy) informs etc. In the evening the plenary meeting of adopting the Constitution continued and lasted all night. On June of Ukraine 28, 1996, the new Constitution of Ukraine was adopted.

The Constitution of Ukraine with deputies’ dedicatory inscriptions. From the holdings of the Central State Archive

177 LEONID KADENIUK — THE FIRST COSMONAUT IN INDEPENDENT UKRAINE

Leonid Kadeniuk who was to become the first cosmonaut in the history of independent Ukraine, was born on January 28, 1951 in the settlement of Klishkivtsy, Khotyn district in Chernivtsi region. Since childhood he dreamed of becoming a cosmonaut. In fact, a lot of young Ukrainians were dreaming about that at the time, since Kadeniuk’s childhood coincided with the period when Soviet people admired Yu. Gagarin and his flight into space. In contrast to those who just dreamed, Leonid worked on making his dream come true. After finishing high school with a silver medal, Kadeniuk passed the entrance exams to Chernihiv Higher Mili- tary Aviation School. There he was awarded with the diploma of a pilot engineer and in 1976 he decided to try and apply Leonid Kadeniuk. for the selection to the cosmonauts’ team. AfterBefore long-lasting the flight physical into space and psychological trainings Leonid, together with eight other candidates, was shortlisted out of several thousands of applicants. Having fulfilled the first part of his dream, Leonid Kadeniuk was trained and qualified as a test pilot and cosmonaut. In 1985 Kadeniuk entered Moscow State Aviation Institute and graduated from it as a “technical engineer.” Unfortunately, at that stage Leonid Kadeniuk’s space dream did not come true. The USSR was approaching to its the collapse and a range of space programs were closed. The number of rocket launches diminished, funding was cut down. The situation did not improve immediately after the declaration of Ukrainian independence. Only in 1997 Leonid Kostiantynovych Kadeniuk could at last make his dream come true. From November 19 till December 5 he made a flight as the prime payload specialist aboard the American Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-87 mission. “In the space you are most impressed by the factor of weightlessness,” Leonid Kadenyuk recalled later. “The space itself and the whole Universe are impressive. I was indeed impressed by the look of the Earth from the space. It was incredible. No photo can render the beauty of the Universe that a person can see with his own eyes.”

178 It was thanks to Leonid Kadeni- uk the state anthem of Ukraine was heard on the Earth orbit for the first time. “I was the first person to fly into space with the Ukrainian banner and fulfilled the mission of the Ukrainian government. In 1997 the Ukrainian anthem was heard in the open space for the first time,” the first Ukrainian cosmonaut wrote later. On coming back from the orbit, Leonid Kadeniuk was awarded the rank of the one-star general and served in the Armed forces of Postal stamp L. Kadeniuk — Ukraine. He was Head of the aviation departmentthe first astronaut of air of defenseUkraine (2007) troops, the Assistant of the President of Ukraine for aviation and cosmonautics.

September 1997 L. Kadeniuk with other astronauts of mission “STS-87“ at “Johnson Space Center,“ 179 RUSLANA AND JAMALA: TWO VICTORIES IN EUROVISION

During the years of its existence Eurovision has transformed from a song contest into a kind of Olympic Games where their banners are defended not by athletes but by singers. Along with that the very contest status rose, since it was not only the award granted for the creativity but also a means of glorifying the country singers represent. The first Eurovision contest took 2015 place on May 24, 1956 in Switzerland. It should Logo of Eurovision from be noted that from the very beginning the Eurovision network, created under support of the European Language Union (ELU), had wid- er meaning and it was used for international broadcasting of numerous news and sports programs. Gradually, the song contest became the most popular ELU program and turned into the synonym to the word “Eurovision.” Ukraine has won the contest twice. The first Ukrainian Eurovision winner was Ruslana Lyzhychko with the song “Wild dances” in 2004. The second Ukrainian winner was Susana Jamaladinova with a song “1944” in 2016. While getting ready for the Eurovision-2004 contest, Ruslana Lyzhychko completed a Ruslana Lyzhychko thorough versatile training. The singers’ support group carefully researched all future competitors, advertising campaigns were carried out in the countries, which were to participate in voting. In contrast to the competitors’ events, Ruslana’s press conferences were non-conventional, participant’s nation- ality was emphasized, and the audience was treated to Ukrainian dishes. During the Ruslana’s performance at the Eurovision, 2004 contest Ruslana’s show was

180 distinguished by its dynamic and professional performance. Captured by Ukrainian’s performance a British commentator from the BBC studio called Ruslana a “Princess Warrior.” So it came as no surprise that among 36 countries that voted live by phone Ruslana won the first place. Rus- lana’s victory was marked with state and governmental awards. President of Ukraine L. Kuchma issued a decree and granted the winner the title of People’s Artist of Ukraine. He declared that during the official ceremony on May 18, 2004 in Kyiv. Ukraine waited for the second victory for 12 years. On January 26, 2016 Jamala informed of her participation in the national casting for the 61st Eurovision contest. By the results of the draw, on February 6, the singer sang in the first semi-final a song dedicated to the Crimean Tatars tragic deportation in 1944. According to the results of the television viewers voting, Jamala was selected for the national final tour. During her participation in the contest in Stockholm the singer was awarded Eurostory Awards 2016 prize for the best line in the competition songs and the prize in the Art Prize nomination. After singer’s second rehearsal at the Eurovision stage Arthur Gasparian, a Russian musical critic, called the song, show and Jamala’s performance the best in that year contest. In the final, in the early hours of May 15, Jamala won a victory getting 534 points and on May 16, P. Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, awarded the singer the honorary title of People’s Artist of Ukraine.

Jamala at the Eurovision, 2016 181 ANDRII SHEVCHENKO TAKES 2004 GOLDEN BALL

The Golden Ball (Ballon d’Or) award, annually given by the French sport magazine France football, is the most prestigious prize among for the Eu- ropean footballers, and also a real recognition for those who devoted their lives to the favourite game. In 2004 this award was granted to the forward of Italian FC Milan Andrii Shevchenko. Andrii Shevchenko started his professional football career in 1992 in Kyiv Dynamo-2. Then the team, which was a starting point for the legendary Dynamo Kyiv, was fighting for the medals of the first league in the Ukrainian championship. The young talented player was promptly spotted by coaches, and already in November 1994 Andrii entered the pitch in the main team of Dynamo. His first goal Andrii scored on December 1, 1994, in the match against Dnipro. At the same time there was Shevchenko’s debut in the European tournaments: in the match against Spartak Moscow. Several weeks later he scored his first goal in an international tournaments, beating between the posts of Bayern Munich. The glory time for Andrii Shevchenko was 1997, when he set an un- believable record, scoring three goals during a match against the famous Spanish Barcelona. And on April 28, 1999 the favourite of Ukrainian supporters scored his hundredth goal in the career. This success made him a player whom the best European football clubs wanted to see in their teams. Therefore, the management of Dy- namo Kyiv finally decided to provide Andrii an opportunity to continue his career in the grand teams of global football. His new club was Italian Milan, which in summer 1999 paid for Andrii 25 million US dollars. At the same time Shevchenko continued playing for the national team. Shevchenko became a real hero for Ukrainian supporters during one of the qualify- ing matches to the 2000 European championship. Before the match Andrii Shevchenko, 2009 the situation in the group was that

182 Ukraine was just one point ahead of the competitors — Russia and France. The winner was granted the right to participate in the final part of the Eu- ropean championship directly, while the second team from the group had to move on to the play-off round. Ukrainians had to go to Moscow. During the match the Russian national team had evident advantage due to the goal scored on the 75th minute. The hope for the victory nearly vanished, but the goal by Andrii Shevchenko changed everything — the free kick that he performed almost from the touch line, resulted in the goal. The ball flew not the way that hosts’ goalkeeper Oleksandr Filimonov expected, and got between the goalposts together with the goalkeeper. It was on 88th minute. From that time on, each free kick on the left wing was usually called Shevchenko position. The top of the Andrii’s career was that very 2004 Ballon d’Or. It is to be noted that during the vote for the honourable prize Shevchenko, received 175 votes, while such famous rivals as Deco (139 votes), Ronaldinho (133 votes), Thierry Henry (80 votes) and Theodoros Zagorakis, who was given 44 votes. Shevchenko became the third Ukrainian, who was granted the Ballon d’Or, after Oleg Blokhin in 1975 and Igor Belanov in 1986. Shevchenko’s last goal in his professional career was to the Swedish national team on June 11, 2012.

The last goal in the professional career of Shevchenko, which he scored

to the Swedish national183 team on June 11, 2012 THE ORANGE REVOLUTION (2004)

The Orange Revolution that took place in late 2004 was called so after the colour symbols of V. Yushchenko, a presidential candidate. Massive rigging of the authorities during the presidential election campaign in 2004, that appeared to be the dirtiest in the whole history of Ukrainian independence, was the impetus to the revolution. 24 candidates for President’s post were registered and the most support was gained by V. Yushchenko, leader of Our Ukraine parliamentary faction and Prime Minister V. Yanukovych. Striving to win by any means, the authorities’ team organized information blockade for the opposition, repressed the voters, and staged provocations. The most shameful event during the campaign was V. Yushchenko’s poisoning that took place in still unclear circumstances. Despite all the authorities’ efforts V. Yushchenko won in the first round. The second election round, on Viktor Yushchenko November 21, was marked by even grosser abuse of power. Both voting procedure and calculation of the votes suffered numerous instances of interference with the elections, violence and terrorizing voters at the polling stations. Ukrainian sociologists were the first to inform about the second round preliminary results. According to their data V. Yuschenko was winning. However, it became soon clear that the authorities would not announce fair voting results. In the morning of November 22, Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv was covered with orange colour symbols. In that way the Orange Revolution began. The revolution main driving force and its most active participant was the youth while intelligentsia was its ideologist. The revolution was actively backed by the Ukrainian medium businesses, peasants and a considerable part of the city population. On November 24, the Central Election Committee announced V. Yanukovych as the winner of the presidential election campaign. The election results looked as follows: 49.46% of the votes for V. Yanukovych while 46.61% — for V. Yushchenko. In return, V. Yushchenko’s team set up the National Salvation Committee, declared the Ukrainian national political strike and called on the demonstrators to block the buildings of the Cabinet of Ministers and the President’s Office.

184 Kyiv Maidan that was in the focus of global attention became a symbol of freedom, democracy and invincibility. In addition to Kyiv residents dozens of thousands of citizens from all over Ukraine arrived at Kyiv Maidan. For the first time in the history of independent Ukraine the political activities gained nationwide: about 5,000,000 citizens participated in the street events in November-December 2004. The most critical moment of the Revolution was the night of November 28-29, when 15 thousand officers of internal military forces were to attack Maidan. The worst did not happen only due to a large number of people, who went out onto Ukrainian cities’ squares, international television broadcasting and fears of international isolation that might have been encountered by the authorities. The Orange revolution consequence was that the Verkhovna Rada passed resolutions of November 27, and December 1, in which the results of the election on November 21, were recognized as those that did not correspond to people’s will. The motion of no confidence to the Central Election Committee and the government of V. Yanukovych was also expressed. During the repeated voting that took place on December 26, V. Yushchenko gained the victory.

November 22, 2004. Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kyiv Protest events against falsification of the presidential election in Ukraine, 185 HOLDING THE EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP IN UKRAINE IN 2012

It took Ukraine long 7 years to make its dream come true and be a host country for the European Football Championship. Everything began on No- vember 8, 2005 when the UEFA committee held the preliminary voting and the nominees were Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Croatia and Hungary. Finally, the winners were announced on April 18, 2007, in the British city of Cardiff. The right to host the 2012 European Football Championship was granted to Ukraine and European Football Poland. Championship-2012 A long process of preparations for the championship began. It should be noted that Ukraine and Poland had to spend much more money that the previous tournament hosts. That situation was caused by the worse infrastructure compared to the countries of Western Europe. Our country had to build new stadiums and hotels, repair the roads and open new terminals at the airports. By the end of 2011 Ukraine had spent about 12 billion Euros to prepare on the championship. Poland, whose infrastructure did not differ greatly from that of Ukraine, spent about 20 billion Euros on holding the competition. Symbol of The preparation for the championship was ongo- Euro-2012. ing. At the meetings of the UEFA executive commit- Slavek and Slavko tee on December 1, 2009 and October 4, 2010 the distribution of matches among cities in Ukraine and Poland was approved. In Ukraine Kyiv, Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv won the right to host the games. In Poland the host cities were Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw. The opening match was to take place on the National stadium in Warsaw. The final match was to take place in Kyiv. Then, on December 2, 2011, at Kyiv “Ukraina” Palace drawing was held. The sixteen teams that went to the final stage of the championship were distributed into four baskets. Ukraine and Poland found themselves in Basket 1 automatically as the host-countries. Spain, as the acting European champion, was in that basket too. In addition, the teams of Germany, Italy, England, the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Russia, France, Sweden, Ireland, Portugal, Croatia and the Czech Republic participated in the EURO-2012 final stage.

186 As it had been expected, the European championship became a bright football holiday and Ukraine appropriately welcomed its guests and held all the matches at the highest level. The cities that hosted the championship matches proved that our Commemorative gold coin of 500 hryvnias (averse and reverse) country was a part of Europe and new arenas built and reconstructed for EURO-2012 demonstrated their ability to host international matches in future as well. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian team did not play so vividly; it managed to defeat Sweden 2:1, but it finished the championship at the group stage. However, it is just to note that Ukrainian football players were defeated by worthy rivals — England and France. The final game of the European football championship took place on July 1, 2012 at the Kyiv Olympiyskyi Stadium. Italian and Spanish teams competed for the honorary title. Finally, the fortune smiled at the Spanish football players who won 4:0.

Euro-2012 Final. NSK “Olimpiyskyi.“ 3 minutes after the final whistle

187 REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY

On November 21, 2013, after the suspension of negotiations on the association with the EU by V. Yanukovych, several dozens of students went out to Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. Within several days the number of protesters was continuously increasing. Despite the fact that the people were disappointed by the defeat of the Orange revolution ideas, the protests began throughout Ukraine. At the same time the authorities decided to fight hard against any manifestations of discontent at once — there appeared the first court orders banning the protests, force overcrowding and detentions were performed. The country mass media were censored. Soon it became clear that “Euromaidan” as the new revolution was first called, would not succeed without politicians though at first the protesters did not cooperate with them. The activities were headed by such leaders of the opposition parties as A. Yatseniuk, O. Tiagnybok and V. Klitschko. On November 24, the opposition held a hundred thousand people meeting in Europeiska Square in Kyiv demanding to return the country to the European integration road. In spite of that, on November 27, in Vilnius, V. Yanukovych refused to sign the treaty with the EU. During the night of December 1, the students’ crackdown began in Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The brutal images of how the security forces beat children, women and the elderly were shown around the world. It appeared evident that the aim of “Euromaidan” was the complete power shift. Mass media started to name the event as the “Revolution of Dignity.”

Peaceful meeting, Maidan Nezalezhnosti, December 1, 2013

188 On December 1, the authorities received the first rigid response of the Ukrainian people. A great number of participants assembled in the Maidan, drove away the security forces and began to set up barricades. In the evening of the same day activists and journalists were cruelly beaten in Bankova Street. Along with that numerous criminal cases were initiated against the meeting participants. In turn, the Maidan they began to organize its self-defence detachments. Over 4,000 people enrolled in them during the first week. Despite all that V. Yanukovych continued resisting his own people. The authorities resorted to kidnapping, beating and intimidat- ing people. That policy led to the opposite result — on December 8, about 800 thousand people gathered in the centre of Kyiv. That day in Bessarabska Square activists pulled down the monument to Lenin. During the night of December 11 there was a new attempt made to crackdown the Revolution of Dignity that failed and led to strengthening Maidan barricades. The events were developing increasingly dramatically — in late December some “titushki” hired by the power killed the activist Yu. Verbytskyi. On January 16, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada adopted “Dictator- ship Laws” and the peaceful demonstration turned into combat completely. The first clashes took place in Hrushevskyi Street. The “Ber- kut” began using slide-action shotguns and flash-bangs. On January 22, the police killed S. Nigoian and M. Zhyznevskyi. The Centre of Kyiv turned into a hot spot. The massacre occurred on February 18—20, 2014, when the security forces began to use fire arms in great numbers and it caused a lot of victims. Ukraine mourned the “Heav- enly Hundred Heroes” that then included 102 people. However, the Maidan survived the last attack. On February, 22, Yanu- kovych fled from the country and the power was in the opposition’s hands. The Revolution of Dignity won a difficult but well-expected victory. February 19, 2014 Ukrainian Trade Unions House on fire, 189 RUSSIAN AGGRESSION IN THE EAST OF UKRAINE AND IN CRIMEA

After the victory of the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine faced new serious challenges. The country, which was in already exhausted, was subjected to the aggression from the powerful and ruthless neighbour — the Russian Federation. The well-planned armed aggression against Ukraine began on February 20, 2014 with the RF army operation to seize the Crimean peninsula. However, the occupation of the Crimean Autonomous Republic appeared just the first step of Russia aimed at undermining independence and sovereignty of Ukraine. The next stage was an attempt to destabilize the situation in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. The aim of the Russian intelligence there was to create “Novorossia” (New Russia) — a separatist enclave that would be totally controlled by the Kremlin. Those plans were made public by V. Putin during the television programme “A Dialogue with the Russians” on April 17, 2014. Having failed in other regions, the RF started building the so called DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People’s Republic) within Luhansk and Donetsk regions. At the beginning of the Russian aggression the Ukrainian armed forces tried to regain the control of the state border. Within a week they made a corridor along the borderline of about 100 kilometres long and 20 kilometres wide. At that the offensive stopped and the achieved result lost its significance, since the enemy had retained the control of 120 kilometres of the border on Russia. Thousands of Russian soldiers and mercenaries came through that area, as well as weapons and ammunition. The attack in the central part of the front was more successful. By the middle of July the Ukrainian army had regained control over the towns of Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Artemivsk, Dzerzhinsk and Debaltseve. In the south a strategically important city of Mariupol was returned. As of the beginning of August the Azov Sea shore and a hundred-kilometre area of the dry land border to the north of it were under the Ukrainian Army control. In the morning of August 24, the strike group of Russian regular troops crossed the border and began an offensive to the west. The Ukrainian army did not expect the Russians’ attack and started retreating. On August 25-26, the Russian army be- in the territory of Simferopol sieged the Ukrainian detachments Unidentifiedairport armed soldiers and the volunteer battalions near Ilo

190 vaisk and Kuteinykove. On August 27, the attempts to lift the mousetrap failed. On August 29, the Ukrainian army convoy that was moving out of the entrapment, as it had been agreed with the Russian party, was subjected to massive shelling. Over 400 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. At the same time the Russian troops began their attack against Mariupol, but they were stopped. Ukraine managed to stop them in Luhansk region as well and to keep the control of the strategically important town of Shchastia. In that situation on September 5, 2014, a cease-fire treaty was signed in Minsk and on September 19 — Terrorists in Sloviansk the one on demarcating the sides and taking the heavy weapons away from the front line. Contrary to the agreement, the active combat continued along the whole frontline. The Ukrainian armed forces suffered serious losses but it fulfilled the task of defending country’s sovereignty. The most intensive episodes of the combat were the heroic defence of Donetsk airport that lasted 242 days and Debaltsevo operation. The confrontation with Russian-terrorist shelling groups has not ceased yet. Donetsk Local History Museum after

Participants of Minsk Summit at the table of extended-format preliminary negotiations

191 UKRAINE-EU ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Ukraine paid a high price for the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. No other country of the Eu- ropean Union but Ukraine had to overcome such hard challenges for the right to become a part of Europe. The long way that began in 1991, endless negotiations that lasted since 2007, finally, the several months of confrontation during the Revolution of Dignity and the blood of the best sons of Ukraine — that was the price that Ukraine had to pay for the document that opened the road to the integration into the European Union. The political part of the agreement between Ukraine and the EU was signed a month after the victory of the Revolution of Dignity — on March 21, 2014. Despite some political forces in Europe wanted to wait till the election in Ukraine, the document was enacted during the summit in Brussels. On behalf of the European Union H. Van Rompei, the Council of Europe President, and J.M. Barrozu, the European Committee President, signed the document. On behalf of Ukraine it was signed by A. Yatseniuk, then the Prime-Minister of Ukraine. Signing the main part of the agreement was to take place later. The main, economic part of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU that provided for creating the free trade zone was signed on June 27, 2014 at the next EU summit in Brussels. For the European Union the document was again signed by H. Van Rompei and J.M. Barrozu. On behalf of Ukraine the document was signed by Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine who thus demonstrated the higher importance of

Viktor Yushchenko and Angela Merkel at the Summit of the European People’s

Party, June192 21, 2007 that part. During the official ceremony the President of Ukraine said that signing the Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was one of the most significant days in the history of the Ukrainian state. However, the procedure was not over as yet. To enter into force the Agreement had to be ratified by all the 28 EU member countries and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The European parliament ratified the Treaty simultaneously with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, on September 16, 2014. The first among the countries of the EU to ratify the document were Romania, Lithuania and Latvia, the last being Cyprus, Belgium and the Netherlands. It should be noted that in the Netherlands the issue on the ratification of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine was put on the plebiscite during which on April 6, 2016, 61 % of the Dutch voted against the Agreement. However, as it was found out later, the results of the referendum were not compulsory for the Netherlands government to follow. As a result, in February, 2017 the lower house of the Dutch parliament ratified the Agreement and the Senate of the Netherlands — on May 30. After the Agreement was ratified by the government and the parliament of the Netherlands all legal obstacles that had blocked the inaction of the association between Ukraine and the European Union were lifted. The Netherlands submitted the ratification documents to the Council of Europe and on July 11, 2017 the Council of the European Union declared that all formalities in the ratification process were over. The document was sent for storage. Finally, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was put in force on September 1, 2017.

European Parliament Session

193 SLOVIANSK AND MARIUPOL LIBERATION

The Russian aggression in the east of Ukraine began with the occupation of the town of Sloviansk in Donetsk region. The armed militants under the guidance of Igor Girkin, an officer of the Russian military intelligence service, occupied the town on April 12, 2014. On April 13, the Ukrainian Security Service intercepted the telephone talks between the terrorists in Sloviansk and their Russian leaders. As a reply, the part of the third detachment of special purpose of the Ukrainian armed forces as well as “Alpha” units of the Ukrainian Security Service and “Omega” of the National Guard took the airdrome in Kramatorsk. The encirclement of Sloviansk began. It became known that the town authorities frankly sympathized with terrorists and a local marginal was elected as ”people’s mayor.” Since May 2, the first fierce combatting started near Sloviansk and the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation) forces suffered heavy losses. On July 3, 2014 the ATO soldiers blocked the village of Mykolaivka near Sloviansk where they demolished 6 defensive bases of the pro-Russian militants, ammunition warehouses and took the road of Kharkiv—Dovzhanskyi under their control. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and four soldiers were wounded. At the same time, by the information of the Council of National Security and Defence, the terrorists’ losses were over 150 people. On July 4, Mykolaivka was totally liberated and was controlled by the ATO forces while over 50 terrorists surrendered. In that situation Girkin ordered his militants to leave Sloviansk. Though the majority of them managed to get out, they suffered

Barricades in Sloviansk,194 April 18—20, 2014 great losses during the breakthrough. The Ukrainian banner was raised over the town council on Sloviansk, the mission of giving humanitarian aid to local civilians began its work. Somewhat later the pro-Russian saboteurs appeared in Mariupol — the third largest city in Donbass. During the night of May 3-4, there were armed clashes between Russian mercenaries and the security forces, the building of Privatbank was set on fire and the office of P. Poroshenko, a candidate for the President of Ukraine, was destroyed. In the early hours of May 4, there was information on the militants moving from Mariupol to Sloviansk to help Girkin. Leaflets were distributed in the city with a call to participate in the so called “DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) status referendum”. The ATO commandment decided to begin preparations for the assault and clearance of Mariupol. The attack was first planned for May 23, 2014 to give Mariupol residents a possibility to vote during the presidential election. Then the operation was rescheduled for June 13. The soldiers of “Azov” battalion, “Dnipro” special battalion, detachments of the National Guards and the Ministry of Internal Affairs participated there. The Ukrainian forces worked brilliantly while clearing Mariupol from the separatists. The key defensive posts of the pro-Russian militants were eliminated, the weaponry was destroyed and the control over all occupied buildings, the city council included, was regained. As a result of the operation, 6 militants were killed, 17 were wounded and over 20 taken prisoners. Four Ukrainian soldiers were wounded, one being in a serious condition. No Mariupol civilians suffered serious injuries. Since that time the city has been living a peaceful life, and June 13, has been a significant date of the anniversary of the liberation of Mariupol from the invaders.

Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, May 9, 2014

195 BATTLE FOR LUHANSK AIRPORT

After the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in Donbass, there appeared an issue of defending regional strategic facilities, which might be attacked by the enemy first. One of those facilities was Luhansk airport. Even before active military operations, on April 7, 2014, Luhansk international airport was guarded by the military of the 2nd company of the 80th Airmobile Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. During the first weeks the pro-Russian terrorists did not make any active attempts to occupy the airdrome. However, gradually they began to behave more impudently. There appeared information that the Russians had mobile anti-aircraft missile systems, therefore, all civil aviation flights were terminated. The actual encirclement of the Luhansk airport began on June 8. During the night of June 14, 2014 a tragedy that shook the whole Ukraine happened in the Luhansk airport. IL-76MD military cargo plane, carrying the forces of the 25th brigade was shot down by the terrorists while landing. The toll included 40 paratroopers and 9 crew members died. After that the airport defenders were attacked. In early July the ATO commanders decided to unblock the airport. The main task was set to the “Aidar” volunteer battalion supported by the Ukrainian Army armoured vehicles. The offensive was scheduled for July 14. Since there were significant enemy fortifications on the way of our troops, it was decided to refuse from the front attack — the soldiers of “Aidar” battalion marched quickly to the separatist’ rear and cut their communications. During the next day Oleksandrivsk, Teplychne, Yuvileinyi and Georgievka were liberated. In fact, Luhansk was almost encircled and the Russian troops and terrorists began running away. In reply, the Russian commandment moved regular troops onto the territory of

Luhansk airport before196 the armed hostilities Luhansk region. On August 19, 2014, from the settlement of Mykolaivka there appeared a tank column of 40-60 vehicles with soldiers without any identifying marks. Their appearance was preceded by a powerful artillery preparation along the road to Krasnodon. On August 29, under the pressure of the prevailing enemy forces, the “Aidar” had to retreat and on the following day a powerful attack of the Russian troops on the Luhansk airport began. Pskov (a town in Russia. — translator’s note) paratroopers and Dagestan riflemen started the offensive. For the first time the Russians used new tanks T-90 and 2S7 “Pion” artillery systems. By the end of the day there was nothing left to defend at the airdrome. The runway was destroyed with the numerous shells and the buildings were burnt down. The ATO commanders ordered Ukrainian troops to leave the airport after dark. During the night of September 1, to meet the retreating troops, two tanks, an armed vehicle and “Ural” of the 24th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces broke through. They were aiming to cover the retreat and to carry the wounded and the dead away from the airport. In spite of great losses and the retreat, the Ukrainian soldiers fulfilled their task of protecting the strategic facility till the very end and did their best under the circumstances. After the Ukrainian army retreated, the Russians did not dare enter Luhansk airport for two days.

Luhansk, the ruined airport,197 September 4, 2014 DEBALTSEVO OPERATION

In April 2014, like in the majority of Donbass towns, in Debaltsevo there were clashes provoked by the Russian Security Service. On May 11, the separatist referendum was held in the town, but it was nearly quiet there till July. The main combatting was near Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as well as for the control over the state border. In the middle of July the Ukrainian army and the National Guards started moving towards Debaltsevo. The aim was quite simple — to cut “Novorossia” into two, thus separating LPR from DPR. After short-lasting combat actions, on July 21, the control over the town was regained. The Russian troops tried to counterattack for several days but on July 28, the town was completely liberated and it was reinforced with a network of checkpoints and defensive bases. The control was also regained over Vuhlehirsk, a town to the west of Debaltsevo. The strategically important power plant was then out of the enemy artillery firing range. Till January, 2015, there were no active combat actions in the town. The Russians at times inflicted artillery strikes, saboteur groups came to Debaltsevo, but the Minsk agreements were more or less observed. The permanent threat of artillery strikes made the Ukrainian army dig in. On January 22, 2015 there began the militants’ offensive to Debaltsevo. For three weeks “Grad” multiple rocket launcher system fired at the Ukrainian soldiers. The “Uragan” multiple rocket launcher system and several 152 and 203 mm barrel artillery were firing as well. In addition to large calibres, the Russian terrorists used mortars and large-calibre machine guns. However, during the preceding period the Ukrainians had managed to build an effective system of artillery support and counterbattery struggle. Since combat area was small, the main ways of the terrorists’ attack were under the aiming fire and the Russian-terrorist troops suffered great losses in senseless front attacks. In spite of some successful actions the ATO commanders made some blunders. For instance, Russian terrorists were able to occupy the settlement of Logvinove without major efforts and it gave them the key to M-103 strategic highway. On February 11, the joined troops of the Ukrainian army and the National Guard made an attempt to return Logvinove and regain control over the highway. However, meeting the enemy tanks, they failed. Our army took several RF army soldiers prisoners. On February 17, street combats began in Debaltsevo itself. Russians repositioned their forces and entered the town. At that time the ATO com-

198 manders were evacuating the troops. The eastern defensive bases were the first to retreat. The whole operation was held with no communication between detachments as it was suppressed by the Russian radio-electronic warfare. The retreat was covered by the Ukrainian artillery. Its main objective was to suppress the Russian-terrorist manoeuvre groups and not to let them attack the retreating columns. During the night of February 18-19, the bulk of the troops left Debaltsevo. Some cover groups were getting out by walking for several days. The powerful information attack of the militants that shouted about the destruction of the Ukrainian army troops in “Debaltsevsky entrapment” turned out a piece of regular fake news.

199 HEROIC DEFENCE OF DONETSK AIRPORT

The history of the hybrid war against Ukraine launched by Putin in 2014 includes a number of tragic moments. After the Maidan bloody events our country was not ready to confront such a strong enemy as the RF and suffered many painful defeats. Nevertheless, Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to hold off a hostile offensive and write down a lot of heroic episodes of this war. The most vivid of them was definitely the battle for Donetsk airport. The confrontation began at about 3 a.m. on May 26, 2014. At that time nearly a hundred of armed militants rushed into the airport premises. They made a demand to take away the Ukrainian soldiers who were guarding the Donetsk airport inner perimeter. Since there were some civilians in the airport terminal, the soldiers had to retreat to the nearby old terminal. In reply to the aggressive actions of the Russians, landing forces arrived at the airdrome, ousted the militants, took the perimeter and the air traffic control tower. The first shot in the new airport terminal was fired by a Ukrainian sniper at the terrorist who was trying to shoot down the Ukrainian Army Fighter with the MPADS. The battle for the airport began with sniper’s precise shot. The first combat lasted several hours but the terrorists suffered significant losses and retreated. The Donetsk airport immediately became the hottest spot on the ATO map. A long-lasting confrontation began. In Moscow they understood that the Ukrainian troops’ position in the airport is an excellent springboard for developing an offensive on Donetsk so the attempts to attack the Do-

Ruins of Donetsk airport terminal, October 2014

200 netsk airport soon became regular. Not only the terrorists of the so called DPR but also Russian military troops, Russian military intelligence service and “Kadyrovtsi”, in particular. For Ukrainian, during different periods the 3rd special purpose detachment, nearly all landing brigades of the Ukrai- nian Armed forces, the Right Sector and a number of volunteer battalions were engaged. The village of Pisky and the airport were defended by the 93rd mechanized brigade infantrymen, gunners and tankers, tank brigade tankers, fighters of the 1st Battalion of the Interior Ministry “Dnipro-1.” Dur- ing 242 days of fierce confrontation a real core of the Ukrainian army was formed made up by well-motivated, experienced and well trained soldiers and officers. The final stage of the battle for the airport began on January 13, 2015. The Russians finally understood that they could not knock out the “cyborgs” from the Donetsk airport buildings, so they decided to demolish the buildings. After massive artillery and tank shells the airport dispatch- ing tower fell down. On the same day the militants made a demand — to leave the airport or to die. The Ukrainian fighters chose the combat and ever since the airport turned into a real hell. On January 19, the 2nd floor of the new terminal was blown up by the terrorists and during the night of January 22, making use of the armistice for taking away the dead and the wounded the Russians mined the building and completely destroyed it. Only the terminal carcass remained so there was nothing to defend. Several dozens of Ukrainian fighters perished or were taken prisoners. The rest of the “cyborgs” destroyed the runway and retreated to Pisky leaving the Donetsk airport territory under the fire.

Ruins of the control tower of Donetsk airport, December 2014

201 REVIVAL OF THE UKRAINIAN ARMY

After Ukraine declared its independence, it inherited from the USSR one of the most powerful armies in Europe which was armed with the nuclear weapons and the new, for the time, samples of the armament and military machines. 3 artillery, 14 motor-rifle and 4 tank divisions as well as 8 artillery brigades turned out to be under Ukrainian jurisdiction. In addition to that, 4 special purpose brigades, 9 air defence brigades, 7 detachments of combat helicopters and 3 aviation armies served under the yellow and blue banner. Ukraine strategic forces embraced 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles that carried 1,272 nuclear warheads and 2,500 units of tactic nuclear weapons. The total number of the Ukrainian Armed forces was about 980 thousand people. The processes that began afterwards and lasted till spring 2014 cannot be called otherwise than the total betrayal of national interests and criminal activities at the highest state level. The Ukrainian army was continuously destroyed. For a quarter of a century the Ukrainian Armed Forces were constantly made redundant, funding was cut down and the army combat capacity decreased in all respects. In the middle of the 2000s the Ukrainian Armed Forces were not physically able to fulfil their tasks. The machines were mainly out of order and the level of military training was deteriorat- ing dramatically. Though the arsenals of Ukraine contained hundreds of thousands of tons of ammunition, they had mainly expired, which was dangerous. According to the agreements with the EU and NATO Ukraine

202 implemented a number of programs of weapons disposal. For instance, in 2003, 400,000 anti- personnel mines were destroyed, and in June, 2006, an agreement was signed to destroy 1,000 units of MANPADS, 1,500,000 of rifles and 133,000 tons of ammunition. The military personnel were laid off again. In autumn 2013, it was expected to schedule the last call for regular military service. However, staring with spring 2014, it became clear that without a strong army the very existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state is threatened. Since then the revival of the Ukrainian army became the priority for the government and it was fast-tracked. An army of a new quality was fast created. The number of military men was increased up to 250 thousand people, budget funding increased significantly. Military industrial enterprises greatly increased their production output and the army began to obtain demothballed and refurbished as well as new units of military equipment. New military units were organized. Another factor that strengthened the defence capability of the Ukrainian army was the comprehensive support of our international partners. That assistance included, inter alia, ob- taining necessary ammunition from the Baltic countries, financial assistance of the USA and EU as well as high-quality sniper systems, counterbattery defence units and the famous “Javelins,” using which Ukrainian soldiers can effectively restrain the invaders in Donbass.

203 UKRAINIAN TENNIS VICTORIES: ELINA SVITOLINA

On October 28, 2018, there was an event, which reaffirmed that Ukrai- nian sportsmen deserve the right to represent our country in the most prestigious events. That day tennis player Elina Svitolina won the title of the world champion during the final WTA tournament held in Sin- gapore. To understand the importance of the event let us go back to the past. WTA — Women’s Tennis As- sociation celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2018. Over its history the titles in the events of this prestigious organization have been won by the representatives of various countries, including the USA, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Romania. CIS countries, in particular Russia and Belarus, celebrated their tournament victories in 2009 and 2012, respectively. And only Ukrainian score page had been blank before that memorable tournament. Everything changed Elina Svitolina thanks to Elina Svitolina’s skills. The talented tennis player was born on September 12, 1994, in the southern Palmyra of our country — in Odessa. Elina’s family was sportive — her father was in wrestling while her mother won prizes in rowing. Therefore, from the very early age the destiny showed the path to victories for the future champion. In 2007 the tennis player’s family, having decided to provide Elina with better sportive education, moved from Odessa to Kharkiv. It should be noted that the decision to relocate was made by Svitolina’s family after the offer from a famous Kharkiv businessman Yurii Sapronov. Sapronov had experience of successful investments in lawn tennis, but it was with Svitolina that his guiding role turned out to be the most effective. That was the start of the path to sport Olympus. The thirteen-year-old Elina seriously treated her training, and the results were not long in coming.

204 Being sixteen, Elina Svitolina became the second Ukrainian in history, who won the junior round of the French Open Roland- Garros championship. And soon, aged nine- teen, in 2013, the athlete won the first in her life WTA adult tournament — defeating her rivals, she became the winner of Baku Cup. A year later Elina repeated her success and kept her title. Dur- ing the following years Elina Svitolina on Masters Indian Wells, 2015 Svitolina continued climbing up her career ladder in the world tennis ranking. Between 2014 and 2017 she won ten matches against the competitors from the WTA Women’s Top Ten. Among these brilliant triumphs the victory over the world first racket Serena Williams during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is unforgettable. In 2017 Elina Svitolina decided not to stop at her achievements. Dur- ing the year she gained victories in five prestigious tournaments, held in Dubai, Taipei, Istanbul, Rome and Toronto. 2018 season was opened with the victory in Brisbane International tournament, Australia. And finally, as it has been mentioned, the star-time of October 2018 came. It should only be added that Elina Svitolina became the second tennis player in the history of WTA events, after Olympic Champion Serena Williams, who did not lose any match at the WTA final tournament.

205 Науково-популярне видання

Серія «Справжня історія»

СОРОКА Юрій Володимирович

100 ВАЖЛИВИХ ПОДІЙ ІСТОРІЇ УКРАЇНИ

Переклад з української (англійською мовою)

Головний редактор О. В. Красовицький Відповідальна за випуск Г. С. Таран Художній редактор О. А. Гугалова-Мєшкова Комп’ютерна верстка: В. А. Мурликін Коректор Л. І. Вакуленко

1 Формат 60×90 /16. Умов. друк. арк. 13,00. Облік.-вид. арк. 14,04. Тираж 1000 прим. Замовлення №

ТОВ «Видавництво Фоліо» вул. Римарська, 21А, м. Харків, 61057 Свідоцтво суб’єкта видавничої справи ДК № 5244 від 09.11.2016

Сайт видавництва: www.folio.com.ua Електронна адреса: [email protected]

Віддруковано у ПРАТ «Харківська книжкова фабрика “Глобус”» вул. Різдвяна, 11. м. Харків, 61052 Свідоцтво суб’єкта видавничої справи ДК № 3985 від 22.02.2011. www.globus-book.com Soroka Yu. S 66 100 Key Events in Ukrainian History / Yurii Soroka; translator G. Krapivnyk; graphic O. Huhalova-Mieshkova. — Kharkiv: Folio, 2018. — 205 p.: il. — (True History Series). ISBN 978-966-03-8514-6 (True History Series). ISBN 978-966-03-8550-4. The history of Ukraine resembles a half-uncharted map. This is not a mere coincidence, but the result of the deliberate public policy. Hundreds of various people serving their mother countries have been working hard on those blank spots for centuries. Those myth and fake news makers have done their best to make our history, as well as Ukraine itself, look in descendants’ eyes the way preferred by those who tried to assimilate the heritage of Kyivan Rus. However, time always puts everything in its place. So this book is an attempt to collect the events that have shaped the Ukraine we know today and will promote its further development. We sought to focus on positive events in Ukrainian history, in other words, on victories. The image of our country as a helpless continuously suffering victim that always sings sad songs and is incapable of confronting external pressure has been exploited for a long time. In fact, an insight into the actual history of Ukraine proves this image to be false. The voice of the past provides us with dozens of chronicles, documents and historical studies. Courageous heroes, strong warriors, talented artists, prominent statesmen, unrivalled philosophers and scholars — those have been the people creating our history. And, naturally, they and their achievements must be revealed and popularized. This work is an effort to unite in a single volume the highlights of our historic heritage and show that, against all odds, Ukraine remembers its past and intends to build its own bright future, considering the extensive rich experience that has been gained. UDC 94(477) Історія України схожа на мапу, яка містить безліч білих плям. І це не простий збіг обставин, а результат цілеспрямованої державної політики. Протягом століть над тими плямами дбайливо працювали сотні різних людей, найнятих владою метрополій. Ці творці міфів і фейків зробили все для того, щоб наша історія, як і сама Україна, постала перед нащадками у світлі, вигідному для тих, хто намагався асимілювати спадок Київської Русі. Проте час завжди розставляє все по своїх місцях. Тож у цьому виданні ми спробували зібрати події, які сформували ту Україну, котру ми знаємо зараз, і які сприятимуть її розвиткові й надалі. Досить довго експлуатувався образ нашої країни як безпорадної жертви, яка постійно страждає, співає сумних пісень і не здатна протистояти зовнішньому тиску. Але занурення в реальну історію України доводить, що це не так. Голос минулого промовляє до нас із десятків літописів, документів та історичних розвідок. Герої-відчайдухи, незламні воїни, талановиті творці, видатні політичні діячі, геніальні філософи та науковці — ось хто творив історію нашої країни. І, звичайно, треба, щоб про них та їхні досягнення дізналось якомога більше наших громадян. Ця книга є спробою об’єднати під однією обкладинкою найвагоміші моменти нашої історичної спадщини і продемонструвати, що, попри все, Україна пам’ятає своє минуле і має намір, враховуючи свій багатющий історичний досвід, будувати власне щасливе майбутнє.