THE HISTORY OF UKRAINE ADVISORY BOARD John T. Alexander Professor of History and Russian and European Studies, University of Kansas Robert A. Divine George W. Littlefield Professor in American History Emeritus, University of Texas at Austin John V. Lombardi Professor of History, University of Florida THE HISTORY OF UKRAINE Paul Kubicek The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling, Series Editors Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kubicek, Paul. The history of Ukraine / Paul Kubicek. p. cm. — (The Greenwood histories of the modern nations, ISSN 1096 –2095) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978 – 0 –313 – 34920 –1 (alk. paper) 1. Ukraine —History. I. Title. DK508.51.K825 2008 947.7— dc22 2008026717 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2008 by Paul Kubicek All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008026717 ISBN: 978– 0– 313 – 34920 –1 ISSN: 1096 –2905 First published in 2008 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48 –1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this book, but in some instances this has proven impossible. The author and publisher will be glad to receive information leading to a more complete acknowledgments in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime extend their apologies for any omissions. Contents Series Foreword Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling vii Preface xi Timeline of Historical Events xiii 1 Introduction 1 2 Kievan Rus: The Foundation of Ukrainian Culture 17 3 The Polish-Lithuanian Period and the Rise of the Cossacks 31 4 Ukraine under the Russian Empire 45 5 Western Ukraine under the Habsburg Empire 65 6 Revolution and the Establishment of Soviet Authority 79 7 Ukraine under Soviet Rule 97 8 The Drive for Ukrainian Independence 119 vi Contents 9 Post-Soviet Ukraine, 1991–2004 141 10 The Orange Revolution and Beyond 165 Notable People in the History of Ukraine 183 Bibliographical Essay 189 Index 193 Series Foreword The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series is intended to provide students and interested laypeople with up-to-date, concise, and analytical his- tories of many of the nations of the contemporary world. Not since the 1960s has there been a systematic attempt to publish a series of national histories and as series advisors, we believe that this series will be a valuable contribu- tion to our understanding of other countries in our increasingly interdepend- ent world. Some 40 years ago, at the end of the 1960s, the cold war was an accepted reality of global politics. The process of decolonization was still in progress, the idea of a unified Europe with a single currency was unheard of, the United States was mired in a war in Vietnam, and the economic boom in Asia was still years in the future. Richard Nixon was president of the United States, Mao Tse-tung (not yet Mao Zedong) ruled China, Leonid Brezhnev guided the Soviet Union, and Harold Wilson was prime minister of the United Kingdom. Authoritarian dictators still controlled most of Latin America, the Middle East was reeling in the wake of the Six-Day War, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahl- avi was at the height of his power in Iran. Since then, the cold war has ended, the Soviet Union has vanished, leaving 15 independent republics in its stead, the advent of the computer age has radi- cally transformed global communications, the rising demand for oil makes viii Series Foreword the Middle East still a dangerous flashpoint, and the rise of new economic powers like the People’s Republic of China and India threatens to bring about a new world order. All of these developments have had a dramatic impact on the recent history of every nation of the world. For this series, which was launched in 1998, we first selected nations whose political, economic, and sociocultural affairs marked them as among the most important of our time. For each nation, we found an author who was recog- nized as a specialist in the history of that nation. These authors worked coop- eratively with us and with Greenwood Press to produce volumes that reflect current research on their nations and that are interesting and informative to their readers. In the first decade of the series, more than 40 volumes were pub- lished and, as of 2008, some are moving into second editions. The success of the series has encouraged us to broaden our scope to in- clude additional nations whose histories have had significant effects on their regions, if not on the entire world. In addition, geopolitical changes have elevated other nations into positions of greater importance in world affairs, so we have chosen to include them in this series as well. The importance of a series such as this cannot be underestimated. As a superpower whose influence is felt all over the world, the United States can claim a “special” relationship with almost every other nation. Yet many Americans know very little about the histories of nations with which the United States relates. How did they get to be the way they are? What kind of political systems have evolved there? What kind of influence do they have on their own regions? What are the dominant political, religious, and cultural forces that move their leaders? These and many other questions are answered in the volumes of this series. The authors who contribute to this series write comprehensive histories of their nations, dating back, in some instances, to prehistoric times. Each of them, however, has devoted a significant portion of their book to events of the past 40 years because the modern era has contributed the most to contempo- rary issues that have an impact on U.S. policy. Authors make every effort to be as up-to-date as possible so that readers can benefit from discussion and analysis of recent events. In addition to the historical narrative, each volume contains an introductory chapter that provides an overview of the country’s geography, political insti- tutions, economic structure, and cultural attributes. This approach is meant to give readers a snapshot of the nation as it exists in the contemporary world. Each history also includes supplementary information following the narra- tive, which may include a timeline that represents a succinct chronology of the nation’s historical evolution, biographical sketches of the nation’s most important historical figures, and a glossary of important terms or concepts that are usually expressed in a foreign language. Finally, each author has pre- Series Foreword ix pared a comprehensive bibliography for readers who wish to pursue the sub- ject further. Readers of these volumes will find them fascinating and well written. More important, they will come away with a better understanding of the contempo- rary world and the nations that compose it. As series advisors, we hope that this series will contribute to a heightened sense of global understanding as we move through the early years of the twenty-first century. Frank W. Thackeray and John E. Findling This page intentionally left blank Preface Ukraine ( Ukraïna in Ukrainian) means “on the edge” or “borderland,” and for most of its history Ukraine has served as a sort of middle ground, divided be- tween Russia and Poland (later Austria-Hungary) and occupying the far west- ern edge of the vast Eurasian steppe, centered between Europe and Asia, West and East. During most of twentieth century, it was part of the Soviet Union, but it gained independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 different countries. In terms of population, it is the second largest (after Russia) of the post-Soviet states, and, among all European countries, it is the second largest (again, after Russia) in territorial size. Although a new coun- try, it has a long and complicated history, and the importance of this history is manifested today in various ways: the regional divisions between western and eastern parts of the country; its inexperience with both capitalism and de- mocracy that has arguably made the post-Soviet transition more difficult; its lack of previous statehood that has complicated notions of Ukrainian identity; and, perhaps above all else, its relations with neighboring states, especially Russia, which ruled, either as the Russian Empire under the tsars or as the Soviet Union under the Communist Party, over most of Ukraine for centuries. Coming to grips with aspects of its history and charting its own course have been challenges for the new Ukrainian state. xii Preface This book details the main contours of Ukrainian history, focusing in partic- ular on the Soviet period and the more recent post-Soviet experience. It draws on a variety of secondary sources, both those of a more general nature and more narrowly focused scholarly monographs. Part of this book, particularly the chapters on Ukraine’s drive toward independence and the subsequent post-Soviet period, draws on my own research on Ukraine, which dates back to 1992–1993, when I was a lecturer with the Civic Education Project at Lviv State University. Although life in Ukraine during that time was without ques- tion difficult, I gained great appreciation for Ukrainian history and culture.