Economic Development

The reforms of Alexander II gave a strong impetus to Ukraine’s economic development. The railway network connected all important industrial and political centers. Numerous plants and factories dotted Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Especially powerful was the Donbass fuel and industrial region. The coil production here had risen by 100 times from 1861 till 1900. By the turn of the century the Donetsk-Krivyi Rih industrial region had surpassed the Ural industrial region (the major industrial base in Russia) in output. While the Ural metallurgical plants enhanced their production by 4 times from 1870 till 1900, the Donetsk-Krivyi Rih plants – by 158 times for the same period. This industrial region became the biggest in the Russian Empire. Gigantic military and locomotive plants were created in Luhansk. Another enormous locomotive plant was built in Kharkiv. Large shipbuilding industries were created in Kherson and Mykolaiv. In the 1890s Kiev could boast about 8 industrial plants. Odessa became the most profitable port in the Russian Empire. Ukrainian plants and factories were furnished with the newest equipment from abroad. Labor efficiency (продуктивність праці) of the Ukrainian metallurgical worker was six times higher than that of the metallurgical worker in the Ural.

The wages in Ukraine were quite significant compared to those in Russia. Donbass miners’ wages were twice as much as in Russia (425 rubles a year to 204 rubles a year). On average, wages in Ukrainian plants and factories were at least by 15% higher than in Russia. Besides, the prices of food and dwellings in Ukraine were significantly lower than in Russia. That is why many Russians came to Eastern Ukraine to work at plants, factories, and mines. Even in present-day Ukraine the descendants of the 19^th century Russian workers comprise a significant part of the population.

Ukraine’s agricultural products were in great demand not only in Russia but in Europe as well. For example Ukraine produced 90% of the empire’s grain export and 65% of sugar export.⁶ The grain export was the basic source of foreign currency that the Russian Empire needed to purchase machinery abroad and to accumulate capital for further industrial investment at home. Ukraine also produced a great amount of meat, diary products, tobacco, and various vegetables.

Moscow’s Attitude to Ukraine

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

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

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