The problem of the “colonial status” of Ukraine under Russia and Austria

Many Ukrainian historians write that Ukraine was Russia’s colony under the tsarist regime. Such writings are usually politically motivated. Statements that Ukraine was Russia’s colony justify in the eyes of these historians Ukraine’s right to be independent from Russia and not be involved in any kind of a union with present-day Russia. These historians write that Russia “soaked blood” from Ukraine. In fact that is not right. Ukraine’s economic development in the 19^th century was amazing. A lot of factories, plants, and railroads were built. Ukraine was turned into a major European industrial base. Investments from England, France, Germany, and other developed European countries poured into Ukraine. The Ukrainians did not have the status of “inorodtsy” (non-Russians). Many nationalities in the Russian Empire had this humiliating status. Russia considered the Ukrainians as not a separate nation from the Russians but as a branch of the common people which included Russians, Belorussians, and Ukrainians. Ukrainians could occupy the best positions in Russia’s hierarchical system on the ground that they were not “inorodtsy”. Kiev was considered the “mother of all Russian cities” and Moscow said that it naturally and rightfully inherited Kiev’s power. The ruling dynasty Ryurikovichi was also common to Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia.

It is a typical sign of a colony that its people live worse than those of the major part of an empire (metropolia). But Ukrainians in general lived better than Russians. Unfortunately only a few historians in Ukraine write truth about that. All the above mentioned facts testify that Ukraine could not be a Russian colony; it was just an ordinary province (to be a province is also much worse than to be an independent nation). If the Russians had considered Ukraine as a colony the Ukrainians would have felt that they were different from the Russians and wanted independence.

What about the position of Ukraine in the Austrian Empire? Our historians write in school textbooks that it was an Austrian colony. They say that Austrians mostly built in western Ukraine an industry related to oil and timber, and brought finished products into Ukraine from Austria. But, they probably do not understand that it was natural and rational to build such an industry in western Ukraine which had sufficient reserves of oil and forest. It was a normal result of an ordinary regional specialization or division of labor (to produce different goods in appropriate parts of the country). For example the major industrial base of the Austrian Empire was Czechia. Czechia also was the most developed part of the empire. According to their logic of the “colonial status” Austria could have been Czechia’s colony, but that is absurd. Moreover, Ukraine received most of its finished products not from Austria (as our politically-motivated historians say) but from Czechia (which was also a province of the empire). We cannot say that some small town in Kiev region is Kiev’s colony on the ground that finished goods are brought from Kiev to this town and nobody build factories in this town to satisfy its local needs. For example the town of Kagarlyk in Kiev region gives diary products to Kiev and receives factory goods in return. This does not mean that Kagarlyk is Kiev’s colony. This is just a result of the division of labor in present-day Ukraine. The same practice was applied in the Austrian Empire.

The Ukrainians in the Austrian Empire had the same political rights as the Austrians. Many Ukrainians were members of the Austrian parliament. In fact western Ukraine was an ordinary province of the Austrian Empire, the same as eastern Ukraine was an ordinary province of the Russian Empire. To be someone’s province is also very bad and it is a serious reason for struggling for independence. Thus, there is no reason to exaggerate and claim that Ukraine was a colony.

1 The aristocrats in Europe wore the same cloth, had the same manners, and even spoke the same language (French).

2 The members of the Brotherhood believed that Ukrainians were the most religious people among Slavs and thus their historical mission was to save all Slavs.

3 The word comes from Polish khlop, a derogatory name for peasant.

4After the Valuev Decree the Ukrainian intelligentsia published Ukrainian books in Austrian Galicia and imported them to Russian-ruled Ukraine.

5 In 1881 the government modified the Decree of Ems to allow the publication of dictionaries and music lyrics in Ukrainian, as well as the staging of Ukrainian plays with permission from local authorities.

6 Ukraine produced 20 percent of the world’s wheat.

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