Seminar one

Introduction

Why do students in Ukrainian universities study their native history? Why is our government interested in that? There are several reasons. First, history is a necessary precondition for the development of national consciousness. Without national consciousness Ukraine will not have the future. As an old proverb says, “Those who do not know their past will not have their future.” When Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire the teaching of Ukrainian history was strictly forbidden along with the Ukrainian language. When the Nazi army invaded the Soviet Union Hitler also spoke out against teaching native histories in schools in the occupied areas. He argued that the knowledge of native histories would urge the subjugated peoples to fight for independence.

Secondly, history is a vitae magistra (teacher of life). The knowledge of history is important for avoiding mistakes in the future. History gives us access to the social experience and accumulated knowledge of the generations that have gone before.

Thirdly, history helps people understand their nation better, since the roots of the present events can be found in the past. Pyotr Chaadayev, famous Russian writer and philosopher, once said, “History is the key to understanding a nation.” Thus understanding the past is extremely important for understanding the present.

History is often used in politics for manipulation of the masses (during wars, revolutions, election campaigns, etc). To avoid that, a historical interpretation and a fact must be separated. Students should know that each fact or a historical phenomenon can have several interpretations. For example, such a phenomenon as Ukrainian Cossackdom is interpreted differently in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Turkey (from heroes to bandits). The activity of Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa is also interpreted very differently in Ukrainian and Russian school textbooks. To find the truth a student must learn to think critically, to check everything, to compare different interpretations, and to find out what lies behind each interpretation (that is, what the aim of a particular historical interpretation is). The students should understand why different interpretations of the past exist and who benefit from each interpretation. History is not about remembering dates and facts but rather about understanding historical events. A student studying history first of all should try to understand why some events happened and other – not.

It is very important that history must not be mythologized (many patriotic writers unfortunately describe our ancestors as idealized superheroes). We should know the truth even if it is painful. Famous Ukrainian writer and public figure Panteleimon Kulish said that we must understand the worst traits of our national character in order to correct them. Only the true knowledge of the past can help us improve the present.

Students should also study history to understand politics. There is a famous saying: history is past politics and politics is present history. Thus, if you do not know history you will not understand politics and will be easily manipulated by politicians.

ANCIENT PEOPLES AND KYIVAN RUS

The Trypillians

The first homo sapiens on Ukrainian territory appeared about 40-12 thousand years ago. Their lives were rather primitive and their major occupations were hunting and gathering, since they did not know how to grow food. The first communities that could grow food appeared on Ukrainian territory about 4000 BC. The best known of the early agrarian peoples on Ukrainian territory belonged to the so-called Trypillian culture which originated along the Dnister, Dnieper, Buh, and Prut rivers. The name is derived from a small Ukrainian village (Trypillia) in Kyiv region where the remnants of this culture were first discovered by archeologists in 1896.¹ Trypillians lived in large villages with as many as 600-700 inhabitants. Some settlements even had as many as 15,000 (Maidanetske in Cherkasy region). Many buildings had two floors and were decorated with pictures on the walls inside and outside. The windows were round. Each building had a sacrificial altar, oven, and stove bench. The buildings were built according to a plan. A typical Trypillian settlement had a huge square in the center and streets radiating from that square in all directions. The settlements did not have fortifications. Periodically, every 60 to 80 years, Trypillian settlements were burnt and then rebuilt. Scholars cannot explain why Trypillians did that. Archeologists have found numerous artifacts of Trypillian culture: figures of women with enlarged genitals (apparently symbolizing fertility),² various tools, and remains of pottery with ornamentation. Since Trypillians did not have a written language scholars cannot tell much about that culture. It remains mysterious.

Trypillians lived not only on the territory of present-day Ukraine but also on the territory of present-day Moldova and Romania. Romanian historians call this culture the Cucuteni culture named after the Romanian village of Cucuteni where the first objects associated with this culture were discovered in 1884. Since this culture was first disco­vered in Romania, Romanian historians propose Ukrainian colleagues to abandon the name Trypillian in favor of Cucuteni. Ukrainian historians refuse to do it. European and American historians usually call this culture the Cucuteni-Trypillian not to offend Ukrainian or Romanian patriotic historians.

Trypillians disappeared enigmatically about 2000 BC. They may have been assimilated by newcomers, pushed into other lands or killed. Some Ukrainian patriotic writers want to see Trypillians as proto-Ukrainians,³ but anthropologists say that Trypillians belonged to Semitic group, while Ukrainians are Slavs.⁴