Mother of '33, 2000, Holodomor: Through the Eyes of Ukrainian Artists, Morgan Williams, Founder and Trustee
In the 1600s, Orthodox Ukraine, under the Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's control, sought Russian support in a bid to break away. The so-called Khmelnytsky Uprising resulted in a divided Ukraine, with the Right Bank remaining under the Commonwealth and the Left Bank aligning with Moscow for religious and economic protection.
Fractured ownership of Ukraine following the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Map by Johann Baptist Homann, 1715-1724, Harvard University Map Collection
In the early 1900s, many Ukrainians joined the rising Bolshevik Party, under leader Vladimir Lenin, to overthrow the tsarist government that had long been destroying Ukrainian culture and limiting workers' rights. On March 15, 1917, the party ended the Russian monarchy.
Valuev Circular, decreed under Tsar Alexander II, stated that "there has never been, is not, and cannot be any separate Little Russian [Ukrainian] language," thereby banning it from schools and churches. Valuev Circular, 1863, Ukrainian Wikipedia
"Tale," an etching by Taras Shevchenko, depicts a common occurrence for Ukrainians: forced conscription for the Tsar only to return to a destroyed home. Tale, 1844, Imperiia Project
Ukrainian protests for workers' rights on "May Day" in Lviv. Ukraine’s Socialist Heritage, early 1900s, Ukrainian Solidarity Campaign
In 1917, Ukraine seized the opportunity to establish its independence under a new government, the Central Rada, breaking free from the constraints of imperialist Russia.
Ukrainians march in Kiev after the fall of the tsar. The sign translates to “Long live a free Ukraine." Walking through the streets of Kiev, 1917, Imperiia Project
By 1922, however, the Bolsheviks reasserted control over Ukraine, thereby creating the Soviet Union. They believed the Rada to be a front for capitalist, bourgeoisie nationalists keen on silencing the voices of communist, peasant workers.
Bolshevik Red Army soldiers invading Kyiv, 1919, Courtesy of the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine
From 1923-1933, Soviet Russia attempted to make the idea of a union more palatable to Ukrainians through "Ukrainization," a set of laws that promoted the growth of Ukrainian culture.
Imprint of the Ukraïns'ka Knyha Press, a state press of Soviet Ukraine. Written in Ukrainian, the company's purpose was recording and preserving Ukrainian history and literature. Ukrainian Language under Totalitarianism and Total War, 1930s, Harvard Ukrainian Studies
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