Ukraine is one of the 14 states neighboring Russia by land. And the question of relations between neighbors is very important, because Ukraine is a part of the Russian world. Russians and Ukrainians have common holidays and a common history, and for most Ukrainians, the Russian language is native.
The origin of Ukrainians
The origin of Ukrainians is based on tribes that once lived on the territory of Ukraine. There were many such tribes: Scythians, Polovtsy, Slavs, Tatars, Huns, Sarmatians. Therefore, Ukrainians are a mixed ethnic group, the formation of which was influenced by all the peoples who once lived here.
Scythians - ancestors of modern Ukrainians
In the history of the Ukrainian people there is evidence that the first mention of the Scythians occurred in the 7th century BC. e. These were warlike people who came from Asia Minor and founded their own state, stretching from the Ukrainian steppes to the Ural Mountains. Scythian fortifications were fortified with an earthen rampart having a height of about 10 meters. The Scythian aristocracy lived in stone houses equipped with clay stoves. Artisans lived in thatched huts with 2-3 rooms and a stove. The Scythians were engaged in cattle breeding, raising sheep, cows and horses.
Famous Scythian settlements are located mainly in Ukraine, so the Scythians can be called the ancestors of modern Ukrainians. In addition, in the traditions of Ukrainians , elements of the Scythian culture are found. For example, the national Ukrainian costume has much in common with the costume of the Scythians: harem pants, a cap, which later turned into a Cossack hat, as well as a shirt with embroidery on the chest and shoulders.
Anty - a tribe living on the outskirts
In the 3-4th century, antes lived on the territory of Ukraine. The word "anti" means "a tribe living on the outskirts." They occupied both banks of the Dnieper and were located along the Vorskla River, and also lived in some areas located in territories reaching Kharkov in the east and Kherson in the south. Ants were skilled warriors, their tribes were organized and had the beginnings of the first statehood. Antes are called the connecting link between the Scythians and the Ukrainians.
Monuments of culture of Polovtsy
In the 11-13 centuries, the Polovtsy lived in the steppes of Eastern Ukraine. Stone women, which can be found in the steppes, are monuments of the Polovtsian culture. The sculptures were placed at the highest points of the steppe and were symbols of the ancestors. The height of these (made of gray sandstone) statues is 1-4 meters, and about two thousand of these sculptures have survived to our time. They are found on a vast territory: from southeastern Europe to southwest Asia.
An interesting fact should be emphasized. In Ukraine, there are several parks and museums of stone women. One of them is located on the territory of the Lugansk National University, the other in Donetsk. In the Museum of Nature in Kharkov, these sculptures are presented, demonstrating the traditions and culture of the Polovtsians.
Kievan Rus
In the 9th century, the first state populated by Eastern Slavs, Kievan Rus, was formed on the territory of Eastern Europe. It was a common story for three Slavic peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. In the year 882, Prince Oleg went on a campaign from Novgorod to the south, captured Kiev, after which he said: “Let this be the mother of Russian cities.”
Baptism of Russia
Paganism could not unite the various tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Russia needed a more progressive religion, which would allow the Slavs to be introduced to world culture. In addition, in the 10th century the power of the Byzantine Empire reached its greatest strength, but its representatives were forbidden to be related to the pagans, who were considered barbarians. The baptism of Russia in 988 allowed its ruling family to intermarry with the Byzantine court, to enter the family of European nations. This happened during the reign of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich.
History of Ukraine and interesting facts following the baptism of Kievan Rus
After the implementation of the Baptism of Rus, Prince Vladimir obtained the hand of the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Anna. The daughter of Vladimir was later extradited as the Polish prince Casimir the First.
The daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Elizabeth, married the King of Norway Harold. The second daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Anna, married the King of France, Henry the First, and after his death was the Queen of France. The third daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Anastasia, married the King of Hungary Andrei the First.
There are numerous facts confirming the existence of family ties of European princes with the ruling clan of Kievan Rus. This served as a proof of the prestige of Russia among European peoples.
Under Yaroslavl the Wise, a Metropolitan was elected from among national priests. At the same time, monasteries began to have great influence, and the center of Orthodox life became the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
The national liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people
Kievan Rus in the 12th century broke up into a number of principalities, between which good-neighborly relations were maintained. This was especially evident in the fight against foreign invaders. For example, in 1018, Novgorod squads took part in the expulsion of Polish invaders from Ukraine.
Since the mid-14th century, Ukraine has been subjected to aggression from Lithuania and Poland. In 1387, Poland captured Galicia. After that, the Ukrainians were no longer allowed to urban self-government, which was given to representatives of the Polish middle class. Ukrainians experienced social and national-religious oppression. The Polish and Lithuanian oppressors sought to Catholicize and denationalize the Ukrainians, breaking their ties with the Russian people.
The people of Ukraine fought against the oppressors, resisting denationalization and striving to preserve the traditions of Ukrainians.
Zaporizhzhya Sich
After Galicia, the Polish government captured Podillia, sought by all means to subjugate the whole of Ukraine. It has achieved this. At the Lublin Diet, Ukrainian territories were subordinated to Poland.
As a response to enslavement in Ukraine at the end of the 15th century, the Cossacks arose. It organized its center beyond the thresholds of the Dnieper - the Zaporizhzhya Sich, which became the center of all actions of Ukrainians against invaders. In addition, the Ukrainian Cossacks, remembering the good neighborly relations with the Russian principalities, entered into a defensive alliance with the Don Cossacks.
And in 1648, the liberation war of the Ukrainian people with the Polish invaders began. The leader in this battle was the hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky, who set a goal for the Ukrainian people: to free themselves from Polish oppression, reunite Ukrainian lands and annex Ukraine to Russia.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
The hetman of the Zaporizhzhya army and the leader of the Ukrainian people in the struggle for independence, Bohdan Khmelnitsky, is one of the hundred most famous Ukrainians. Young Khmelnitsky graduated from a Ukrainian school and a Jesuit collegium in Lviv. He was an educated and intelligent person who knew Latin well, therefore he was respected by others.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky - the founder of the first Ukrainian state - Hetman, which he ruled for nine years. During this time, his talent was manifested as a politician, military leader and head of state, which he created in the likeness of the Zaporizhzhya army. This state had its own judicial system and its own laws, and the population was divided into hundreds. There were Cossack warriors, peasants, philistines and clergy.
In Ukraine, they honored and honor the memory of Bohdan Khmelnytsky as one of his best sons, a national hero. Kobzari dedicated his Ukrainian poems to him, and his portrait in the 17th and 18th centuries was an adornment of every Ukrainian house. The hetman was portrayed on it in a hat with ostrich feathers, in a satin caftan and with a mace in his hands.
Union with Russia
Khmelnitsky began to rule the state in a difficult time for the country. The population was tired of wars, crop failures and epidemics. In this state, it was extremely difficult for the people of Ukraine to deal with the invaders. Hetman began a search for allies and turned to Russia for help. At the end of 1653, the Zemsky Sobor in Russia voted to accept Ukraine “under the arm of the Russian Tsar”. And on January 8, 1654, an alliance between Russia and Ukraine was concluded in Pereyaslav. This interesting fact is still important for both peoples.
Ukraine in Soviet times
Part of the economy of the USSR was located on the territory of Ukraine. The Ukrainian SSR had one of the most developed economies among the Union republics. During the years of Soviet power, Ukraine became a highly developed industrial republic, numbering about 300 industries, among which a special place belonged to engineering and ferrous metallurgy. And agriculture in Ukraine was diversified.
The following interesting facts about Ukraine in Soviet times are known:
- In the Ukrainian SSR, 17% of all electricity produced in the USSR was produced. A cascade of hydroelectric power plants was built on the Dnieper, and 5 nuclear power plants were located and operated in Ukraine.
- One of the most important industries of Ukraine was the coal industry, 90% of which was concentrated in the Donetsk coal basin. Other industries, such as electric power and ferrous metallurgy, also depended on the development of this industry.
- The Ukrainian SSR produced more than 30% of rolled steel and steel, which were produced in the USSR. During the Soviet era, giant plants were built in the Ukrainian SSR: Azovstal, Krivorozhstal, Zaporizhstal, Enakievo Metallurgical Plant, Kramatorsk Metallurgical Plant.
In the 1970s, the construction of numerous enterprises in Ukraine began. No matter how many cities there were then in the country, such construction was carried out in each of them. Then such plants were built: Kharkov Tractor Plant, Lugansk Diesel Locomotive Plant, Kiev Bolshevik Plant, Kharkov Transport Engineering Plant named after V. A. Malyshev, Kremenchug Automobile Plant (Avtokraz), Zaporizhzhya Automobile Plant (Avtozas). This is not the entire list of constructed enterprises, but only a small part of it.
The following industries were developed in Ukraine:
- Metallurgy.
- Engineering.
- Tractor engineering.
- Chemical industry.
- Light industry.
- Aircraft industry. Ukrainian aircraft built at the Kharkov Aviation Plant were known throughout the world. Before World War II, the plant produced 17 types of aircraft. After the outbreak of war, Su-2 attack aircraft were manufactured at the plant, and after the war, MiG and Yak-18 fighters, and later Tu-141 and X-55 cruise missiles.
Ukraine during the Great Patriotic War
Ukrainians, along with brothers from other union republics, fiercely resisted the Nazi war machine on its path to lightning success. In the ranks of the Soviet army fought 2.5 million Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian population showed examples of unparalleled courage and heroism. On the territory of Ukraine there were 3,992 clandestine organizations in which more than 100 thousand people took part, 1,993 partisan detachments and 46 partisan formations in which 518 thousand people participated in armed and sabotage reconnaissance.
After the Nazis seized the territory of Ukraine, its inhabitants were in occupation. This territory served the Nazis as a raw material base. Products were exported to Germany from occupied cities in Ukraine. How many managed to loot, neat Germans carefully recorded. And these are the numbers:
- In March 1943, about 6 million tons of wheat, 1.4 million tons of potatoes, about 50 thousand tons of butter, 220 thousand tons of sugar, 2.5 million heads of cattle were exported.
- In March 1944, figures confirming the amount of loot were similar to those of 1943.
Ukrainians - Heroes of the Soviet Union
The fact that Ukrainians heroically fought against the Nazi invaders is confirmed by their awards. During the years of World War II, fighters received 7 million awards, of which 2.5 million are Ukrainians. 2072 Ukrainian citizens became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 32 people received this title twice. Fighter pilot Ivan Kozhedub was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times. He personally shot down 62 Nazi aircraft, but he himself was never shot down.
No one is forgotten
The people of Ukraine remember their defenders. They are dedicated to Ukrainian poems and songs. The names of famous heroes are assigned to many institutions.
Nobody is forgotten and nothing is forgotten. Ukrainians must remember that they are the descendants of the victors, those heroes who won the most terrible war, fighting shoulder to shoulder with their comrades from fraternal republics.
Currently, in Ukraine, monuments to the heroes of the Second World War are destroyed by time and vandals. Therefore, the action “Nobody is Forgotten” is relevant right now. This action involves the restoration and putting in order on the territory of Ukraine of monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Many monuments have already been restored, more and more people join this action every year. The memory of the deed of fathers and grandfathers must be preserved for posterity! History cannot be rewritten.