Ukrainian History

Today marks the halfway point in our 10 day waiting period. It's all downhill from here! Mark and I walked through the market again today. It was very busy today and all the stalls were open, I guess because it is Saturday. The most amazing variety of clothing and food and other goods is represented at the market, and the individual stalls must provide a good additional source of income for many people. After walking through the market, we walked down to the sea again. Today was a day when everyone in town must have been out there on the beach, either swimming or sunbathing. Apparently, that's the place to be on a summer Saturday in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Our afternoon at the orphanage with the girls was just simple and sweet. We bought about 20 peaches while we were at the market to take to Zhanna and Ella's group. The peaches were sweet and juicy and delicious and all the kids seemed to enjoy them very much. I don't think they get good fruit very often, so they really appreciate it. We also bought little friendship necklaces at the market for Zhanna and Ella to give to all their friends. They all smiled and put them on immediately and came and told us "thank you" "spaseba." I think Zhanna and Ella love to give gifts (as do most Ukrainian people). They asked us if they could buy something tomorrow to give to their teachers. We told them of course they could. We're also planning on buying the girls new shoes tomorrow. Zhanna had on a pair the other day that were much too small and gave her blisters. They need good shoes before we travel. So we'll look forward to church and "shopping" "magazen" tomorrow "da zaftra"!

So, as promised, I'm going to use today's blog to give a brief history of this very old and very new country called Ukraine. First of all, Ukraine is not Russia. If people have heard of Ukraine at all they may refer to it as "The Ukraine." That terminalogy was used during the Soviet era and before, to designate this particular part of the U.S.S.R. However, today it is innappropriate to include "The" because Ukraine is now an independent nation (although Russia may keep its eyes on Ukraine because of the rich natural resources and industry and tourism that are coming to the forefront).

The Bradt Travel Guide, "Ukraine" by Andrew Evans, shares this information: "Ukraine is NOT Russia, just like Canada is not the USA, and Scotland is not England. Ukraine is too often defined by the shadow of its hefty neighbor. The last (18) years represent Ukraine's longest recognised independence in history, atributed by many to keeping Russia at bay in the post-Soviet era. In Ukraine, attitudes towards Russia range from friendly association to deep animosity, although most families have relations on both sides of the border."

Since 1991 Ukraine has been independent and is doing its best to rebuild after 50 years of Soviet control and wars and invasions and poverty before that. Now Ukrainians are working hard to embrace everything that sets them apart from Russia. Ukrainians will tell you that Russian civilization was actually founded in Kiev, and that the Ukrainian language is an older and more sophisticated language than Russian (although both languages are used throughout the country). Ukrainians like to consider their homeland to be inhabited by the more spirited and unconventional of the Slavs.

The earliest known inhabitants in what is Ukraine today can be dated back to about 750 BC. These were the Scythians, and we know from Greek history that these were bloodthirsty nomads. The story is they were warriors descended from Hercules. The Scythians were conquered by the Sarmatians from Persia (Iran) in about 250 BC. Even though the Sarmatians were from Persia they were supposedly more Slavic in appearance with blond hair. They wore padded trousers and leather boots. Their women were skilled in horseback riding and warfare. Some historians claim these women were the inspiration for the famed Amazon warriors feared by the Greeks.

By the 6th century AD eastern Slavic people had moved in to what is now Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. This group of people had beliefs and everyday tasks that centered on their relationship with the natural world. They were known for their skills in agriculture and cattle-raising on the plains, as well as fishing in the rivers and seas. They hunted game and collected honey in the forests. In a land that was relatively flat, the eastern Slavs used available hilltops to build protective fortresses. Legend tells us that Kiev started as just such a fort-city in AD 560. It was founded by three brothers and a sister. The brothers, Kii, Shchek, and Koriv are often depicted as rowing gently onwards as their sister, Lybed, is standing at the helm of a Viking longboat.

By the 9th century, the Germanic Varangians sought an alternate route to Constantinople in order to access the extravagant goods of the Bysantine Empire. Rus civilization officially began with the reign of the Varangian princes over the regions' trading posts. Kiev was "rediscovered." Oleh, a Varangian prince in 860 killed off his competition and became the first prince of what eventually became the empire of Kievan Rus. A treaty was signed with Byantium that allowed trade between the two empires.

In 972 a feud ensued between three grandsons of Oleh. Volodymyr went into hiding to escape being murdered by his older brother, but eventually returned with a Viking army who wiped out the competition and allowed him to rule. Volodymyr wanted to civilize Kievan Rus and make it a secure and stable empire. He chose not to attack other nations or empires, but rather worked to establish order within his own nation.

As the story goes, the Byzantine emperor was indebted to Volodymyer for putting an end to a rebellion. As a reward, the emperor offered his daughter in marriage, provided Volodymyr would convert to Christianity. Anxious to enlarge his sphere of influence, Volodymyr accepted. So, in 988, Volodymyr returned to Kiev with his new bride and insisted that all the people of Kiev be baptised in the Dniper River. The river's waters were blessed by Byzantine priests while Volodymyr watched from the bank. In this way, all of Kievan Rus was baptized and made Christian. The pagan statues were torn down and Volodymyr dedicated one tenth of the state revenue to the Church and its clergy. The Eastern Orthodox form of Christianity was already well established in Constantinople, so that's the form of Christianity that made its way to Kievan Rus.

Things continued moderately well until 1240, when Batu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan swept downward with his Mongol Horde and decimated Kiev. They stayed in Ukrainian land for less than a century, but enslaved the people during their reign.

In the next several centuries land went back and forth as the Mongols were defeated by the Lithuanians, and then the Poles gained control. By the 16th century, Ukraine was a no-man's land. It was called "dike polye" or "wild field." Ottoman Turks and Crimean Tatars (descendents of the Mongols) came at least yearly on slave-collecting sprees, robbing the settlers and wrecking farms. A new brand of fighter emerged, dedicated to protecting his crops, family and land from continuous invasions. These men became talented horseriders and disciplined warriors, earning a reputation in Ukrainian folklore. They gave the country its national costume and many of its folk songs and dances. These were the Cossacks. "Cossack" is the Turkish word for "freeman." The Cossacks fought for freedom and for liberty for over 100 years, in spite of continued attacks and hardship.

In 1686 Poland and Russia signed an agreement of "Eternal Peace" which split the land right down the middle. Kiev and all lands east of the Dniper river went to Russia, while Poland ruled the west. The Russian Empire was now ruled by Catherine, the Great, (who, by the way had only married the Russian prince and then found herself ruling. She didn't even speak Russian!). Catherine had a desire to expand the Russian Empire to become the largest in the world. "Malorossiya" (Little Russia) was divided into nine provinces, each ruled by a tzar-appointed governor. It was a harsh regime. Millions of serfs were owned, bought and sold by their landowners. Russian tzar after tzar came to power, but it seems that each one become stricter and more brutal in attempts to control the huge populace of what was the Russian Empire. Serfdom was abolished in 1861, but the change did not ease the peasants' life. They were not free to leave their village without specially issued passports. Land was distributed for their use, but they had to buy it from the government which forced the peasants into debt. Even the introduction of industrialization in the late 1800's didn't help the plight of the common man. Structures were put into place that held the common worker down, and elevated aristocracy.

The ideas of Marxism spread quickly in this environment after his books were introduced in the 1870's. Within 20 years, revolutionary enthusiasm was everywhere, but there was not one clear stream of thought or action. In 1881 one group assassinated Russian Tsar Alexander II. In 1903, the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party was founded and led the way for the Ukrainian nationalist political movement. Tzar Nicholas II became alarmed by these movements, and sent violent forces to put down any uprisings that threatened, or seemingly threatened, the empire. Blamed for the rise of revolutionary activity, the Jews suffered the bloodiest of pogroms in Ukraine, particularly in Odessa.

In 1905 a peaceful protest of factory workers in St.Petersburg ended when hundreds were gunned down by the tzar's troops. In Ukraine, people led strikes that shut down the major cities. The peasants became more bold and began to steal things from the rich landowners. The rising fury led to the tzar reluctantly issuing the vote to all Russian men in 1905 and calling for the establishment of an elected parliament. By 1917, the revolution had risen to such a frenzy that Tzar Nicholas, his wife, Alexandria and his four children, Olga, Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia and Prince Alexander, were captured and eventually executed in the spring of 1918. Lenin became the Bolshevik leader of Russia and is immortalized today all over Russia and former Russian lands (including Ukraine) with statues in nearly every town. Within days of the revolution, the nationalist movement in Ukraine had mobilized. The Rada was established, modeled after the Cossack's self-governing assembly. The Rada demanded recognition of Ukraine's independence. However, because of conflicts between ethnic Russians and others in the land, the provisional government granted to Ukraine collapsed within a few months and it was absorbed back into Russia.

This blog is getting too long for one day, so I think I should quit here for now and continue on tomorrow or the next day. We've got a few more slow days before the pace picks up, so I shall start next time at Ukraine in World War I.

Thank you for prayers and for your support of us in this breakneck speed/ slow as molasses journey. We love you!
In Christ,
Dawn and Mark