Ukraine is one of 14 states neighboring Russia on land. And the issue of relations between neighbors is very important, because Ukraine is part of the Russian world. Russians and Ukrainians have common holidays and a common history, and for most Ukrainians, Russian is their native language.
Origin of Ukrainians
The origin of Ukrainians is based on the tribes that once lived on the territory of Ukraine. There were many such tribes: Scythians, Cumans, Slavs, Tatars, Huns, Sarmatians. Therefore, Ukrainians are a mixed ethnic group whose education was influenced by all the peoples who once lived here.
Scythians are the ancestors of modern Ukrainians
In the history of the Ukrainian people, there is evidence that the first mention of the Scythians falls on 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. The Scythian settlements were fortified with an earthen rampart, having a height of about 10 meters. The aristocracy of the Scythians lived in stone houses equipped with clay ovens. Artisans lived in thatched huts,having 2-3 rooms and a stove. The Scythians were engaged in cattle breeding, raising sheep, cows and horses.
The well-known Scythian settlements are located mainly on the territory of Ukraine, so the Scythians can be called the ancestors of modern Ukrainians. In addition, elements of the culture of the Scythians are found in the traditions of Ukrainians. So, for example, the national Ukrainian costume has much in common with the costume of the Scythians: bloomers, a hood, which later turned into a Cossack hat, and a shirt with embroidery on the chest and shoulders.
Anty - a tribe living on the outskirts
Antes lived on the territory of Ukraine in the 3rd-4th century. The word "Antes" means "a tribe living on the outskirts." They occupied both banks of the Dnieper and were located along the Vorskla, and also lived in some areas located in territories reaching Kharkov in the east, to Kherson in the south. The Ants were skilled warriors, their tribes were organized and had the beginnings of the first statehood. It is the Ants who are called the link between the Scythians and Ukrainians.
Monuments of the culture of the Polovtsians
In the 11th-13th centuries, the Polovtsians lived in the steppes of Eastern Ukraine. Stone women, which can be found in the steppes, are monuments of the Polovtsian culture. Sculptures were placed on the highest points of the steppe and were symbols of ancestors. The height of these (made of gray sandstone) statues is 1-4 meters, and about two thousand such statues have survived to our time. They are found over a wide area, from southeastern Europe to southwestern Asia.
It should be emphasizedinteresting fact. In Ukraine, there are several park-museums of stone women. One of them is located on the territory of the Lugansk National University, the other - in Donetsk. The museum of nature in Kharkiv presents these sculptures, demonstrating the traditions and culture of the Polovtsians.
Kievan Rus
In the 9th century, the first state inhabited by Eastern Slavs, Kievan Rus, was formed on the territory of Eastern Europe. It was a common history for three Slavic peoples: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. In 882, Prince Oleg went on a campaign from Novgorod to the south, captured Kyiv, saying after that: “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 join the 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 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 the peoples of Europe. This happened during the reign of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich.
History of Ukraine and interesting facts that followed the baptism of Kievan Rus
After the implementation of the Baptism of Russia, Prince Vladimir won the hand of the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Anna. Vladimir's daughter was later married off to the Polish Prince Casimir I.
Daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Elizabeth, married the kingNorway Harold. The second daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Anna, married the King of France Henry the First, and after his death she was the Queen of France. The third daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Anastasia, married King Andrew the First of Hungary.
There are numerous facts confirming the existence of family ties between European princes and the ruling family of Kievan Rus. This served as proof of the prestige of Russia among the European peoples.
Under Yaroslav the Wise, a metropolitan was elected from among the national priests. At the same time, the monasteries began to have great influence, and the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra became the center of Orthodox life.
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 also took part in the expulsion of the Polish invaders from the territory of Ukraine.
Starting from the middle of the 14th century, Ukraine was subjected to aggression from Lithuania and Poland. In 1387, Poland captured Galicia. After that, the Ukrainians were no longer allowed to the city self-government, which was given to representatives of the Polish bourgeoisie. Ukrainians experienced social and national-religious oppression. Polish and Lithuanian oppressors sought to catholicize and denationalize Ukrainians, to break their ties with the Russian people.
The people of Ukraine fought against the oppressors, resisting denationalization and strivingpreserve the traditions of Ukrainians.
Zaporizhzhya Sich
The Polish government after Galicia seized Podolia, sought by all means to subjugate the whole of Ukraine. It has achieved this. At the Sejm of Lublin, Ukrainian territories were subordinated to Poland.
As a response to the enslavement in Ukraine at the end of the 15th century, the Cossacks arose. It organized its own center beyond the thresholds of the Dnieper - the Zaporozhian Sich, which became the center of all Ukrainian actions against the invaders. In addition, the Ukrainian Cossacks, mindful of 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 against the Polish invaders began. Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky became the leader in this battle, who set a goal for the Ukrainian people: to free themselves from Polish oppression, reunite Ukrainian lands and annex Ukraine to Russia.
Bogdan Khmelnitsky
Hetman of the Zaporizhzhya army and the leader of the Ukrainian people in the struggle for independence Bogdan Khmelnitsky is one of the hundred most famous Ukrainians. Young Khmelnytsky graduated from a Ukrainian school and a Jesuit collegium in Lvov. He was an educated and intelligent man who knew Latin well, so he was respected by others.
Bogdan Khmelnytsky is the founder of the first Ukrainian state - the Hetmanate, which he ruled for nine years. During this time, his talent as a politician, military leader andhead of the 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, burghers and clergy.
In Ukraine, they honored and honor the memory of Bogdan Khmelnitsky as one of his best sons, a national hero. Kobzars dedicated their Ukrainian poems to him, and his portrait in the 17th and 18th centuries was an adornment of every Ukrainian home. The hetman was depicted 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 such a state, it was extremely difficult for the people of Ukraine to cope with the invaders. Hetman began to 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 hand 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 USSR economy 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 mechanical engineering and ferrous metallurgy. And Ukrainian agriculture was diversified.
The following are knowninteresting facts about Ukraine in Soviet times:
- The Ukrainian SSR produced 17% of all electricity produced in the USSR. A cascade of hydroelectric power plants was built on the Dnieper, and 5 nuclear power plants were located and operated on the territory of Ukraine.
- One of the most important industries in Ukraine was the coal industry, 90% of which was concentrated in the Donetsk coal basin. Other industries, such as the electric power industry and iron and steel industry, also depended on the development of this industry.
- Ukrainian SSR produced more than 30% of rolled products and steel produced in the USSR. During the Soviet era, giant plants were built in the Ukrainian SSR: Azovstal, Krivorozhstal, Zaporizhstal, Yenakiyevo 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 the following plants were built: Kharkov Tractor Plant, Lugansk Diesel Locomotive Plant, Kyiv Bolshevik Plant, Kharkov Transport Engineering Plant named after V. A. Malyshev, Kremenchug Automobile Plant ("AvtoKraz"), Zaporozhye Automobile Plant ("Avtozas"). This is not the entire list of built enterprises, but only a small part of it.
The following industries were developed in Ukraine:
- Metallurgy.
- Engineering.
- Tractor construction.
- Chemical industry.
- Light industry.
- Aircraft industry. Ukrainian aircraft built at the Kharkov Aviation Plant were known all over the world. Before the Great Patriotic War, the plant produced 17 types of aircraft. After the start of the war, the plant produced Su-2 attack aircraft, and after the war, MiG and Yak-18 fighters, and later Tu-141 and Kh-55 cruise missiles.
Ukraine during the Great Patriotic War
Ukrainians, along with brothers from other Soviet republics, fiercely resisted the Nazi war machine on its way to lightning success. 2.5 million Ukrainians fought in the ranks of the Soviet army.
The Ukrainian population showed examples of unparalleled courage and heroism. 3,992 underground organizations operated on the territory of Ukraine, in which more than 100 thousand people took part, 1,993 partisan detachments and 46 partisan formations, in which 518 thousand people participated.
After the Nazis seized the territory of Ukraine, its inhabitants were occupied. This territory served the Nazis as a raw material base. Products were exported to Germany from the occupied cities in Ukraine. How much they managed to loot, the neat Germans diligently recorded. And here 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 head of cattle were exported.
- In March 1944, the figures confirming the amount of loot are similar to those of 1943.
Ukrainians –Heroes of the Soviet Union
The fact that the Ukrainians fought heroically against the fascist invaders is confirmed by their awards. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the soldiers received 7 million awards, of which 2.5 million were awards of 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 planes, but he himself was never shot down.
No one is forgotten
The people of Ukraine remember their defenders. Ukrainian poems and songs are dedicated to them. 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 winners, those heroes who won the Victory in the most terrible war, fighting shoulder to shoulder with their comrades from the fraternal republics.
Currently, monuments to the heroes of the Second World War in Ukraine are being destroyed by time and vandals. Therefore, the action "No one 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, and more and more people join this action every year. The memory of the feat of fathers and grandfathers must be preserved for posterity! History cannot be allowed to be rewritten.
