Ukrainians, as well as Russians and Belarusians, belong to the Eastern Slavs. Ukrainians include Carpathian (Boikos, Hutsuls, Lemkos) and Polissya (Litvins, Polishchuks) ethnographic groups. The formation of the Ukrainian people took place in the XII-XV centuries on the basis of a part of the population that had previously been part of Kievan Rus.

During the period of political fragmentation, due to the existing local features of the language, culture and way of life, conditions were created for the formation of three East Slavic peoples (Ukrainians and Russians). The main historical centers of the formation of the Ukrainian nationality were Kiev region, Pereyaslav region, Chernihiv region. In addition to the constant raids of the Mongol-Tatars, which lasted until the 15th century, from the 13th century, Ukrainians were subjected to Hungarian, Polish and Moldavian invasions. However, the constant resistance to the invaders contributed to the unification of the Ukrainians. Not the last role in the formation of the Ukrainian state belongs to the Cossacks who formed the Zaporozhian Sich, which became the political stronghold of the Ukrainians.

In the 16th century, the ancient Ukrainian language was formed. The modern Ukrainian literary language was formed at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

In the XVII century, as a result of the war of liberation, under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, the Hetmanate was formed, which in 1654 became part of Russia as an autonomous state. Historians consider this event a prerequisite for the unification of Ukrainian lands.

Although the word "Ukraine" was known as early as the 12th century, it was then used only to refer to the "extreme" southern and southwestern parts of the Old Russian lands. Until the end of the century before last, the inhabitants of modern Ukraine were called Little Russians and considered one of the ethnographic groups of Russians.

The traditional occupation of Ukrainians, which determined their place of residence (fertile southern lands), was agriculture. They grew rye, wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, oats, hemp, flax, corn, tobacco, sunflowers, potatoes, cucumbers, beets, turnips, onions and other crops.

Agriculture, as usual, was accompanied by cattle breeding (cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, poultry). Beekeeping and fishing were less developed. Along with this, various trades and crafts were widespread - weaving, glass production, pottery, woodworking, leatherworking and others.

The national dwelling of the Ukrainians: huts (huts), adobe or log cabins, whitewashed inside and out, were quite close to the Russians. The roof was usually made of four-pitched straw, as well as reeds or shingles. In a number of areas, until the beginning of the last century, the dwelling remained smoky or semi-smoky. The interior, even in different districts, was of the same type: at the entrance to the right or left in the corner there was a stove, turned by the mouth to the long side of the house. Diagonally from it in the other corner (front) painted with embroidered towels, flowers, icons hung, there was a dining table. There were benches along the walls. The flooring for sleeping was adjacent to the stove. The peasant house consisted, depending on the prosperity of the owner, of one or more outbuildings. Wealthy Ukrainians lived in brick or stone houses, with several rooms with a porch or veranda.

The culture of Russians and Ukrainians has much in common. Often foreigners cannot distinguish them from each other. If we remember that for many centuries these two peoples were actually one, this is not surprising.

Women's traditional clothing of Ukrainians consists of an embroidered shirt and non-sewn clothing: dergi, spares, plakhty. Girls usually let go of long hair, which they braided into braids, laying them around their heads and decorating them with ribbons and flowers. Women wore various caps, later - scarves. The men's costume consisted of a shirt tucked into wide trousers (harem pants), a sleeveless jacket and a belt. Straw hats were the headdress in summer, caps in winter. The most common shoes were postols made of rawhide, and in Polissya - lychaks (bast shoes), among the wealthy - boots. In the autumn-winter period, both men and women wore a retinue and opancha - varieties of caftan.

The basis of the nutrition of Ukrainians in view of their occupation was vegetable and flour foods. National Ukrainian dishes: borsch, soup with dumplings, dumplings with cherries, cottage cheese and potatoes, cereals (especially millet and buckwheat), donuts with garlic. Meat food was available to the peasantry only on holidays, but lard was often used. Traditional drinks: varenukha, sirivets, various liqueurs and vodka with pepper (vodka).

Various songs have always been and remain the most striking feature of the national folk art of Ukrainians. There are still well preserved (especially in rural areas) ancient traditions and rituals. As well as in Russia, in some places they continue to celebrate semi-pagan holidays: Maslenitsa, Ivan Kupala and others.

They speak the Ukrainian language of the Slavic group, in which several dialects are distinguished: northern, southwestern and southeastern. Writing based on Cyrillic.

Believing Ukrainians are mostly Orthodox. In Western Ukraine there are also. There is Protestantism in the form of Pentecostalism, Baptism, Adventism.

The medieval culture of Ukraine was quite specific. In many ways, it can be said that medieval Ukrainian culture is a vivid example of a “borderline” culture: West and East, civilization and savagery, striving forward and obscurant stagnation of views, frantic religiosity and secular aspirations of ideas are whimsically mixed here. Such a colorful combination, which characterized the culture of Ukraine in the 17th century, has developed due to a number of circumstances.

• By the XIV century, the Ukrainian lands were finally freed from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, that is, much earlier than the "Great Russian" territories. True, it was not fitting for the indigenous inhabitants of the former Kievan Rus to rejoice too much: the country was plundered, the productive forces, namely, rich and educated princes and boyars, were largely destroyed. In addition, a holy place does not happen empty, and the vacated territory was occupied by representatives of more developed neighboring countries - Poland, Lithuania, Hungary. The leading role was apparently played by the Lithuanians, who in the ethnographic and cultural sense were a people more "young" than the Eastern Slavs (who even in the lands of Ukraine preferred to call themselves Russians); therefore, the Lithuanians preferred “not to introduce novelty, not to destroy the old”, that is, they did not abolish the habitual Russian way of life and ancient Russian legislation, but, on the contrary, they actively perceived the foundations of Slavic culture and even adopted Orthodoxy. But under the influence of Western neighbors, the Lithuanians adopted European enlightenment, and gradually the economic, political and cultural life of Ukraine was largely reorganized in a European way.
• The development of the people's liberation movement, which is predominantly of a peasant-Cossack character. The Ukrainian lower strata of the population, who belonged to the East Slavic people, felt subjugated. Lithuanians and Poles, as well as the Polonized “Russian” elite, according to the peasants, appropriated the funds belonging to the Orthodox people and dispose of them unjustly, at least not in the interests of the “autochthonous” population. Most of the peasants and Cossacks were illiterate, dark and superstitious people, which left an imprint on the cultural life of Ukraine.
• Some isolation of Ukrainian lands from the centers of European cultural life. Creative, philosophical and technological achievements of European civilization came to Ukraine with a certain delay. In general, for this entire region of Eastern Europe, there is a strict gradation in terms of the level of civilization. In the 16th century, the European Renaissance dominated the Belarusian lands with might and main, Ukraine at the same time mastered for the most part the culture of the late Middle Ages, and in Russia the gloomy and hopeless early Middle Ages reigned, and in some areas almost a primitive communal system. Because of this, a kind of cultural filtration also took place: European culture penetrated into Ukraine and Belarus in a “polonized” form, and then, in the 17th century, it penetrated into the Muscovite state already in a Ukrainianized form: Simeon of Polotsk, Pamvo Berynda and many others Moscow "learned people" came to Moscow from Ukraine.

Polemic culture of Ukraine in the XIV-XVII centuries

Due to the circumstances, the medieval culture of Ukraine was highly polemical. Outstanding monuments of Ukrainian literature are mostly represented by polemical writings that defended the superiority of the Orthodox faith over the Catholic one (or vice versa), cursed or, conversely, supported the Uniates that concluded the so-called Union of Brest.

The controversy, however, did not develop into a general cultural confrontation: for example, one of the most educated Ukrainians, Prince Ostrozhsky, patronized the activities of precisely Orthodox writers and artisans, including the printer and gunsmith Ivan Fedorov, who had escaped from the wild Tatar Moscow. Orthodox artists tried to combine the Byzantine icon-painting canons with the achievements of European fine art, and also mastered civil painting itself.

Old Ukrainian churches of ancient Russian style and newly built churches in the Renaissance and Baroque styles passed either to the Orthodox, then to the Catholics, then to the Uniates. Behind this polemical culture of Ukraine, there was a sharp political struggle between the native Ukrainian population and the Europeans, who were perceived as invaders.

Scholasticism went along with the polemics. The “fraternal schools” founded by Peter Mohyla, one of which grew into the Kiev-Mohyla Academy by the second half of the 17th century, concentrated their activities in scholastic disputes, in which they were largely mired.

The real goal of scholastic disputes is the desire to prevent "spiritual sabotage": scrupulously examining the dogma, human rights in accordance with the "holy scripture", educated Orthodox priests tried, overcoming primitive savagery, to determine for believers the maximum "civilizational dose" that would allow the person who accepted it still called Orthodox.

Culture of Ukraine in the 17th – 18th centuries

Ukrainian culture in these centuries has undergone mutual influence with the culture of Moscow. On the one hand, scientists, writers, architects and artists willingly came to the Muscovite state and were even specially invited by Alexei Mikhailovich, again with the same goal: to perceive European civilization as if "bypassing" Catholic and Protestant missionaries.

On the other hand, having become part of the Russian state, Ukraine also adopted the subsequent Russian culture, reshaped by Peter in a Western way. And the so-called "Ukrainian Baroque", culturally representing nothing more than the early Renaissance, in the 18th century abruptly turned into the present Baroque. The beginning of this was apparently laid by Mazepa, who in his letter to Peter asked to send him the architect Osip Startsev from Moscow.

Video: History of Ukrainian culture

The Ukrainian state is located in Eastern Europe. This country borders on Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Russia. It has access to the Black and Azov Seas.

In ancient times, the current Ukrainians were called Little Russians and Rusyns. The Ukrainian nationality originates from the Eastern Slavs. Ukrainians live mostly in their own territories. But in some countries you can still meet representatives of this nationality: In Russia, the USA, Canada and other states.

Poleshchuks, Boikos, Hutsuls, Lemkos - all these ethnographic groups belong to the Ukrainian people.

Peoples inhabiting Ukraine

Today, the main population of Ukraine are Ukrainians and Russians themselves. Also, Belarusians, Moldovans, Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Romanians and Poles live in Ukrainian territories.

In addition, some Ukrainians live in foreign territories: in Canada, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.

The Ukrainian nationality is also made up of foreign Rusyns - Slovaks, Serbs, Americans and Canadians. Also, many Hutsuls live in Ukraine.

Modern Ukraine for a long time included Slavic-speaking and Iranian-speaking peoples. Gradually, the Iranians were evicted by the Turks. The Germans also lived here for some time. But the Greeks, Armenians and Jews lived the longest in the Ukrainian lands.

In Soviet times, the composition of the population of Ukraine changed somewhat - Jews, Poles, Germans, Tatars began to leave the territory of Ukraine, and at the same time, the Russian people began to move there.

The ethnic structure of Ukraine changed under the influence of both external and internal factors - religion, differences in living standards, historical events and foreign policy.

Culture and life of Ukraine

Ukrainian life is full of color and religiosity. Tourists have always admired the beauty of the nature of these places and the character of the people.

The main feature of the Ukrainian nationality is the love for work and agriculture. This feature appeared in ancient times, because the Ukrainian people have always depended on the agricultural year.

What is a tradition or custom in many countries is commonplace and everyday for Ukrainians. For example, folk songs. People just need to entertain themselves by working in the fields.

If we talk about national clothes, then the men's outfit cannot be compared in brightness and beauty with the women's. A beautiful shirt with embroidery is belted with a hem. A velvet or silk corset and an embroidered apron are worn over this. Clothing is decorated with multi-colored ribbons, giving a special colorfulness to the outfit. The headdress is of particular importance - unmarried women wore a flower wreath, married women wore a high ochipok covering their hair.

A men's suit looks much simpler than a woman's: a long shirt, harem pants, a sleeveless jacket and a long belt.

Family in Ukraine is of great importance. Therefore, Ukrainians observe all the rules of marriage and family life.

Traditions and customs in Ukraine

Ukrainians have always honored and respected the traditions of their ancestors. And even after the adoption of Christianity, they were able to connect their past with the present.

Speaking of religious traditions, it is worth noting Christmas, Maslenitsa, Easter, Trinity and Ivan Kupala.

Christmas in Ukraine begins with the celebration of Holy Evening on January 6th. On this day, people cook kutya and uzvar. And on Christmas, each family sets up a festive table overflowing with meat dishes.

One of the Christmas customs is carols. Carol-makers go from house to house and collect gifts and goodies. They distribute roles among themselves - birch, latkovy, treasurer, bread-bearer, star star, dancer, etc.

Maslenitsa is still a pre-Christian holiday. It is held in honor of the end of winter and the onset of warm days. Today this holiday is held a week before Lent. As a rule, these days people cook pancakes with various fillings, treat each other, burning the effigy of Winter.

An Easter custom is to dye chicken eggs and bake Easter cakes. People meet each other with the words: "Christ is Risen!", and in response they hear: "Truly Risen!".

The feast of the Trinity is celebrated for 3 days. Green Sunday is the day when girls perform divination rites. It is believed that on this day the predictions come true. Checkered Monday is the day of consecration of fields from fires, hail and crop failure. The third day is Bogodukh's day. On this day, the girls play various games.

The holiday of Ivan Kupala is famous for its mysticism. They say that on this day you can hear the conversations of evil spirits. And if you bathe in a spring or drink dew, then all negativity is washed off a person.

The war of Russia against gentry Poland and its consequences

The mighty Russian state came to the defense of Ukraine, which continued to be encroached upon by gentry Poland and sultan Turkey. Russian military people, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, began to fight against the royal troops.

Especially fierce battles took place near Okhmatov in the Cherkasy region. For three days in January 1655, in severe frost, besieged Cossacks and Russian military men defended the camp together. Their forces were already on the verge of human capabilities. However, at the decisive moment, the detachment of I. Bohun left Uman and attacked the enemy from the rear. The combined Russian and Ukrainian troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the royal army, which, together with its allies, the detachments of the Crimean Khan, retreated beyond the Bug River.

The Russian state also gave a helping hand to the people of fraternal Belarus. A significant army headed here, which, together with the Ukrainian Cossack regiments, led by the order (appointed) hetman Ivan Zolotarenko, liberated a significant part of the Belarusian lands. The power of the Polish and Lithuanian feudal lords was eliminated in the region of Minsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Polotsk.

However, the Russian state could not liberate all Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, since the war with Sweden began, which seized its northwestern territories. In the south, the predatory attacks of Turkish and Tatar feudal lords did not stop. The internal situation in Ukraine has become more complicated.

On July 27, 1657, hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky died in Chyhyryn. Until the last days of his life, he persistently and consistently pursued a policy of strengthening the alliance of the Ukrainian people with the fraternal Russian people. The death of Khmelnytsky echoed with deep anguish in the heart of the Ukrainian people. In songs and thoughts that were passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, the people sang the hetman as a national hero.

The long, exhausting war between Russia and the Commonwealth brought heavy losses - thousands of people died, dozens of cities and villages of Ukraine lay in ruins. The Polish economy was also in a state of disarray. Both sides began negotiations, which ended in 1667 with the signing of an armistice agreement in the village of Andrusovo near Smolensk. According to the terms of the Andrusov Treaty, Smolensk and Seversk land were returned to Russia. All Ukrainian lands along the left bank of the Dnieper and Kyiv with the adjacent territory remained part of the Russian state, and the Right-Bank and Eastern Galicia were under the yoke of gentry Poland. The territorial dismemberment of Ukrainian lands was confirmed by the conditions of the so-called "Eternal Peace" of 1686 between Russia and Poland.

The struggle of the popular masses of Ukraine against the aggression of the Turkish and Tatar feudal lords. Ivan Sirko

At that time, the threat of enslavement by Sultan Turkey and its vassal, the Crimean Khanate, hung over the Ukrainian people. The Horde again attacked Ukraine, captured thousands of people. Peasants and Cossacks rose to fight the enemy. The Zaporizhzhya ataman Ivan Sirko especially distinguished himself in this fight. Thanks to his personal qualities, he became well known among the broad circles of the Cossacks, took part in the liberation war of the Ukrainian people in 1648-1654. The next period of his life is closely connected with the Zaporozhian Sich. It was during these years that I. Sirko won great popularity among the people as an implacable enemy of the Polish gentry and the Crimean hordes, a fearless warrior, a talented military leader. In 1663, he was first elected ataman (it was a very influential and authoritative position in the Zaporozhye Host). In subsequent years, I. Sirko actively prepared for the people's struggle against the Polish-gentry and Turkish aggression on Ukrainian lands. The detachments of the Cossacks led by him carried out a number of successful campaigns against the Right-Bank Ukraine and the Crimean Khanate. The 1667 campaign against the Crimea was especially successful, during which a detachment of Cossacks occupied Kafa and other cities and freed two thousand slaves.

In the summer of 1672, Turkish and Tatar troops invaded Ukraine. Capturing Podolia and part of Volyn, they moved to Eastern Galicia. Destruction and death were carried by foreign enslavers. The Russian state again extended a helping hand to the Ukrainian people - Russian troops and Cossack regiments entered the territory of the Right Bank.

However, Sultan's Turkey did not give up its aggressive plans. V. 1677 -1678 numerous hordes of Turkey and the Crimean Khanate twice attacked Chigirin, which was courageously defended by Russian soldiers and Ukrainian Cossacks. Having suffered huge losses, the enemy troops retreated outside Ukraine.

The struggle of senior groups for power

The political situation of the Ukrainian lands became even more complicated in connection with the struggle for power of senior groups, which often focused on foreign states. Already after the death of Bogdan Khmelnytsky, a part of the Cossack elite, headed by I. Vyhovsky, who, with the help of intrigues and bribery, achieved the hetman's mace, sought to reconsider the decision of the Pereyaslav Council, to return the Ukrainian people to a foreign yoke again. The peasant-Cossack masses resolutely opposed these plans. A small group of Vyhovsky's supporters remained in complete isolation, and the hetman himself fled to Poland.

However, the situation in Ukraine remained difficult. The anti-people policy was pursued by Yuri Khmelnitsky, the youngest son of the great hetman. Having sworn allegiance to the Russian Tsar, he repeatedly went over to the side of the Commonwealth, then Sultan's Turkey. Together with his new patrons-conquerors, Y. Khmelnytsky sowed on Ukrainian Khushka. Thus, the left-bank hetman Ivan Samoylovich owned a significant number of villages, mills, workshops, many mines, enterprises for the manufacture of linen and saltpeter. Enriched as the hetman's family, so to his inner circle. Their lands increased mainly due to the seizure of peasant and Cossack allotments. The landownership of the church and monasteries increased. They turned into real feudal lords who owned significant estates and thousands of peasants. In Sloboda Ukraine, the families of colonels Shidlovsky, Donets, Kondratiev became large landowners. Okhtyrsky colonel I. Perekhrest owned, for example, 40 thousand acres of land.

At the same time, the dependence of the peasants on the feudal lords increased, and their duties increased. In the 50-60s of the XVII century. certain categories of peasants of the Left-Bank Ukraine often worked out the corvée. In addition, they performed various field work for the benefit of the foremen's elite, prepared firewood, fished, etc. The position of ordinary Cossacks worsened. The foreman seized their lands and limited personal rights.

Craft, crafts, trade

In the second half of the XVII century. the industrial development of the Left-Bank and Sloboda Ukraine was significantly revived. Among the crafts, weaving, carpentry, blacksmithing and shoemaking, etc. were most widely used. Cossack elders, monasteries and wealthy peasants brought large profits from crafts. On many estates of the feudal lords there were distilleries that produced vodka, "honey", breweries, as well as malt factories (where malt was produced from grain) factories.

The production of glass - goutnichestvo - developed. Many enterprises for the production of glassware and pharmacy utensils operated in the Chernihiv region. The production of iron from swamp ores was also improved.

Trade revived. The ties between Ukraine and the central regions of the Russian state have become especially strong. Ukrainian lands have become an organic part of the All-Russian market, which was being formed.

Ukrainian and Russian merchants sold cattle, wool, wax, lard, as well as saltpeter, glass, and cloth in the cities and villages of Russia. From the markets of the central regions of Russia, fabrics, metal products, and fish were imported to Ukraine. At that time, the trade in salt, which was delivered to Ukraine by the Chumaks (mainly from the Crimea), acquired great importance.

Domestic trade was concentrated on fairs and bazaars. Fairs, as a rule, met two or three times a year in Kyiv, Chernigov, Nizhyn and other cities. Here, not only local artisans sold their products, but also merchants from different regions of the country. Merchants from Ukraine also traded in the markets of foreign countries in Europe (especially the Balkan Peninsula) and the Middle East.

Cities

On the territory of Ukraine reunited with Russia, the development of cities has accelerated. According to the 1666 census, there were already about 90 cities and towns on the Left Bank. The internal life of many of them was controlled by magistrates, who were in the hands of the wealthy elite - large merchants, shop masters, etc. However, as feudal relations developed and the power of the Cossack foreman increased, a number of cities lost the right to self-government.

Large cities (Kyiv, Nizhyn, Chernihiv, Poltava) became important industrial and commercial centers. New craft specialties and workshops arose in them. In the second half of the XVII century. in Left-Bank Ukraine, there were about 300 handicraft specialties.

Successes in settling the lands of Sloboda Ukraine contributed to the emergence of a number of cities here, for example, Ostrogozhsk (1652), Sumy (1655), Kharkov (1656). In the 60s, there were already 57 cities and towns in Slobozhanshchina. Cities were major economic centers. In Kharkov, for example, thousands of carpets were made every year; Sumy was famous for the products of weavers, potters, tailors, blacksmiths. In Slobozhanshchina, the cities were administratively subordinate to the tsarist governors and the Cossack elders.

Administrative device

Ukrainian lands within the Russian state retained a certain autonomy in the administrative and military structure. Here there were bodies and institutions that arose during the liberation war. The entire territory of the Left-bank Ukraine and Slobozhanshchina was divided into regiments, which in turn were divided into hundreds. They were both administrative and military units.

The supreme power on the Left Bank belonged to the hetman, who was formally elected at the combined arms council. In his activities, the hetman relied on the general foreman - the convoy officer, judge, treasurer, clerk, esauls, bunchzhny. Colonels and centurions had significant local power. The senior elite, as a rule, belonged to large feudal lords who owned land and thousands of dependent peasants.

Traditional self-government bodies were preserved in Zaporozhye, but even there the Cossack foremen seized all the posts. Basically, the decisions of Kosh, the highest body in the Zaporizhzhya Sich, which was in charge of administrative, judicial, military and financial affairs, depended on her will.

The tsarist government resolved all matters related to Ukraine through the Little Russian Order, which was located in Moscow and acted in agreement with the hetman-senior authorities in Ukraine. Together they took care of strengthening the existing feudal system, and suppressed the anti-feudal uprisings of the masses.

Right Bank and Western Ukrainian lands under the yoke of foreign invaders

In the second half of the XVII century. the situation in the Right-bank Ukraine became especially complicated. Its territory became the scene of a fierce struggle between individual Ukrainian hetmans, Polish-gentry, Crimean and Turkish feudal lords. Over the course of several decades, several hetmans were replaced here, who were guided either by the gentry Poland or the Sultan's Turkey. The obedient henchmen of the Commonwealth were Pavel Teterya and Nikolai Khanenko, Petro Doroshenko was guided by the Ottoman Porte (Ottoman Empire).

The hostilities that continued between the warring parties brought devastating devastation to the territory of the Right Bank. Hundreds of villages and cities were burned, thousands of people were destroyed or taken into Turkish slavery. Fertile fields were overgrown with weeds, industrial enterprises ceased to operate, and trade ceased. Podolia, which was under the rule of Sultan Turkey, suffered especially for almost two decades. Only at the end of the century the situation on the Right Bank, as well as Western Ukrainian land stabilized. They finally fell under the rule of foreign states (the Right Bank and Eastern Galicia belonged to gentry Poland, Northern Bukovina - to the Moldavian principality, a vassal of Sultan's Turkey, Transcarpathia - to feudal Hungary). The popular masses not only endured cruel social oppression, but also national-religious oppression. The feudal exploitation of the peasantry intensified again, corvee in most areas reached 4-5 days a week. In addition, the serfs paid their master numerous taxes in kind and money, worked out additional duties. The feudal lord was the sovereign master of his subject: he could punish him in any way, or even kill him.

The offensive of Catholicism and Uniatism intensified. The royal authorities forced the peasant serfs and the urban poor to accept Uniatism. Ukrainian petty bourgeois, as before, were allowed to settle only on certain streets, to engage only in certain types of crafts.

Foreign domination hindered the economic development of the Right Bank and Western Ukrainian lands. Most of the cities were captured by magnates and gentry, who robbed the inhabitants, forced them to do various jobs.

Anti-feudal movements on the Left Bank, Sloboda and Zaporozhye

The oppression of the masses by the Cossack officers was the main reason for the aggravation of the class struggle. Its forms remained the same as before: filing complaints, refusal to work out duties, escapes and, finally, armed uprisings.

Already in the late 50s of the XVII century. on the Left Bank of Ukraine and Zaporizhia, social contradictions sharply escalated. The uprisings against hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and his henchmen in 1657 were led by Poltava colonel Martyn Pushkar. A detachment of Cossacks led by the ataman Yakov Barabash also arrived to help the rebels. Thousands of peasants, working people of crafts, artisans, and the urban poor joined the rebels. Only in the Poltava region concentrated 20 thousand insurgent people. It was also restless in other regiments of the Left Bank, all of Zaporozhye was seething.

Before the threat of losing the hetman's mace, I. Vyhovsky called on the troops of the Crimean Khan to help him. In the second half of May 1658, the rebels managed to push back and even defeat the punishers. But already in early June, the peasant-Cossack detachments, surrounded by regiments loyal to the hetman and the Horde, were defeated. I. Vygovsky and the Crimean Khan perpetrated a savage reprisal against the local population. They burned Poltava and other cities to the ground, tortured thousands of people. M. Pushkar and Y. Barabash died like heroes. But still, I. Vygovsky was defeated and fled to Poland.

Despite mass violence, the anti-feudal struggle did not stop. In 1666, a major uprising broke out in Pereyaslav, which was attended by local Cossacks, residents of the surrounding villages and towns. The following decades saw a further intensification of the class struggle. Already in 1687, there was a performance by ordinary Cossacks of the Gadyachsky and Priluksky regiments. The rebels killed the colonel, the captain, the judge and some other foremen. During the 80s there were mass unrest of the Cossack poor in Zaporozhye and in separate regiments of the Left Bank. The rebels sacked the estates of the foreman, physically destroyed the feudal lords, and took revenge on them for the offenses they had caused.

Participation of the popular masses of Ukraine in the peasant war of 1667-1671. under the leadership of Stepan Razin

A bright page in the joint struggle of brother peoples against tsarism and feudal exploitation was the peasant war of 7667-1671 in Russia under the leadership of Stepan Timofeevich Razin, the main events of which you met in the lessons of the history of the USSR. From the Cossack Don, the flames of the peasant war soon spread to other regions of the Russian state. Under the influence of these events, the anti-feudal struggle of the masses of Ukraine intensified. From the Left Bank and Zaporozhye, the Right Bank and Slobozhanshchina, thousands of peasants and ordinary Cossacks joined Razin's army. They took an active part in the peasant war. Immigrants from Ukraine - Oleksa Khromoy, Yarema Dmitrenko, Nestor Sambulenko even led separate large detachments of Razintsy.

In appeals ("lovely letters"), distributed in Ukraine, Stepan Razin called on the people to rise up to fight against the elders, boyars, governor. In September 1670, an uprising broke out in the city of Ostrogozhsk (Sloboda Ukraine). It was headed by local colonel Ivan Dzikovsky. With the help of a detachment of Razintsy, the insurgent people dealt with the royal governor. The management of the city passed into the hands of the Cossacks. Soon the rebels took possession of the neighboring one. Olshansky and a number of other cities of Slobozhanshchina. In the liberated territory, peasants and ordinary Cossacks destroyed the voivodship and foremen's authorities, created self-government.

But the insurgent detachments were poorly organized and armed, did not have a unified plan of action. Taking advantage of this, the tsarist government suppressed the peasant war (remember the fate of its leader Stepan Razin from the history of the USSR).

Strengthening the liberation struggle of the masses on the Right Bank and Western Ukrainian lands. Semyon Paly

Having seized the Right Bank, the Polish magnates and gentry intensified the social and national oppression of the working masses. Peasants and ordinary Cossacks did not obey the feudal lords. In 1663, an uprising of the peasant-Cossack masses of the Pavolochsky regiment broke out. Soon the liberation movement covered the entire territory of the Right-Bank Ukraine - detachments of atamans Ivan Serbin and Datsk Vasilyevich acted in the Kiev region, and Vasily Drozdenko - in Podolia. Only with the help of regular troops did the royal government and its henchmen from the Ukrainian feudal lords succeed in cracking down on the rebels. In the 80s of the XVII century. the territory of the right bank of the Dnieper region, which was significantly devastated as a result of the aggressive attacks of the Turkish and Tatar invaders, began to be intensively populated. Several Cossack regiments arose here, which over time became a significant force in the struggle against the Polish-gentry domination.

A prominent role in the organization and formation of the regiments belonged to Semyon Filippovich Gurko (Paliy). Originally from the Left-Bank Ukraine, he spent some time in Zaporozhye. He took an active part in the campaigns of the Cossacks against the Crimean Khanate and Sultan's Turkey, showed personal heroism. Having become a colonel of Fastovo, Semyon Paly, with his associates and closest assistants Samuil Ivanovich (Samus), Andrey Abazin, Zakhar Iskra, led the liberation movement in Right-Bank Ukraine.

Cossack regiments liberated a large territory of the Kiev region and Podolia. In the hands of the rebels were the fortress cities of Fastov, Korsun, Bratslav, Boguslav. Semyon Paly sought to reunite Right-Bank Ukraine with Russia. During the 80-90s of the XVII century. he repeatedly appealed to the tsarist government with a request to accept the Cossack regiments into the Russian state. However, the tsarist government, fearing the complication of relations with gentry Poland and Sultan's Turkey, offered S. Paliy with his regiments to first go to the Zaporizhzhya Sich, and later to the Left-Bank Ukraine.

A sharp and tense anti-feudal struggle took place in the Western Ukrainian lands. During the 1950s and 1970s, popular uprisings broke out in the Dolinsk starostvo, and after a while in the Drohobych and Zhydachevsky districts in the Carpathian region. But the most acute form of struggle of the masses of the region remained the movement of the oprishki. Hiding in the hard-to-reach Carpathian mountains, the opryshki carried out successful attacks on the Polish gentry and the Catholic clergy, and instilled fear in the local rich. The number of oprishki detachments increased from year to year, their actions became more organized and bold. During the 70s, a detachment of the famous Oprishkov leader Bordyuk operated in the Kolomiysky district, who for several years smashed the local gentry. For almost six years, the struggle of the people's avengers Ivan Vinnik and Vasily Gleb continued. The frightened gentry left their estates and sought protection behind the walls of city fortresses.

Development of culture in Ukraine

Enlightenment, scientific knowledge and printing

The liberation of Ukraine from the Polish nobility and the reunification of Ukraine with Russia had a great positive impact on the development of the culture of the Ukrainian people. The changes that took place in the socio-political life of the region contributed to the rapid development of education, literature, art, and were reflected in the spiritual rapprochement of the two fraternal peoples. As before, Kyiv was the main center of education in Ukraine. The famous Kiev Collegium operated in the city (since 1701 - the Kiev Academy). It had 8 classes, which lasted 12 years. Within the walls of this educational institution, students studied different languages, history, philosophy, learned to write poems, gained knowledge in geography, arithmetic and other subjects. Such well-known scientists as Lazar Baranovich, Ioaniky Galyatovsky, Innokenty Gizel, Stefan Yavorsky and others worked here. They made a significant contribution to the development of philosophy, historical knowledge, and pedagogy. Young men from Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece came to study in Kyiv. In the small rural and urban primary schools attached to churches and monasteries, children of the Cossack elders and clergy, wealthy Cossacks, peasants and townspeople were taught to read, write, count, sing. The main textbooks used by the students were the Book of Hours and the Psalter. The Primer by Simeon Polotsky and the Grammar by Meletius Smotrytsky were also used.

On the Right Bank and Western Ukrainian lands, the Polish-gentry authorities used the Jesuit and Uniate schools for the spiritual enslavement of the Ukrainian people. They sought to subordinate the Lvov University opened in 1661 to the same goal.

In the second half of the XVII century. old ones were operating, as well as new printing houses were created. The largest of them worked at the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, in Novgorod-Seversky, Chernigov, Lvov. Printing houses, as a rule, published government documents, works of famous writers, school textbooks.

Literature and oral folk art

New polemical works gained great popularity. First of all, these are “Conversation of Belaya Tserkov” and “Foundations” by Ioanikiy Galyatovsky, the journalistic work “Slander”, the work “A New Measure of the Old Faith” by Lazar Baranovich. Their authors opposed Catholicism and Uniatism, exposed the anti-people activities of the Pope. Other genres of literature also developed: sermons, descriptions of the life of saints, novels and stories. They were predominantly religious. But in many works real life was also reflected. The writers condemned various vices of the social system, glorified the struggle of the Ukrainian people against foreign oppressors.

At the end of the XVII century. a number of historical works appeared in Ukraine. The most significant among them were the "Synopsis" by an unknown author and "The Chronicle of the Ancient Chroniclers" by Theodosius Safonovich. On their pages was the Ukrainian people from ancient Russian times to the second half of the 17th century - their ties with the Russian and Belarusian peoples are depicted, the struggle against the Polish-gentry and Turkish oppressors is shown. "Synopsis", in fact, was the first textbook on national history and was very popular among the general population. The events of the liberation war of the Ukrainian people were covered in the annals of Samovidets, where the reunification of Ukraine with Russia is highly appreciated. Along with poems on religious subjects, poetry of a secular nature appeared, in which a person, his inner world was depicted.

The nationwide struggle against the Polish-gentry enslavers remained in the center of attention of oral folk art. These are thoughts, and songs, and sharp satirical works. The best of them - "Cossack Golota", "Ukraine made me sad", "In Tsargrad to the market", "Marusya Boguslavka", "Escape from Turkish captivity" depict real Cossack heroes and their captive sisters. Many songs and thoughts sang the glorious victories of the people under Zhovti Vody, Korsun, Pilyavtsy, glorified Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Danila Nechay, Maxim Krivonos, Ivan Bohun, Martyn Pushkar, Nestor Morozenko and other leaders. The historical epic reflected the hatred of foreign invaders, the desire of the Ukrainian people to unite with the fraternal Russian people. The theme of friendship between the peoples-brothers prevailed in legends, fairy tales, and legends.

Theater and music

In the second half of the XVII century. in Ukraine, the puppet theater-nativity scene became more widespread. As a rule, performances were shown during fairs and bazaars. The characters were the heroes of favorite folk tales, legends, songs. The image of a Cossack - a defender of the disadvantaged masses - had an extraordinary popularity among the audience.

The school theater has received significant development in the Kiev Collegium. Students put on performances on historical and everyday topics.

Music has long been an integral part of the spiritual life of the Ukrainian people. The working people composed historical songs and thoughts in which they talked about their hard life, sang the heroic struggle against feudal oppression and foreign enslavers. Wandering Cossack bandura players spread songs. They often composed their own songs and music.

Professional music continued to develop. At this time, polyphonic singing without instrumental accompaniment spread. A significant role in the development of musical art belonged to Mykola Diletsky, a Ukrainian composer, author of Musical Grammar (1677). His life and work are connected with Kiev, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Lvov, Vilna, Krakow. Diletsky made a significant contribution to the strengthening of Russian-Ukrainian ties in art.

Architecture and fine arts

As a result of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, the creative ties between Ukrainian and Russian architects and artists grew stronger. A number of architectural ensembles in Kyiv, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky were erected by architects from Russia. At the same time, Ukrainian masters took part in the construction of the city in Moscow.

In the second half of the XVII century. in the architecture and fine arts of Ukraine, the dominant place was finally occupied by the stylistic direction - baroque. It is characterized by splendor and sophistication of forms, solemnity and monumentality.

During the second half of the XVII century. well-known architectural monuments were also built, such as the Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Izyum, St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kyiv, St. George's Cathedral of the Vydubitsky Monastery and others.

Beautiful artistic decoration, perfection of forms and interior design distinguished the houses of the Cossack elite, monastic buildings. Peasants and ordinary Cossacks lived in small huts with dirt floors and thatched or reed roofs.

Realistic features began to penetrate more and more into painting. The central place in portraits and icon painting was occupied by a man - quite earthly with his thoughts and experiences. A whole gallery of portrait images of public and political figures, representatives of the clergy and the feudal nobility appeared in the wall paintings of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Here, for example, Hetman Bogdan Khmelnytsky is depicted in full growth, expensive clothes, a hat with an eagle feather and a mace in his hand. A notable phenomenon in the art of that time was the appeal of artists to the image of a Cossack bandura player, who allegedly embodied the heroism of the people, their will to win, conveyed the most secret aspirations of the working masses.

The true creator of spiritual values ​​was the people. Skillful hands of Ukrainian peasants and artisans created unsurpassed examples of decorative and applied art. Wonderful carpets, products of blacksmiths, potters, weavers, the rarest beauty of embroidery, lace and artistic casting have gained fame far beyond the borders of Ukraine.



People: Russians

Territory of settlement: the middle zone of Russia mainly, also the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Ukraine, Belarus and all regions of Russia

Sedentary agriculture and pastoralism, crafts at a high level (for example, wood products, wooden construction). A cuisine with a predominance of flour dishes, for example, pancakes, Easter cakes, kulebyak. Gardening

Religion: orthodoxy

People: Tatars

Territory of settlement: Volga region, Ural, Siberia

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: cattle breeding in a semi-nomadic form (especially horse breeding), weaving, carpet weaving. Cuisine of dairy and meat dishes (koumiss, for example).

Religion: Islam

People: Bashkirs

Territory of settlement: Ural

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: semi-nomadic cattle breeding, beekeeping and forest beekeeping, (especially weapons, blacksmithing, felting, weaving, carpet production). Meat cuisine prevailed

Religion: Islam

People: Chuvash, Mordovians

Territory of settlement: Volga, Priokye

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: farmers, smelted steel, the skill of making knives.

Religion: pagans

People: Ukrainians

Territory of settlement: Left-bank Ukraine (annexed in 1654)

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: agriculture and settled pastoralism, handicrafts at a high level. Cuisine with a predominance of flour and vegetable dishes (dumplings, kulesh, borscht, uzvar). Gardening

Religion: orthodoxy

People: Mari (Cheremis)

Territory of settlement: Volga region, Priokye

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: beekeepers, forest gatherers (mushrooms and berries), peasants

Religion: pagans

People: Kalmyks

Territory of settlement: between the Yaik and Volga rivers (became subjects of Russia in 1655)

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: nomadic pastoralists

Religion: Islam, Buddhism

People: Buryats

Territory of settlement: Transbaikalia (joined in the 17th century)

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: nomadic pastoralists. Meat cuisine. Of the crafts, dressing of sheepskins, leather, felt, blacksmithing.

Religion: paganism, Buddhism

People: Udmurts

Territory of settlement: Ural

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: nomadic pastoralists, hunters, beekeepers. They were known for the art of weaving. They lived in communities of relatives.

Religion: Orthodox and pagans

People: Karelians

Territory of settlement: Karelia

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: hunters, fishermen, lumberjacks, farmers. Almost never used the wheel.

Religion: Orthodox and Lutherans

People: Kabardians, Nogais, Adygs, Abaza, Circassians

Territory of settlement: North Caucasus

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: cattle breeding (sheep), mountain gathering (berries, nuts), handicrafts. Cuisine meat and dairy

Religion: Islam

People: Belarusians

Territory of settlement: Belarus

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: peasants (sedentary), settled agriculture and cattle breeding. Picking berries and mushrooms, harvesting birch and maple sap. Gardening

Religion: orthodoxy

People: Yakuts, Evenks, Khanty and Mansi, Evens, Chukchis, Koryaks, Tungus, Yukagirs and others

Territory of settlement: Siberia, Far North, Far East

Culture, main occupations and lifestyle features: nomadic pastoralists (deer), taiga hunters, fishermen, fishing for furs, seals and walrus ivory. They mostly lived in portable prefabricated yurts, yarangas, tents, less often in huts.

Religion: pagans