Ukrainian movement as a modern stage of South Russian separatism

Book Creation

At the beginning of the 20th century , at the beginning of the 20th century , he worked on research of the “Ukrainian issue”, the origins of the Ukrainian “independence”, and South Russian separatism . The Kiev censor , real state adviser Sergei Nikiforovich Shchegolev , a doctor by training, whose biography has not enough information. His work at the Kiev Press Office, where he censored foreign literature, greatly contributed to such research, as he had access to Austrian, German, and local underground publications as a result of his service.

In total, Shchegolev wrote two works on the theme of Ukrainian movements, the first of which is this work, published in Kiev in 1912 (in 1914 he published another book, “Modern Ukraine. Its Origin, Growth, and Tasks” ^[1] , where Ukrainians are also seen as a separatist political movement).

On the first page, Shchegolev indicated that this book is dedicated to the memory of Job Boretsky and Vasily Kochubey . The foreword of the book was compiled on October 1, 1912. The book itself was impressive in volume and amounted to 588 pages. After her release, she met with great interest among the reading public and the press. There were rave reviews as well as aggressive criticism.

Sergei Shchegolev was the victim of red terror during the Civil War . On May 15, 1919, he was shot by the sentence of the Special Commission of the Kiev Cheka, among a large group of Russian intellectuals, members of the Kiev Club of Russian Nationalists .

In the Soviet period

Shchegolev’s book was published in extracts in 1937 in the Lenin Compendium ^[2] as part of this compendium. The publication was carried out with the aim of using Shchegolev’s postulates and theses in the interests of the party’s struggle against Ukrainian “bourgeois nationalism”, quoting the text of the book as words of Lenin himself ^[3] .

Reprint

In 2004, Shchegolev’s book was reprinted ^[4] in full accordance with the text of 1912 , however, the publishers changed the name of this work by Shchegolev, renaming it “History of“ Ukrainian “separatism” ^[5] .

In the school curriculum of modern Ukraine on the history of Ukraine, quotations from Shchegolev’s book are used as a demonstration of state views in the Russian Empire on the “Ukrainian question” .

At the beginning of the book, the author defines the Ukrainian movement ^[6] :

By South Russian separatism, or detachment, we mean attempts to weaken or break the connection between the Little Russian tribe and the Great Russian. By the means by which the separatists strive to achieve their goal, we can distinguish between political separatism (high treason by the hetmans of Vygovsky and Mazepa) and cultural-ethnographic, or Ukrainianophilic (Kostomarov, Kulish)

It is further proved that all those whom the "separatists" are trying to call "Ukrainians" are "Russian", and their Little Russian language is a dialect of Russian. “In 1905, partisans of Ukraine brought to Russia a special book (Ukrainian) language they developed for the Little Russians. Conscious Ukrainians use this language as an instrument of struggle against the growth of Russian (school and extracurricular) culture among the South Russian population, hoping to gradually supplant this culture in southern Russia and introduce a new culture - Ukrainian ” ^[6] . Shchegolev calls the Ukrainian language in different places of his composition a parody of either Russian or Polish. This language, according to the author, is alien and incomprehensible to Little Russians themselves. Ukraine is called by the author the result of Polish, Austrian, German and other anti-Russian intrigues ^[7] .

Shchegolev calls Ukrainian literature, scientific theories and Ukrainian journalism worthless, but nonetheless dangerous. The author is particularly criticized by Russians who support Ukrainophilism, as well as foreigners and foreigners (to whom a separate section of the work, “Ukrainophilism of Foreigners and Foreigners” is devoted). The author’s criticism is directed at specific individuals, in particular, academician Shakhmatov, philologist F. Korsh, historian A. Pogodin, professor Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky (for describing Shevchenko’s poetry as “the gospel of the future revival of Ukraine”), professor M. Kovalevsky, “Moscow professor” A. Krymsky, Dmitry Bagaley, “Ukrainian Semitic brand” V. Jabotinsky, “attorney” Berenstam, Yekaterinoslav landowner Gersh Borukhovich Kerner, “Sephardim” (Spanish Jew) “ Peretza ", which, according to the author, in philology" is a direct addition to the historian of the city of Grushevsky. " Also criticized are the “Union of Progressive Polish Youth”, the “Poles” V. Lipinsky and N. Tyszkiewicz, the “Russophobe” A. Sheptytsky, etc. Also, T. Shevchenko, N. Kostomarov, M. Drahomanov, I. Franko, M Grushevsky (whom Shchegolev called “a foreign Russian”), N. Sumtsov, S. Efremov, B. Grinchenko and others, as the author defines it, “renegades”. At the same time, Shchegolev gives a positive assessment to Mikhail Kotsyubinsky (“strongly imitating our Gorky”) and Vladimir Vinnichenko (“half already returned to the ranks of Russian pen meetings”) ^[7] .

The following are Shchegolev's advice on how to deal with the Ukrainian movement at the state level: "Our legislators and the government should come to the aid of the society in the fight against the Ukrainian party and its doctrine." Since the Ukrainian party consists predominantly of Little Russians, it is incorrect to call it foreign-born, Shchyogolev believes - it is more appropriate to consider it “foreign-born”. He notes that any desire to bring the Little Russians in Russia closer to foreigners should be punished. Education should be under constant attention: “The greatest attention and care from society, self-government bodies, government and legislation is required by our South Russian folk (elementary) school in the sense of the inviolability of Russian teaching and protecting it from Ukrainian literature and from the“ Ukrainian ”language in the mouth of the teacher ", - the author writes ^[7] . In general, his analysis contains a detailed and detailed toolkit of the proposed opposition to the Ukrainian movement at the state level.

The work ends with a rather modest self-esteem: “Our humble desire is only to raise the question of the true ideology of the Ukrainian movement, leading a campaign on the most precious treasures of the Russian people: its historical tradition and its modern culture. Let the Russian reader revise and criticize this scheme, let him reject it and come up with his own ” ^[7] .

In “Moscow Vedomosti” in 1912, the book contained this review:

The book, written in living language, reveals in the author a great knowledge of the issue, the development of which he took up, by the abundance and thoroughness of information on the Little Russian dialect, on the history of Little Russia and on the history of the separatist movement in Southern Russia, can be called the encyclopedia of “Ukrainians” .

- The newspaper "Moscow News". 1912. No. 288.

In the “Note on the Ukrainian Movement” for 1914-1916, emanating from the police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire , Shchegolev is called “the newest researcher of Ukraine,” and the conclusions of his work, which was detailed in the note, were extrapolated to the real situation of the First World War ^{[ 6]} .

The journal Ukrainian Life , edited by Simon Petlyura , was published in Moscow in 1915, the collection Ukrainian Question, aimed at refuting Shchegolev’s conclusions.

In Soviet times, Shchegolev’s book was not reprinted, and the leader of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin himself participated in its criticism ^[8] . He wrote about the work and the author ^[3] :

"Zitatensack (bag of quotes) detective! It scolds everything Polish with saliva at the mouth, and he writes with polonisms ... He writes illiterate ... The ignoramus ... The Black Hundred is mad! Scolds Ukrainians with vile words! ”

Shchegolev, at the suggestion of Lenin in Soviet historiography, was given the ideological label of “ignoramus”, which was later used by other scholars as well ^[9] . Shchegolev's work was also criticized in encyclopedias on the history of the Ukrainian SSR ^[10] .

The Ukrainian dissident and writer Ivan Dziuba called Shchegolev’s book “a fundamental indictment”, “an encyclopedia of insinuations” ^[7] :

This is the fruit of the remarkable efforts of the scientist fiscal, who scrupulously sought out everything that could prove, firstly, the “Russophobia” of the so-called. "Ukrainian party", Ukrainophilia in general; secondly, the need for decisive state measures to suppress them, because it was a threat to the existence of Russia. From this angle, he “shoveled” the entire anti-Ukrainian press in Russia and abroad and compiled a real anthology of stereotypical accusations against malicious Ukraine.

Original text (in Ukrainian)

The goal is a plaid of non-abusive musk of the learned fiscal, who scrupulously hanged his mustache and could, in the first place, bring “Russophobia” to the sound. The “Ukrainian party”, the Ukrainian factionalism; in a different way, the need for the most powerful powers for their souls, little remnants about the threat of the loss of Russia. I’ve said that I’ll “shovel” I’m assuming the anti-Ukrainian press in Russia between the borders and the first place I can help you with an anthology of stereotypical ringtones at the address of the evil Ukraine.

• Shchegolev S. N. The Ukrainian movement as a modern stage of South Russian separatism = The Ukrainian movement as a modern stage of South Russian separatism. - a book. - Kiev: Printing house I.N. Kushnerev and Co., 1912. - 588 p.
• Lenin V.I. Shchegolev's book abstract // Lenin collection. - T.XXX. - [M.]: Partizdat, 1937 (in the compendium of Lenin)
• Shchegolev S. N. History of “Ukrainian” separatism / Comp. M. Smolin. - Imperial tradition, 2004 .-- 472 p. - (Orthodox Center for Imperial Political Studies). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-89097-062-3 .

• A note on the Ukrainian movement for 1914-1916 with a brief outline of the history of this movement as a separatist-revolutionary movement among the population of Little Russia, June 23, 1916 // "Ukrainian" disease of the Russian nation / comp. M. B. Smolin . - collection. - Moscow: Imperial Tradition, 2004. - S. 105-174. - 558 p. - (Russian imperial thought). - ISBN 5-89097-067-4 .
• Dziuba Ivan Mikhailovich . Russifikatsiya yesterday, winter ... and tomorrow? // Nagnіtannya Moroku. Vid chornosotentsіv ear of XX century. to ukrainofobіv ear 21st art. . - Kiev: Publishing House "Kiev-Mohyla Academy", 2011. - S. 432-437. - 503 s. - ISBN 978-966-518-568-0 .