Russification of Ukrainians during Stalinism
IRINA MIROCHNIK

One of the propaganda narratives of Russia is statements about the protection of the “Russian language” and Russian speakers in Ukraine
Below – facts and documents – about how the Russian empire forcibly introduced the “Russian language” into Ukraine
Let me remind you that one of the signs of genocide is also the forcible planting of the language of the aggressor in a country subjected to aggression and occupation
Russification of Ukrainians during Stalinism
The language issue in Ukraine always causes a storm of emotions and disputes. Some say that this is “no time”, others “what difference does it make in what pagan dialect” and only a small part of the population considers it necessary to return to its decision. Nevertheless, due to military aggression, the language is gaining importance and the Ukrainian side has become heard where it was even strange to see a Ukrainian-speaking Ukrainian before. Absurd isn’t it?
In fact, it is absurd that in Ukraine the state language was often relegated to the background. The reason for this is that everything Ukrainian for the occupying authorities has always been something like a red rag for a bull. Russification has deep roots and one of the most significant periods was Stalin’s.
This is not only propaganda aimed at destroying Ukrainians as a nation, but also special decrees on education, spelling reform and a number of other methods during the reign of the dictator-butcher.
The prosperity of the Ukrainian language before the arrival of the Stalinist regime
It is quite optimistic to talk about prosperity, but not all periods in the history of Ukraine and the development of our language are dark. The liberation movements in the period 1917-1921 had a positive impact on Ukrainian consciousness. Thanks to these processes, the Ukrainians were able to prove that tsarism failed to destroy the national consciousness and turn the Ukrainians into part of the Russians.
The people continued to develop language, cultural values and traditions. Conscious representatives of the Ukrainian intelligentsia fought for rights, freedoms, free use of the language. The state processes of this period also proved the insubordination of Ukrainians to the occupying power of the Bolsheviks, as well as the ability to fight for their language and culture.

During the period of the liberation movements, the following significant events took place:
1917 – 747 publications in Ukrainian were published in Ukrainian territories (for comparison, 452 editions were issued in Russian during the same period);
1917 – The Printing House of the Ukrainian Central Rada published the book “Grammar terminology and spelling adopted by the Language Commission under the Ukrainian community of school education in Kyiv”;
1918 – 1084 Ukrainian-language editions were published (this year there were 386 Russian-language editions);
1921 – Volyn cooperative publishing house published “The most important rules of Ukrainian spelling”;
1922 – E. Chykalenko’s book “Ukrainian Literary Language and Spelling” was published in Berlin, which was distributed on the territory of Ukraine;
1924 – The second volume “Dictionary of the Ukrainian language. Ukrainian-Russian Dictionary of Boris Grinchenko;
1924 – Ivan Ogienko publishes “Ukrainian Stylistic Dictionary”.
Despite the extraordinary results of 1917-1918, in subsequent years the trend of publishing Ukrainian-language literature and the media declined rapidly. These heroic attempts by the Ukrainian intelligentsia were subsequently suppressed, and the publication was banned. In addition, a wave of persecution and repression begins.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of Ukrainian writers, politicians, cultural figures, we managed to prove that our people are ready to fight. But it also showed the dictatorial regime of Stalin that he must put out this fire. Imperial desires and disrespect for the national interests of the Ukrainian and other peoples within the USSR led to the policy of Russification, which continued after the death of the dictator.

Decree of March 13, 1938
The Stalinist regime for Ukrainians was not just a test. During this time, mass repressions, humiliations, famines, deportations, mass terror took place on our territory. In addition, the Ukrainians also received a new wave of Russification, which refers to a number of decisions of the Soviet government, according to which there was a purposeful Russification of Ukrainians in the late 30s of the last century.
One of the main ones is the “Decree on the compulsory study of the Russian language in the schools of the national republics and regions” dated March 13, 1938. The resolution was prepared by a commission headed by Andrei Zhdanov, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. It was he who, after the war, became the head of the infamous ideological campaign – Zhdanovism.
Just 38 days after the release of the resolution, as in Kyiv on April 20, another joint resolution of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the compulsory study of the Russian language in non-Russian schools in Ukraine” was issued. In fact, this document had nothing new, but a significant difference was that it was developed specifically for Ukraine. Quite expressive quote from the decision:
As a result of the subversive work of the counter-revolutionary Trotskyist-Bukharinist and bourgeois-nationalist elements that operated in the People’s Commissariat for Education of the Ukrainian SSR and public education bodies, the teaching of the Russian language in the schools of Ukraine was unsatisfactory.
Bourgeois nationalist and Trotskyist-Bukharinist elements, who had crept into individual links of the party, Soviet apparatus and public education bodies, tried to undermine the the people and the Russian people, and the peoples of the USSR for their further economic and cultural growth.
The resolution noted several reasons for the decision to introduce Russian as compulsory for learning in Ukraine:
improvement of scientific and technical knowledge; successful service in the ranks of the Red Army and Navy; easier to get higher education.
However, the study of the Ukrainian language was considered optional. Moreover, it was inexpedient and even harmful.

An interesting fact is that during this period, Stalin ordered Sudoplatov to kill Konovalets. The main reason is the desire of the dictator to deprive the leader of the Ukrainian nationalists. At this time, a great terror takes place, which in 1937-1938 acquired its climax.
November 1937 was reflected in repressions even against those who played along with the occupying Soviet authorities.
In particular, Vladimir Zatonsky, who at that time was the People’s Commissar of Education of Soviet Ukraine, was arrested. Despite the fact that he came from a village in Podolia, he was noted for being one of the organizers of repressions and the destruction of Ukrainian culture, he was still registered as a Ukrainian nationalist and shot. According to Zatonsky, the main task of Ukrainization was to make the Ukrainian peasants understand Leninism.
The implementation of the decree of 1938 was reflected in the fact that already in the next academic year in Ukrainian schools the number of hours of studying the Russian language was increased. By this time, the study of the Russian language was formally mandatory. However, since the entry into force of the decree, only first grade students were not required to learn Russian. Then the load is distributed as follows:
Grade 2 – 3 hours a week;
3-4 classes – 5 hours a week;
5-7 classes – 6 hours a week;
8-10 classes 5 hours a week.
It should be noted that the education of grades 8-10 was then not very common and was mainly carried out in large cities. Philistines must receive a 7-grade education, and in the villages 4-grade education was sufficient. In addition, the fate of strengthening the opportunities for studying the Russian language and literature have been significantly reduced training programs in other disciplines.
This suggests that the above reasons for the release of the decision do not correspond to reality. And the main goal of the authorities was the most Russian.

Methods of Russification of Ukrainians during Stalin’s rule
The introduction of the decree is not the only method used by the Stalinist regime to destroy the Ukrainian language. In fact, an active propaganda policy was carried out to popularize Russian, which in places reached the point of absurdity. For example, at that time, films made about Stalin during Stalin’s lifetime were in Russian. But the phenomenon is not in the choice of language. The fact is that the actors had to speak pure Russian. At the same time, everyone knew perfectly well that Stalin spoke with a very noticeable Caucasian accent.
The following trimming methods were also used:
reformation of Ukrainian spelling – instead of skripnikovka in 1933, a spelling with 126 amendments was released (for example, extracting the letter ґ, replacing words, etc.);
resettlement in the 1930s – during the period of industrialization, Russian-speaking specialists and Russians in particular actively settled in the territory of the eastern regions of Ukraine and in large cities;
deportations – the population of the Ukrainian-speaking population from Sloboda, Donbass and other regions to the interior of Russia for the development of industrial cities and factories;

1945 – the release of a new Ukrainian spelling, which contained a number of amendments that contained an even closer approximation to the Russian language;
Russification even affected the national minorities of Ukraine – Poles, Jews and Germans were subjected to even greater harassment and forced deportation (in particular, the deportation of the Polish-speaking population to Kazakhstan in 1935);
wholesale liquidation of schools of national minorities – by September 1, 1938, 888 such schools (German, Swedish, Romanian, Polish, Czech, etc.) were liquidated.
As a result of such actions by the occupying Soviet authorities, the number of Russian-language schools in the period from 1938 to 1956 increased from 7 to over 27%. And the number of national minority schools decreased to only 1%.

At the same time, propaganda begins to spin the thesis about the “great Russian people”, “the brotherhood of peoples within the USSR”, “great Russian culture”, “great and powerful Russian language”. Actually, all this is part of modern Russian propaganda, which justifies the full-scale war of February 24 and all 9 years of war in eastern Ukraine.
[Writer Irina Mirochnik is the President at IMMER Group & Doctor of Philosophy in Law(PhD)]
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