Both Ukrainians and Russians are East Slavs, but their languages differ about as much as English and German.

Before 1914, neither Russians nor Ukrainians had largely experienced a national awakening, which significantly involves education in one's native language, culture and journalism, national myths, as well as own societies and associations. A large portion of Ukrainians were still illiterate at that time. Ukrainian territories mainly belonged to the Tsarist Empire, with a smaller part under the Habsburg Empire.

Two Ukraines

In the Russian state, Ukrainians were considered "Malorossiyans" (Little Russians) who needed to be Russified. Consequently, there were no Ukrainian-language schools. Publishing Ukrainian-language materials was mostly prohibited or restricted, though Ukrainian Sunday schools and associations were temporarily permitted. It was only after the 1905 revolution that permission was granted to publish Ukrainian-language newspapers and other print materials, but native-language schools remained banned.

When national issues arose, the Habsburgs initially tried to Germanize the non-German elite in their empire, which proved futile. Eventually, they reached an agreement with the Hungarians, known as the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, and in the Austrian part of the empire, pursued what was arguably Europe's most liberal national policy toward about 15 major ethnic groups.

Ukrainians, referred to as Ruthenians, had primary and secondary schools in their native language. Some university departments focused on Ukrainian topics, and there were about 500 Ukrainian-language associations and cooperatives, as well as newspapers and magazines. Galicia became the center of Ukrainian culture, where Ukrainians constituted the largest demographic group, but it was also the poorest province of the empire. At the same time, the Ruthenians were loyal to the emperor.

In 1913, while in Vienna, Joseph Stalin wrote an article titled "Marxism and the National Question," in which he took inspiration from Austria and its social democrats' national policy, though he criticized the situation in Austria. This article, repeatedly revised, became the foundation for later Soviet national policy, which Stalin himself implemented as the first people's commissar for nationalities in the Soviet government.

In his article, Stalin emphasized the importance of education and culture in one's native language, and a common territory. He also argued that nation-building could occur under both capitalism and socialism. The goal was to promote the emergence of socialist nations from the ethnic groups of the Russian Empire. This was intended to foster socialism and ensure that the composition of the party and other institutions reflected the population's demographics and that the languages of the people were used in these institutions (a policy known as "korenizatsiya"). Stalin's motto was "National in form, socialist in content."

World War I changed the situation. Starting in 1917, the part of Ukraine that remained with Russia began striving for autonomy and then independence. During the German-Austrian occupation, Ukrainian Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky initiated the Ukrainianization of the school system. After the war, two states fought for their existence: the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian People's Republic, which emerged from former Austrian territories.

Unfortunately, hopes for a unified state faded by 1920-1921. The main reasons were political and military, but the lack of national consciousness among many Ukrainians also played a role.

Most of Western Ukraine fell under Polish control as the Bolsheviks succeeded in the civil war and signed the Treaty of Riga with Poland. Ukrainian territories were now divided among Soviet Russia, Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia.

Two-faced policy

During the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks effectively used Stalin's new national policy to win the support of various ethnic groups in their fight against the Whites, who dreamed of a united and indivisible Russia. In Ukraine, however, local communists, mainly Russians and Jews, initially favored Russification. After the civil war, Ukraine was struck by famine in 1921.

In the Ukrainian SSR, established in 1919, a national awakening occurred primarily in the 1920s. By 1929, most university students were studying in Ukrainian, and by 1933, 88 percent of all students attended Ukrainian-language schools, although Ukrainians made up only about 75 percent of the population.

Ukrainian cultural institutions were developed, and a national elite began to form. However, this progress was halted by the Stalinist cultural revolution, industrialization and collectivization, which culminated in another famine. The first purge of the Ukrainian national elite occurred in 1933.

The turning point in the previously liberal Soviet national policy came with the Great Terror of 1936-1938, which severely curtailed the Belarusian and Ukrainian national elites.

Thus, Stalin dismantled the very system he had built using his national policy. He reduced the number of languages in which native-language education was allowed from about 100 to 20 (languages of the republics and some minority languages). Minority schools were Russified. In 1938, Russian language classes became mandatory in non-Russian schools and universities in Ukraine.

This strongly pro-Russian policy was understandable given the position of the Ukrainian SSR: Ukraine housed crucial heavy and mining industries for the Soviet empire, and its agricultural output exceeded domestic needs, constituting nearly half of the Soviet Union's agricultural exports. Ukraine was the second most important Soviet republic after Russia, and the empire could not exist without it.

This is why Ukrainian national consciousness was initially strengthened and then severely weakened. Across the border were many Ukrainians, including members of democratic societies in Czechoslovakia, who could have set a bad example for Ukrainians living under Soviet dictatorship.

Ukraine suffered greatly during World War II, but the war's outcome allowed the incorporation of western Ukrainian territories, today's Western Ukraine. After the war, the most extensive and deadly armed resistance against the Soviet regime occurred there, leading to significant repression against "bourgeois nationalism."

With the victory in World War II, Stalin solidified the notion of Russians as the "elder brothers" of all Soviet peoples and initiated a campaign of Russian national propaganda. This campaign, with some modifications and in a milder form, lasted until the end of the Soviet Union. While "Great Russian chauvinism" had long been considered a crime, it gradually became a state doctrine.

Guileful language reform

It is important to understand that throughout the Soviet era, tendencies of both Russification and Ukrainization coexisted (and often simultaneously) in the Ukrainian SSR. After Stalin's death, national origins were once again honored: the first party secretary of Ukraine now had to be Ukrainian. During the tenures of Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev, Ukrainian politicians had excellent career opportunities in Moscow. For the first time, the Ukrainian Historical Journal was published in Ukrainian. National policies alternated between more liberal and more repressive phases.

However, the Thaw also had its drawbacks, such as Khrushchev's 1959 school reform. Previously, the goal was to teach in the native language and make Ukrainian a mandatory subject in all schools. After the reform, parents were allowed to choose which school their child attended – regardless of their native language – and which foreign language they would study.

As a result, Russian schools became the preferred choice, and non-Ukrainian parents often chose German or English as the foreign language for their children instead of Ukrainian. As universities and vocational schools became increasingly Russian-speaking, many Ukrainian parents also opted for Russian schools for their children. When the language of education differs from the native language, the native language often becomes secondary.

As a result of this reform and Soviet national policy, by the 1980s, most Ukrainian students attended Russian schools, and only 22 percent of all publications in the Ukrainian SSR were in Ukrainian. This policy had long-term effects: in 2008/2009, when Ukrainians made up 77 percent of the population, a survey revealed that 50 percent of respondents spoke Russian daily, 44 percent spoke Ukrainian and 6 percent used a mixed language, Surzhyk.

The Soviet national policy initiated by Stalin changed repeatedly over time. Initially, it led to the strengthening of Ukrainian national identity and the national awakening of many Ukrainians, but in the long run, it created a trend towards Russification.

However, language should not be overemphasized; even with Russian as a native language, Ukrainian identity can be strong. On the other hand, one might speculate that if the Tsarist policy of Russification had continued, there might not be an independent Ukraine today. In any case, the influence of Soviet national policy extends into the present.

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