Ukrainians in Zeleny Klyn
Den’s editor’s mail recently produced a letter asking about the status of ethnic Ukrainians in Russia’s Far East. Last week Oleksandr DANYLCHENKO, ex-Consul General of Ukraine in Vladivostok, visited the editorial office. He read the letter and said he wanted to tell about the Ukrainians in the Far East.
“Ukrainians started settling in the Far East, in an organized manner, in April 1883, with two ships arriving in Vladivostok all the way from Odesa, with some 1,700 Ukrainian peasants on board, mostly residents of the Chernihiv and Kyiv gubernias. These people constituted the bulk of what would become a stable ethnic community in that region of Russia.
“Ukrainians would settle where they could grow wheat, outside the permafrost zone, in the steppe of what is now part of Primorsky krai, also in the south of Khabarovsk krai and Amur region. This territory subsequently became known as Zeleny Klyn (lit., Green Wedge; also known as Green Ukraine). This process received a fresh impetus after the Chinese Eastern Railway became operational (by the way, the construction project was coordinated by a Ukrainian). The Russian government encouraged people to resettle there, to keep the sparsely populated territories under control; hence the tangible advantages for the early settlers: 100 dessiatines [a Russian unit of land measure equal to 2.7 US acres (1.1 hectare)] per settler. On the other hand, these settlers had to start from scratch. This project proved effective in the end. Other ethnic groups tried to settle there, but Ukrainians, with their limited native soil resources, turned out to be the most perseverant ones. In 1913, they constituted 60 percent of Zeleny Klyn’s population in the south of the Far East, followed by Koreans (20 percent), Russians (10 percent), and another 10 percent of aborigines: Nanays, Udege, and Orochs. Starting in 1917, the ethnic Ukrainian community was reinforced by fugitives from Ukraine, among them victims of the dekulakization campaign, purges, and so on.”
How many Ukrainians are there in the Far East? How many identify themselves as ones?
“No one knows for sure. The la-test census points to some 88,000 Ukrainians in Primorsky krai. This is official, understated statistic, considering that the figures have decreased practically twofold with each census. In terms of ethnic origin, Ukrainians certainly constitute the majority as the second-, third-, and fourth-generation of the first settlers. This is their native land, considering that they were born and raised there. Nevertheless, they are aware of their ethnic roots. Ukrainians are known for being capable of adjusting to practically any circumstances; they aren’t aggressive and can adjust to practically any social environs, with many holding academic degrees and proving true experts in their fields. These [ethnic] Ukrainians are taking an active part in Russia’s production life, and Russia has obviously been interested in their resettlement in the Far East.”
Would you please comment on this ethnic community’s current cultural and public activities?
“These activities are upheld by nationally conscious Ukrainians, people genuinely concerned about Ukrainian culture and mentality. There aren’t many of them, but these people are true activists. My consulate had jurisdiction over 11 ‘administrative-territorial units,’ most dominated by members of this ethnic Ukrainian community. We sought to form such ethnic branches where there were none, but we had succeeded in several localities, with the most active ones in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Magadan, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yakutsk, also in smaller populated areas such as Spask-Dalniy, Nakhodka, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and Birobidzhan.
“Music fests were a major guideline in dealing with Ukrainians in the Far East. There have been five such festivals, not counting the Ukrainian culture ones held on the oblast and krai levels. The latest in which I took part was held in Ussuriysk, in 2009, staged as a local version of Ukraine’s famous Sorochyntsi Fair marking Nikolai Gogol’s 200th anniversary. There were over 300 performers, members of 32 amateur groups located all over the Far East. This fair boasted more than 10,000 visitors. According to Ussuriysk sources, this cultural event was unmatched in terms of scope and attendance. Another important guideline was a renewal of Ukrainian-language publications. This project was actively assisted by the ethnic Ukrainian Oleksandr Lozykov, poet and translator, member of Russia’s Writers’ and Journalists’ Unions. The Ukrainian ethnic community in the Far East started publishing the first Ukrainian-language literary-political journal, Dalekoskhidna khvylia (The Far East Wave), meant to strengthen and unite the local literary circles. One of Lozykov’s best-known publications is entitled “An Anthology of Ukrainian Poetic Works Published in the Far East.” There is also Viacheslav Chornomaz’s interesting monograph dealing with the ethnic Ukrainian movement in the Far East, in 1917-22, along with his essays on Taras Shevchenko’s anniversary first marked in the Far East, in 1909, and the first consular office of the Ukrainian National Republic in the Far East.”
What about Ukrainian education? Is there a single true Ukrainian-study school? A single class with Ukrainian as the language of instruction?
“Ukrainian education in the Far East is in a bad way, and the same is true of the rest of Russia. There are some 2,000 grade schools with Russian as the language of instruction in Ukraine, including schools where Russian is taught as a separate subject. From what I know, there are no Ukrainian-study central-budget-financed schools in Russia. None in the Far East, anyway. Local ethnic Ukrainian communities try to fill this gap by organizing Sunday schools and separate Ukrainian-language classes, hiring teachers, paying them out of their pockets, but such arrangements involve lots of red tape, the more so that the Ukrainian language isn’t in market demand in Russia. The Ukrainian Diaspora is making every effort to propagate the language and literature, staging soirees and competitions offering prizes to those who show the best knowledge of Ukrainian poetry.”
What about the moods within the Far East ethnic Ukrainian community? Have they finally assimilated? Are there people determined to proliferate Ukrainian culture?
“In terms of ethnic culture, the Ukrainian language is getting extinct, being spoken only by separate ethnic families in backwater Zeleny Klyn provinces. Most ethnic Ukrainians in the Far East have been thoroughly Russified, having vague memories about their historical homeland, mostly when reminded of certain place names. The fact remains, however, that these people – and their ancestors – made a major, if not crucial, contribution to the development of these lands.”
Is Ukraine helping Zeleny Klyn’s Ukrainians?
“Yes, in terms of budget appropriations meant to assist Ukrainians abroad, but this program is dramatically underfunded. At times it was simply left out of the next budget program. I mean funds using which one can buy costumes, PC’s, audio and video equipment for ethnic Ukrainian performing groups in the Far East, considering that most such ethnic cultural centers rely on such amateur performers, including Ukrainian choirs, orchestras, and drama companies. These performers attract audiences made up of individuals who really care about Ukrainian folkways, who observe Ukrainian red-letter days. Holding such festivals and competitions, marking noted Ukrainians’ anniversaries is an important way to preserve the Ukrainian heritage in the Far East. Ukraine supplies them with procedural and teaching recommendation, along with pertinent literature. All this is in big demand there, although supply is far lower than demand, especially in terms of Ukrainian school textbooks and dictionaries.”
You are through with your diplomatic posting to the Far East. Do you maintain contact with any ethnic Ukrainians there?
“I do, I’m an unofficial spokesman of the Far East Ukrainians in Ukraine. I’m trying to help them solve acute problems through our foreign, culture, and education, science, youth and sports ministries. More often than not, I meet with understanding there. The ethnic Ukrainian community in Russia is just a small part of Ukrainians who reside across the world, yet it remains very important for Ukraine, so every effort should be made to preserve it.”
Ihor SAMOKYSH, Ihor SIUNDIUKOV
