Our Notes & References

First separate edition of three compelling volumes by one of the leading figures of the Ukrainian national movement, imagining the future of Ukraine after the collapse of the Russian Empire. Published in revolutionary times, in 1917.

Very rare, esp. together. We could trace (WorldCat and manually) only two holding of all three works: Harvard and Kyiv’s Vernardsky library. Other libraries may show one of them only: Stanford (#1), UCLondon (#2) and Yale (#3).

Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky (1866-1934) was a Ukrainian historian, academic and writer. He is most famous for formulating the now commonly accepted scheme of Ukrainian historiography, which argues that the Ukrainians originate in Kyivan Rus’ and are distinct from the Russian nation (see Ohloblyn and Wynar). Arrested in the course of the First World War for his role in the Ukrainian movement, Hrushevsky was released after the February Revolution and quickly became chairman of the Central Rada, the revolutionary parliament of Ukraine.

These three booklets represent the first separate editions of a series of articles he wrote for Nova Rada and Narodna Volia, aiming to alert the public to the possibilities that had suddenly emerged for the restoration of Ukrainian statehood. Interestingly, however, in the first and probably most important of these, “Where Ukrainianism Comes From and Where It Leads”, Hrushevsky lobbied not for full independence, but rather for Ukraine to be an autonomous part of a federation based on ‘the ruins of the Russian empire’ (Procyk). This perhaps surprising position reflects the complicated politics of early twentieth century Ukraine, where a significant portion of the intelligentsia was openly hostile towards the development of the Ukrainian, or any other, kind of nation.

The second booklet, “Vilna Ukraiina. Statii z ostannyh dniiv: berezen-kviten’ 1917″ [Free Ukraine. Contributions from Past Days: March-April 1917], comprises various articles in which Hrushevsky further articulated what an autonomous Ukraine would look like — among other things, he pictured a democratic state with universal, secret and direct elections, and argued that Ukraine was not only for ethnic Ukrainians, but for all who lived there (referring in particular to the Jewish community). Finally, in a statement which resonates very much in our own time, Hrushevsky expressed his desire that Ukraine should “become part of the European federation… one of [its] strongest, most solid and definite components” (see Doyar).

The third booklet, “Yakoii my hochemo avtonomii federacii” [What Kind of Autonomy We Want] contains variations on the same theme. Ukraine’s Vernadsky Library notes that it focuses on the economic benefits of federation and regional specialisation.

In 1918, the year after the publication of these volumes, Hrushevsky was removed from power in a German-backed coup. Although he remained active as an academic and a cultural figure, near the end of his life he was increasingly marginalised by the Soviet establishment — in 1931 he was arrested and forced to live under surveillance in Moscow. He died in 1934, never having returned to Ukraine.

In beautiful condition, as they came off the press, especially remarkable considering the absence of binding, the year of printing and the very thin, newspaper-like fragile paper. They also show lists of other books available and Ukrainian booksellers (incl. one in Petrograd).

Provenance

E. P. Cherepovsky (Kyiv’s publisher and bookseller’s blue stamp to title of 3rd booklet, with price modified with stamp).

Bibliography

Doyar, Larisa. 2020. ‘Михайло Грушевський: Здалеку і Зблизька’ [Mykhailo Hrushevsky: Zdaleku i Zblizka]’. Golos Ukraini, Verkhovna Rada Ukraini; Ohloblyn, Oleksander, and Lubomyr Wynar. 1989. ‘Hrushevsky, Mykhailo’. In Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2; Procyk, Anna. 1998. Hrushevsky’s concept of Ukrainian statehood from the perspective of a federation. Shevchenko Scientific Society.