The peasantry of Transdnieper Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century: culture of attitude to lend ownership
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The historiography states the fact of conviction of the Ukrainian peasantry at the beginning of the 20th century
in its right to landed estates. The reason for claims on the land of the nobility is explained by the generally low level of
providing the peasantry with land.
The purpose of the presented article is to find out the cultural and ethical basis of peasant ideas about the right to land,
which developed at the beginning of the 20th century.
Scientific novelty of the research results. It consists in clarifying the following features social culture of the Ukrainian peasantry: the idea of ownership of land is determined by its historical memory, ethics developed by the traditional way of managing and the logic of attitude towards other social strata.
Conclusion. The attitude of the Ukrainian peasantry to the land issue was formed as a result of the specifics of historical development and was an element of traditional culture. Legal aspects determined by state legislation regarding land ownership were ignored by the peasantry. The historical memory of the peasant class preserved the idea of the period when the land was at its full disposal. Therefore, the peasantry believed that only it had the right to own land. Landlord (large) land ownership was considered as a result of the illegal taking of their land from the peasants, and should be liquidated. This logic of the origin of land ownership was preserved by the peasantry for centuries, and came with it in the 20th century. An argument in favor of seizing land holdings from landowners was also the peasant’s idea of work aimed at cultivating
the land. The peasantry considered itself as the creator of material goods, and the landlords as dependents. The purpose of labor efforts, from the point of view of the peasants, was to feed themselves. Therefore, according to the version of the peasantry, the landowners had no right to the land, since they did not cultivate it personally and the volume of their land areas exceeded the needs for sustenance. At the beginning of the 20th century the peasantry, in its views and actions, was in favor of seizing land property from landowners and transferring it to the peasantry for free. The basis for the distribution of landed estates among peasant households was the need for sustenance. Therefore, the number of family members was an argument for claims to a share of the landlord’s property. Views on the issue of land ownership were consolidated and did not depend on the property status or
educational level of the peasants. Significant from a cognitive and practical point of view is the study of the consequences of the culture of attitude to the land, formed in the past, for modern conditions.
Article Details
References
Borodaevsky, S. (1906). Yz poezdky po Ukrayne [From a trip to Ukraine]. Ukraynskyi vestnyk [Ukrainian Herald], 10, 731–737. [in Russian].
Central`nyj derzhavnyj istorychnyj arxiv Ukrayiny u misti Kyevi, F.274, Op.4, Od.zb.456, 85 ark. [Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, fund 274, description 4, storage unit 456]. [in Russian].
Central`nyj derzhavnyj istorychnyj arxiv Ukrayiny u misti Kyevi, F.336, Op.1, Od.zb.2997, 182 ark. [Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, fund 336, description 1, storage unit 2997]. [in Russian].
Central`nyj derzhavnyj istorychnyj arxiv Ukrayiny u misti Kyevi, F.442, Op.861, Od.zb.259, Ch.1, 156 ark. [Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, fund 442, description 861, storage unit 259 (1)]. [in Russian].
Central`nyj derzhavnyj istorychnyj arxiv Ukrayiny u misti Kyevi, F.1439, Op.1, Od.zb.1649, 66 ark. [Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv, fund 1439, description 1, storage unit 1649]. [in Russian].
Danilov, V. Ystoky y nachalo derevenskoj tragedyy [Origins and beginning of village tragedy]. Retrieved from http://ladim.org/st008.php [in Russian].
Danilov, V.P. Krest`yanskaya revolyucyya v Rossyy, 1902–1922 gg. [Peasant revolution in Russia, 1902–1922]. Retrieved from http://ladim.org/st007.php [in Russian].
Danilov, V. Sud`by sel`skogo xozyajstva v Rossyy [Fate of agriculture in Russia]. Retrieved from http://ladim.org/st006.php [in Russian].
Dragomanov, M. (1882). Ukrayins`ki selane v nespokojni roky (1880–1882) [Ukrainian peasants
in the turbulent years (1880-1882)]. Gromada. Ukrayins`ka zbirka [The community. Ukrainian collection], 5, 242–270. [in Ukrainian].
Fed`kov, O., & Mahas`, V. (2011). «Selianstvu – vladu i zemliu». Vserosiiskyi selianskyi soiuz v Ukraini [«To the peasantry - power and land». All-Russian peasant union in Ukraine]. Kam’ianetsPodilskyi: Kam’ianets-Podilskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni Ivana Ohiienka. [in Ukrainian].
Hrushevskyi, M. (1995). Istoriya Ukrayiny–Rusy [History of Ukraine–Rus]. (Vol. VII). Kyiv: Naukova dumka. [in Ukrainian].
(1967). Istoriya selyanstva URSR [History of the peasantry of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]. (V.1). Kyiv: Naukova dumka. 552 p. [in Ukrainian].
Khersonets (1906). Agrarnyi ocherky [Agrarian essays]. Ukraynskyi vestnyk [Ukrainian Herald], 14, 940–947. [in Russian].
Khmil, I.V. (1992). Pershyj Vseukrayins`kyj selyans`kyj z’yizd (28 travnya – 2 chervnya 1917 r.) [The First All-Ukrainian Peasants’ Congress (May 28 – June 2, 1917)]. Kyiv: Instytut istorii Ukrainy NAN Ukrainy. [in Ukrainian].
Kondrashin, V. Krest`yanstvo y vlast` v Rossyy: opyt vzaymodejstvyya v uslovyyax yndustryal`noj modernyzacyy [Peasants and power in Russia: the experience of interaction in the conditions of industrial modernization]. Retrieved from http://www.civisbook.ru/files/File/Kondrashin.pdf [in Russian].
Korinenko, P. (2014). Istoriya ukrayins`kogo selyanstva [History of the Ukrainian peasantry]. Ternopil`: TNPU. [in Ukrainian].
Korinenko, P. (2022). Zemel`ne pytannya v istorychnij doli ukrayins`kogo selyanstva. Poglyad kriz` viky [The land issue in the historical fate of the Ukrainian peasantry. A look through the ages]. Ternopil`: TNPU. [in Ukrainian].
Kornovenko, S. & Gerasimenko, O. (2017). Selyanyn-buntar. Selyans`ka revolyuciya v Ukrayini 1902–1917 rr. [Rebel peasant. Peasant revolution in Ukraine 1902–1917]. Cherkasy: Chabanenko Yu.A. [in Ukrainian].
Kovalevskyi, M. (1892). Trud, kak ystochnyk prava sobstvennosty na zemlyu v Malorossyy y na Ukrayne [Labor as a source of land ownership in Little Russia and Ukraine]. Yurydycheskyi vestnyk [Juridical Herald], XI (1–2), 3–35. [in Russian].
Kovaleva, N. (2020). Selyans`ka revolyuciya v Naddnipryans`kij Ukrayiny (1902–1922 rr.) [Peasant revolution in Dnipro Ukraine (1902–1922)]. Extended abstract of Doctor’s thesis. Cherkasy. [in Ukrainian].
Kryzhanivska, O. (2007). Social`ni nastroyi ta uyavlennya selyan Pravoberezhnoyi Ukrayiny u 20-x – 50-x pp. XIX st. [Social moods and perceptions of the peasants of Right Bank Ukraine in the 20s - 50s pp. 19th century]. Ukrayins`kyj istorychnyj zhurnal [Ukrainian historical journal], 2, 130–142. [in Ukrainian].
Kudinov, D. (2015). Selyans`kyj rux u Naddnipryans`kyj Ukrayini v 1900 r. – lyutomu 1917 r.: istoriografiya [Peasant movement in Dnipro Ukraine in 1900 – February 1917: historiography]. Doctor’s thesis. Kyiv. [in Ukrainian].
Levytskyi, V. (1907). K reshenyyu agrarnogo voprosa [To the solution of the agrarian question]. In: Agrarnyj vopros [Agrarian question: collection of articles]. (V.II, pp.237–260). Moskva: Beseda. [in Russian].
Maress, L. (1897). Proyzvodstvo y potreblenye xleba v krest`yanskom xozyajstve [Production and consumption of bread in the peasant household]. In: Vlyyanye urozhaev y xlebnux cen na nekotorue storonu russkogo narodnogo xozyajstva. Stat`y [The influence of harvests and bread prices on some aspects of the Russian economy. Articles]. (pp.1–96). Sankt-Peterburg: Typografyya V.Kyrshbauma. [in Russian].
Materyaly dlya etnografycheskogo yzuchenyya Xar`kovskoj gubernyy: Starobel`skyj uezd [Materials for the ethnographic study of the Kharkiv province: Starobelsky uyezd]. (1894). Harkovskij sbornik [Kharkiv collection], 8 (II), 1–384. [in Russian].
Mikhailuk, O. (2007). Selyanstvo Ukrayinyv pershi desyatylittya XX st.: sociokul`turni procesy [The peasantry of Ukraine in the first decades of the twentieth century: socio-cultural processes]. Dnipropetrovs`k: Innovaciya, [in Ukrainian].
Myxchenko, A. (1862). Pys`ma yz po-nad Desny y Sejmu. 15 fevralya 1862 [Letters from across the Desna and the Sejm. 15 February 1862]. Osnova [Basis], 4, 71–74. [in Russian].
(1957). Revolyucyya 1905–1907 gg. Dokumenty y materyaly [Revolution of 1905–1907 in Russia. Documents and materials]. (Book 1, Part 1). Moskva: Yzd-vo Akademyy nauk SSSR. [in Russian].
Pokrovskyi, M. (1924). Ocherky russkogo revolyucyonnogo dvyzhenyya XIX – XX vv. [Essays of Russian revolutionary movement during XIX – XX centuries]. Moskva: Krasnaya nov`. [in Russian].
Prysiazhniuk, Yu. (2007). Ukrayins`ke selyanstvo Naddnipryans`koyi Ukrayiny: sociomental`na istoriya drugoyi polovyny XIX – pochatku XX st. [The Ukrainian Peasantry of Nadnipriansk Ukraine: A Sociomental History of the Second Half of the Nineteenth - Early Twentieth Centuries]. Cherkasy: Vertykal`. [in Ukrainian].
Rylskyi, F. (1903). K yzuchenyyu ukraynskogo narodnogo myrovozzrenyya. Ekonomycheskye otnoshenyya [To the study of the Ukrainian national worldview. Economic relations]. Kyev: Typ. Ymperatorskogo Unyversyteta sv. Vladymyra. [in Russian].
Shestakov, A. (1926). Krest`yanskaya revolyucyya 1905–1907 gg. [Peasant Revolution of 1905–1907 years in Russia]. Moskva–Lenyngrad: Gosyzdat. [in Russian].
Shcherbatiuk, V. (2013). Selyans`kyj povstans`kyj rux v Ukrayini 1917–1921 rokiv: ukrayins`ka istoriografiya [Peasant insurgent movement in Ukraine 1917–1921: Ukrainian historiography]. Extended abstract of Doctor’s thesis. Kyiv: Logos. 37 p. [in Ukrainian].
Skalon, V. (1904). Krest`yanskyj bank y ego nedoymshhyky (Ocherk deyatel`nosty banka v pervoe desyatyletye (1883–1892 gg.)) [Peasant’s Bank and its defaulters (An outline of the bank’s activities in the first decade (1883–1892))]. In: Ocherky po krest`yanskomu voprosu [Essays on the peasant question: a collection of articles] (V.II, pp.1–71). Moskva: Yzdanye D.S.Gorshkova. [in Russian].
Stepovych, A. (1927). Z podrobycz` reformy 1861 r. Lyst G.P.Galagana pro jogo kozelecz`kyj i prylucz`kyj mayetok [From the details of the reform of 1861, a letter from G.P. Galagan about his Kozelets and Pryluky estate]. Ukrayina [Ukraine], 4, 111–112. [in Ukrainian].
Tansky`j, Y. (1866). Selo Lokotky (Gluxovskogo uezda) [The village of Lokotky (Hlukhiv uyezd)]. Zapysky Chernygovskogo gubernskogo statystycheskogo komyteta [Notes of the Chernihiv Provincial Statistical Committee], 1, 153–207. [in Russian].
Verkhovtseva, I. (2018). Mizh korporatyvnistyu i byurokratyzmom: samovryaduvannya selyan u Rosijs`kij imperiyi (druga polovyna XIX – pochatok XX st.) [Between corporatism and bureaucracy: peasant self-government in the Russian Empire (second half of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century)]. Cherkasy: Yu.Chabanenko. [in Ukrainian].
Yakimansky, V.A. (1924). K ytogam agrarnoj revolyucyy na Ukrayne po dannym anketnogo obsledovanyya 1922 goda [To the results of the agrarian revolution in Ukraine according to the questionnaire survey of 1922]. Har`kov: Typo-lytogr. V–RS UVO ym. Frunze. [in Russian].