Northern Bukovina is a small area in Western Ukraine. It is only 5 times larger than Moscow and occupies 8100 square km. Unlike other regions, the territory of Northern Bukovina was never part of the Commonwealth. For many centuries, it has been closely associated with Romania and its predecessors.
General reference
This is due to the peculiarities of Northern Bukovina in Ukraine. While Galicia is religious, luxurious, and Podolia is famous for its constant wars, Bukovina has always been a fairly quiet area. Local residents were not much concerned about the national issue of the state that controlled the region.
Do not confuse this region with Bukovina in Poland. There is a separate volost with the same name. The area of ​​Bukovina in Poland is 130,000 square kilometers. On this territory, 12,000 people live. For Russians, as a rule, the thermal springs of Bukovina are of interest. This is a fairly well-known tourist destination. It must be remembered that the thermal springs of Bukovina are located in Poland. This area is practically irrelevant to the Bukovina described in the article, once attached to the USSR.
Name history
The name of the territory of Bukovina came from the word "beech." This is the name of a tree that looks like an oak. Forests from these trees are a kind of "calling card" of the Carpathian and Balkan lands. This species is recognized by the gray bark, it is smooth.
It is called Northern Bukovina, which belongs to Ukraine, since this country owns only a third of the region. It is part of Moldova and is a fairly large entity. Chernivtsi region became part of Ukraine, Bukovina was the Chernivtsi district of Galicia until 1849. Before the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, the region belonged to Russia. In the 12th century, Yaroslav Osmomysl was founded by Choren, who became the forerunner of Chernivtsi. After the invasion, the territory of modern Northern Bukovina turned out to be part of Podolsky ulus. In the middle of the 14th century, Hungary took possession of the region, and then the Principality of Moldova. The capital was the city of Siret, and then Suceava.
Although Northern Bukovina has long been a neighbor of the center of statehood of the Romanians, it has always remained a periphery. Almost all important historical events took place south of these lands. This also applies to internecine clashes, and military conflicts with the Turks.
The most ancient architectural monument of Galicia and Bukovina is the Assumption Church of the village of Luzhany. It was founded before the 15th century, most likely during the period of Ancient Russia.
In southern Bukovina is the oldest capital of the Principality of Moldova in the 14-16 centuries. This is the city of Suceava, in the same area were located the tombs of the rulers of the principality.
At the beginning of the 16th century, Stephen the Great stood at the head of Moldova, who was considered a wise and humane ruler by medieval standards. He very successfully cracked down on enemies, kept the boyars on a short leash. Moldova became the independent and strongest principality of Eastern Europe precisely during his reign. The most striking monument of this era is the "stone belt" passing near the Dniester. These are numerous fortresses of Khotyn, Soroka, Tigin and so on. Khotin became the most powerful and beautiful fortress of Ukraine.
Stephen the Great became a hero of Orthodoxy. It was when he was at the head of his country that Constantinople fell. He wanted Moldova to become the Third Rome. But, when the ruler died, his successors did not continue the work begun. Moldova began to establish relations with Turkey, fought with Poland, palace intrigues began. The rulers were replaced, soon Moldova became a vassal of Turkey, and at the end of the 16th century it became part of the Ottoman Empire.
In Austria-Hungary
At the end of the 18th century, Austria-Hungary invaded Moldova, informing Russia of this. The latter did not intervene in what was happening, and the Habsburgs claimed their rights to Bukovina, since once the northern part of the territory was part of Pokutia, which belonged to Austria. The Turks recognized this without being interested in a conflict with the Austrians. So the annexation of Bukovina to Galicia and Lodomeria took place, and since 1849 it became a duchy.
Most of the local residents were Rusyns - 42%, 30% Moldovans lived here. 61% of the total population professed Orthodoxy.
In Romania
In 1919, the annexation of Northern Bukovina to the Romanian kingdom took place. At that time, it was an area of ​​10,500 square km with a population of 812,000 people. Rusinov lived here 38%, and Romanians - 34%. During the previous war, the Russians occupied this territory three times, the same number of times it retreated to Autro-Hungary.
Due to the fact that the local population was kind to the tsarist troops, Austria-Hungary carried out a number of repressive actions here.
When the state collapsed, Bukovina became part of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic. Then Romania in 1918 occupied Chernivtsi. Galicia and Bukovina merged with Romania.
IN THE USSR
In 1940, the Soviet Union sent two ultimatums to Romania. He demanded the return of Bessarabia, the once part of Russia, which left Romania in 1918. In addition, it was required to give the USSR to Bukovin. This territory was not part of the Russian Empire, but the Soviet command explained the claim by the fact that it was compensation for damage caused to the USSR and the inhabitants of Bessarabia by 22 years of Romanian rule here.
Romania began negotiations with the USSR, simultaneously turning for help to the Third Reich. Germany did not help the Romanians, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact already outlined Soviet claims on Bessarabia.
The Romanians had nowhere to go, and Soviet troops occupied the designated territories. On June 28, the army of K. G. Zhukov entered here, crossing the Dniester. Romanians centrally retreated. On June 30, the accession of Northern Bukovina to the USSR, together with Bessarabia, was virtually completed. Southern Bukovina remained in Romanian citizenship.
It is noteworthy that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact itself did not contain instructions on the accession of Bukovina to the USSR, it was not listed at all as a zone of interest for this power. For this reason, in 1940, the Germans announced that the seizure of this territory by the Soviet command was in violation of the agreements. However, Molotov said that Bukovina as part of the USSR was the last link for uniting Ukrainians and forming an integral state.
Then he launched a counterattack, announcing that the USSR had once limited its interests only to Bessarabia. But in a subsequent situation, the Third Reich was to understand the interest of the Russians. The USSR did not receive a response. The Germans gave the Romanians guarantees of the integrity of Romania, neglecting the interest of the Soviet command in uniting Galicia, Bukovina, Slobozhanshchina, and all Ukrainian lands together.
Disputes about these historical events still occur. After the region joined the Soviet Union, the imposition of new authorities began, and socialist reforms were carried out. Private capital was collectivized, many locals moved to Romania. Relocations were also carried out due to repression. The former power officials, leaders of public associations were persecuted, they were considered enemies by the Soviet command.
Many local communists were reported by their party comrades. Only six months after the accession of these lands to the USSR, 2,057 local residents were subjected to repression. In 1940, together with the Germans, 4,000 public figures, clergymen left here, teachers left. Later, in 1941-1944, the territory again belonged to Romania. And in 1944 it again became part of the Soviet Union.
Religious significance
Bukovina played a special role in Russian religiosity. This applies to the Old Believers. During the time of Nicholas I in the Russian Empire, the stage of religious freedom came to an end, the foundations of which were laid by Catherine II. In 1827, the Old Believers were forbidden to accept clergy from New Believers. They did not have bishops, and religion was in jeopardy. In 1838, it was in Bukovina that the Old Believers Pavel and Alimpiy gathered. Later they were joined by Ambrose Pope Georgopolus, who was once a Metropolitan, and then was deposed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. They had permission from the Austrians to create an Old Believer Metropolis. Ambrose again became a metropolitan, but already an Old Believer. The Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church was created. Of the 2,000,000 old believers, 1,500,000 people consider themselves to be precisely this denomination today.
About the area
It is known that the lands of Galicia, Bukovina, Slobozhanshchina differ in beauty. At the same time, local buildings do not have special delicacies. Aesthetics over the centuries has been sacrificed for stealth. The churches were built in this way, because it was clear that it was impossible to preserve them. They were built so that it was easy to rebuild.
A term appeared - "Bukovinian primitivism", which manifested itself even in icons. Despite the fact that the Ottoman Empire did not impose another religion here, the local population was Orthodox, still it lived in such an atmosphere of secrecy, literally underground.
The traces of World War I were not as serious in this area as in neighboring areas. Bukovina simply turned into a county of Romania. The architecture of this period demonstrates the "neobrynkovyansky style." A sample of it is St. Nicholas Church in Chernivtsi. Otherwise, it is called a “drunken church” because of its special shape.
In World War II, the battles here were also not as bloody as in Galicia. There was a ghetto in Chernivtsi. Chernivtsi mayor Trayan Popovich made every effort to save more than 20,000 Jews. He convinced the invaders that it was on them that the economy of the settlement rests. In Soviet times, life here was also quite calm, Chernivtsi became an industrial center in the field of precision production.
Geographic conditions
This region is unique. It is small in size, most of it belongs to Ukraine. Southern Bukovina belongs to Romania. In the USSR, the Chernivtsi region - and this is Northern Bukovina - was the smallest area in the state, as well as the smallest in terms of number of inhabitants.
Natural conditions here are favorable. In the south are the Carpathians, in the North - the plain between the Prut and the Dniester. Mountains are covered with dense forests. The climate here is temperate continental, rather humid. The region is rich in water resources, the rivers flowing here are part of the Black Sea basin.
According to the 2001 census, the population is represented by Ukrainians (75%), Romanians (12.5%), Moldovans (7%), Russians (4%). However, the results of the Ukrainian census are corrected by Russian researchers. They claim that there are fewer Ukrainians, and Rusyns predominate, which statistics record in Ukrainians. Local Russian Rusyns have a number of differences from the Rusyns of Galicia.
For the most part, they concentrated on the western and northern sides of this region. Subethnic groups are also widespread, for example, “Bessarabians”. They are distinguished by the features of the dialect, life. Not everyone has Ukrainian identity.
Romanians and Moldavians differ among themselves in this area very conditionally. The second is considered to be the Romanesque inhabitants who remained on the lands that entered the Moldavian Principality until 1774. Romanians are called Romanians who moved here from Transylvania and other territories of Romania. However, they all constitute one ethnic group, and it differs from citizens living in Moldova and Romania. About 10% of Romanians living here, in the course of research, admitted that their mother tongue is Ukrainian.
Less than 5% of residents consider themselves Russian. However, there are more Russian-speaking residents here than in all other parts of Western Ukraine. And often this region votes in the elections in exactly the opposite way than Western Ukraine. The reason for such phenomena is hidden in the historical nuances of the region.
Historical roots
Some researchers consider Bukovina one of the cradles for the Eastern Slavs. Ants, white Croats lived here. Ancient Slavic culture rooted in Bukovinian. Architectural excavations found here Slavic settlements of 6-7 centuries in 40 places. And settlements of the 8th-9th centuries discovered more than 150
Starting from the 9th century, these territories were ruled by the Galician princes. The fortress, located here by Yaroslav Osmomysl in the 12th century, was called "Chern", presumably due to the fact that its walls were black. The fortress is mentioned in the annals “List of Russian, distant and near cities”. Its ruins exist today - they are located in the city of Chernivtsi. The area went somewhat different from other Russian lands since the 14th century, when the devastated Carpathian foothills began to populate novels, Wallachians. There were more and more of them. The region inhabited by the Wallachians in 1340, after the Principality of Galicia captured Poland, wished to transfer under the Wallachian authority.
The name "Bukovina" is found in the agreement of 1482 between the Hungarian ruler Sigmund and the Polish Vladislav. At a time when the territory was under the leadership of the Ottoman Empire, the Slavic population prevailed here. The lands were actively ravaged during the wars between the Austrians and Turks. By the end of Turkish rule, in the 18th century, only 75,000 people lived here. In the city of Chernivtsi there were no more than 200 houses, 3 churches, 1,200 people were residents.
Despite the fact that in the years 1768-1774 Russia defeated Turkey in the war, she gave Bukovina to Austria as a payment for neutrality. At that moment, the historical path of Bukovina also became different from other Russian territories.
The aristocratic strata here were represented by Moldavians. The local population called themselves Rusyns, it was Orthodox. At the same time, they were all under Austrian citizenship. Although serfdom was not here, personal dependence existed until 1918. It was a truly multinational area. There were many Jews who were engaged in trade. During the times of Austrian rule, more and more Germans appeared here, whole German settlements began to appear. The German colonization of the territory developed: this language was taught in schools, and after that they began to fill in official documentation on it. Soon, it became a local ethnic language. Ruthenians from Galicia also came here.
Representatives of the aristocracy also became Germanized; they began to add the prefix "background" to their surnames. There were fewer Russians left. Describing the Bukovinian Rusyns, researchers noted that they were mobile, enterprising, which distinguished them from the Transnistrian.
Culture features
These features are reflected in the activities of Bukovynians. So, they willingly engaged in handicraft production, latrine. It was an energetic people who met at seasonal work in Russia. At the same time, his character was soft. The local population was polite, modest, tidy and somewhat dapper.
The houses were built in such a way that the facade turned to the south. Each building had a "speed" - mounding. As a rule, houses were covered with white lime. They were neat, they were smeared both inside and out.
The language of the local population was different in that it avoided "Ukrainization." Thanks to this, many Old Russian linguistic features were preserved in the speech, more of them remained than among Ukrainians. Of all the South Russian dialects, this particular speech is closer to Great Russian.
Since 1849, Bukovina actually gained autonomy, turned into a crown province of the empire, and later into a duchy. There were practically no deputies at the Sejm from among the Rusyns. For this reason, the local population did not actually understand what democracy is.
During the reign of Austria-Hungary, Bukovina experienced its highest economic and cultural upsurge. The population grew. If in 1790 there were 80,000 inhabitants, in 1835 there were already 230,000 people, and in 1851 - 380,000. And the trend continued. In 1914, there were more than 800,000 local residents. In just over a hundred years, the number of people has increased 10 times.
Prosperity was reflected in the city of Chernivtsi. In 1816, 5400 people lived in it, and in 1890 - 54170. At the end of the 19th century, a railway to Lviv was erected here. For the most part, the locals spoke German. The city has become the center of German, Jewish and Romanian cultures.
The Russian-speaking population was also subjected to Romanization. In just 10 years, from 1900-1910, 32 settlements from Ruthenian turned into Romanian. At the same time, 90% of the illiterate in the local population are noted during this period. Illiteracy was caused by the fact that the training was in German. The Austrians were afraid of the growth of Russian influence, they did not give the green light to found educational institutions where training would be conducted in Russian. Romanian schools spread.
Russian public life was represented at the end of the 20th century by one student society, several political ones. Their development was fraught with rather difficult conditions.
To create a counterbalance to these phenomena, the Austrian authorities supported the Ukrainian movements. A school was opened in which training was conducted in Ukrainian. Ukrainization was not of the same large scale as in Galicia, but it took place here.
In 1910, the Bukovinian governor closed Russian societies. Under this decree, even the Russian society of women, containing a school of cutting and sewing, fell. The authorities confiscated the property of these associations, eliminating libraries with works in Russian. The Austrian authorities paid special attention to the opposition to Russification, since the population of this territory was mostly Orthodox. In the 20th century, everyone who graduated from the theological seminary in Bukovina was allowed to sign a document stating that the person "renounces the Russian nationality, that from now on he will not call himself Russian, only Ukrainian and only Ukrainian." If a graduate refused, they refused him a parish. The text of this obligation was filed in German.
All these events explain the features of the culture formed in Bukovina.