Ukraine, the land and its people

by Stepan Rudnytskyi

What is the total number of Ukrainians, and how many of them live in the compact Ukrainian national territory?

The answer to this question is not easy—for the same reasons which do not permit us to draw accurately the boundaries of the Ukrainian country. The political subjugation of the Ukraine on the one hand, and the size of the nation and its territory on the other, cause the ruling governments to falsify the statistics, thus concealing the true state of affairs. To a great extent, also, the ignorance of the organs performing the census bear the blame for the unreliability of the statistics collected in Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainians are either simply registered as members of another (usually the ruling) nationality, or forced, by various means, to deny their inherited nationality.

In Hungary entire villages are sometimes set down as Magyar, Slovak or Roumanian, altho their population is wholly, or for the most part, Ukrainian. In the Bukowina, too, a great many Ukrainians are registered as Roumanians. In Galicia, all Roman-Catholic Ukrainians are regularly entered as Poles, altho, as a rule, they have not even a mastery of the Polish language. Nevertheless, the Austro-Hungarian statistics allow the possibility of determining very closely the true condition. The Russian census of 1897, which gives us the sole materials for statistics on a racial basis in the Ukraine, was carried out greatly to the disadvantage of the Ukrainian element. In the cities, only the smallest minority of the Ukrainians are registered [[129]]as such, all the rest being counted as Russians. The same has been the case in all the Ukrainian colonies and language islands scattered thru the great space of the gigantic Russian Empire. Even so, we are omitting from consideration those Ukrainians who, because of lack of national consciousness or for fear of persecution, have denied their nationality.

Despite all these shortcomings of the official statistics, we shall make their statements the basis of our calculations. Only the most marked falsifications or errors can be considered and corrected. As the basis of our calculations, we shall take the figures of the census in Austria and Hungary of the year 1910, as well as the Russian calculations of the same year. As the latter lack any statement as to the relative proportions or percentages of the nationalities, we must apply the percentages of the enumeration of 1897 to the totals of 1910. This process, of course, gives us only approximate values, but it is the only available method.

We shall begin our statistical view of the Ukrainian lands with Northeastern Hungary. Here the Ukrainians inhabit a compact territory of over 14,000 square kilometers. The greatest part of it lies in the Carpathian Mountains and includes the northern three-quarters of the County of Marmarosh, the northeastern half of the County of Ungh, the northern borderlands of the Counties of Semplen and Sharosh, and the northeastern borderlands of the County of Zips. The total number of Ukrainians in Hungary was 470,000 in 1910, a number which, because of the insufficient Hungarian statistics, may be confidently raised to a half a million, if we consider the fact that even the doctored Greek-Catholic figures of the eighties gave approximately the latter number. The percentages of the Ukrainians in different counties, according to official reckoning, are as follows: In Marmorosh 46%, Uhocha 39%, Bereg 46%, [[130]]Ungh 36%, Sharosh 20%, Semplen 11%, Zips 8%. In the east the Roumanians form small scattered language islands, in the west the Slovaks. Amid the Ukrainian population, scattered, but in considerable numbers, live Jews; in the cities, Magyars and Germans besides. The Ukrainians inhabit all the mountainous, sparsely settled parts of the counties, hence the percentage of them is small, despite the extent of the country they inhabit. The Ukrainian people in Upper Hungary consist almost exclusively of peasants and petty bourgeois. The lack of national schools causes illiteracy to grow rampant. The upper strata of the people are three-fourths denationalized; the common people are stifled in ignorance, and in the consequent poor economic conditions, which the Hungarian Government is vainly trying to relieve.

In the Bukowina the Ukrainians, over 300,000 in number (38% of the total population of the land), inhabit a region of 5000 square kilometers, situated mostly in the mountainous parts of the country. The Ukrainians inhabit the following districts: Zastavna (80%), Vashkivtzi (83%), Viznitza (78%), Kitzman (87%), and Chernivtzi (55%), half the District of Sereth (42%), a third of the District of Storozhinetz (26%), besides parts of the Districts of Kimpolung, Radautz and Suchava. Amid the Ukrainian population a great many Jews are settled, scattered, and in the cities many Germans, Roumanians, Armenians and Poles besides. The degree of education and the economic state of the Bukowina Ukrainians are incomparably better than those of the Ukrainians of Hungary. From the rural population a numerous educated class has sprung, which has taken the lead of the masses in the economic and political struggle.

In Galicia (78,500 square kilometers, 8 million inhabitants) the Ukrainians, 3,210,000, that is 40% of the total population (with 59% of Poles and 1% of Germans) occupy a compact space of 56,000 square kilometers, in [[131]]which they comprise 59% of the population. These figures are taken from the census of the year 1910, which, because of its partisan compilation, is perhaps unique among the civilized states of Europe. For not only are all the Jews (who speak a German jargon) listed as Poles, but also all the Ukrainians of Roman-Catholic faith, of whom there is more than half a million, and 170,000 pure Ukrainians of Greek-Catholic (united) faith. Basing our calculations, not on these statistics of the vernacular, but on the statistics of faith, which, too, are not unobjectionable, we obtain the following results: For the Greek-Catholic Ukrainians 3,380,000 (42%), for the Roman-Catholic Poles 3,730,000 (47%), and for the Jews 870,000 (11%). According to religious convictions, then, Ukrainian East Galicia would contain 62% of Ukrainians, over 25% (1,350,000) Poles, and over 12% (660,000) Jews. As a matter of fact, the number of Ukrainians in Galicia, according to the investigations of Dr. Okhrimovich, should be raised to at least 3,500,000, and, adding the Roman-Catholic Ukrainians of East Galicia, the number is 4,000,000. We shall retain the figure 3,380,000, however, but for the following view of the districts, the percentages will be taken from the much more justly compiled census of the year 1900. The greatest percentage of the Ukrainian population, that is 75–90%, is found in the Carpathian Districts of Turka, Stari Sambir, Kossiv, Pechenizin; the sub-Carpathian Districts of Bohorodchani, Kalush, Zidachiv; the Pocutian Districts of Sniatin and Horodenka, besides the District of Yavoriv in the Rostoche. The percentage of Ukrainians vacillates between 67 and 75% in the Districts of Lisko, Dobromil, Striy, Dolina, Nadvirna, Tovmach, Salishchiki, Borshchiv, Rohatin, Bibrka, Zovkva and Rava. More than three-fifths of the population (60–66%) is made up of Ukrainians in the Districts of Drohobich, Sambir, Rudki, Mostiska, Horodok, Kolomiya, [[132]]Sokal, Kaminka, Brody, Sbaraz Zolochiv, Peremishlani, Berezani, Pidhaytzi, Chorytkiv, and Husiatin; 50–60% Ukrainians are found in the Districts of Chesaniv, Peremishl, Sianik, Ternopil, Skalat, Terebovla, Buchach and Stanislaviv. In only two districts the percentage of Ukrainians falls below 50%: in the districts of Lemberg (49%) and Yaroslav (41%). In the city of Lemberg the Ukrainians comprise only one-fifth of the population, and in other larger cities of East Galicia, too, their percentage is not great. Consequently, the total percentages of the Ukrainians in the districts are influenced very unfavorably thru the addition of the city population. Besides, the East Galician cities, inhabited chiefly by Jews and Poles, are the chief centers of the Polonizing efforts. Only in the most recent times is the percentage of Ukrainians in the larger cities of East Galicia becoming greater, as a result of the continued flocking in of the Ukrainian rural population. In the fifty smaller cities of East Galicia, on the other hand, the Ukrainians comprise absolute majorities, e.g., Yavoriv, Horodenka, Tismenitza.

In West Galicia only the District of Horlitzi (Gorlice) has more than 25% Ukrainians, the remaining four (Yaslo, New Sandetz, Krosno, Hribov) only 10–20%.

The Ukrainian population of Galicia consists nine-tenths of peasants and petty bourgeois. From them a numerous educated class has sprung in the past century, which has taken the political and cultural leadership of the masses. For this reason, too, national consciousness has advanced most among the Ukrainians of Galicia.

In the compass of the Russian State the Ukrainians occupy a compact national territory of almost 775,000 square kilometers. The actual size of this territory will be accurately determined only when we possess an accurate ethnographic map of the Ukraine. Until then the size of the various Ukrainian sections can only be estimated. [[133]]