Ukrainians in Kazakhstan
Encyclopedia
Ukrainians are an ethnic minority in Kazakhstan that according to the 1989 census numbered 896,000 people, or 5.4% of the population. Due to subsequent emigration to Russia and Ukraine, this number had declined to 796,000 by 1998 and 456,997 in the 2009 census. .
, members of paramilitary Ukrainian peasant and Cossack
bands, who were sent by the Russian government to Kazakhstan after their failed uprising in 1768
.
More significant in terms of their contribution to the Ukrainian ethnic group in Kazakhstan were a large wave of settlers who beginning in the late nineteenth century arrived from almost all of the regions of Ukraine that had been part of the Russian Empire at that time. Seeking more opportunities and free land, these voluntary emigrants numbered approximately 100,000 people in Kazakhstan and adjacent regions of Russia by the turn of the century. This movement escalated significantly following the agricultural reforms of Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin
in the early 20th century. Between 1897 and 1917, the proportion of the population of Kazakhstan that was of Ukrainian ethnicity increased from 1.9% to 10.5%. They tended to settle in the regions of Kazakhstan that most resembled Ukraine, in the northern part of Kazakhstan. By 1917, Ukrainians came to make up approximately 29.5% of the population of Akmola Province
and 21.5% of the popualtion of Turgai province
. By 1926, according to the census, Kazakhstan was home to 860,000 Ukrainians.
In the 1930's during the Soviet process of collectivization, approximately 64,000 Ukrainian kulak
(relatively wealthy peasant) families were forcibly resettled in Kazakhstan.
The first western Ukrainians were forcibly deported to Kazakhstan from the regions of Galicia and Volhynia
when the Soviet Union annexed western Ukraine in 1939-1940
. They were followed by more deportees from western Ukraine, people who were accused of having been members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
. Approximately 8,000 of the latter were sent to forced labor camps near Karaganda
and many of them stayed there after having served their sentences. The descendents of the post-World War II Ukrainian immigrants tend to dominate the staffing of Kazakhstan's numerous UKrainian cultural centers.
, has a Ukrainian high school and Sunday school. The shared sufferings of the Kazakh and Ukrainian peoples at the hands of the Soviets are emphasized by Kazakh-Ukrainian activists.
Although the Ukrainian language continues to be significant in rural areas with compact Ukrainian settlement, and is actively supported by the Kazakh government, the use of the Russian language has come to dominate within Kazakhstan's Ukrainian community. Due to assimilation with Russian culture, the proportion of the Ukrainian population in Kazakhstan who declare the Ukrainian language to be their mother tongue has declined from 78.7% in 1926 to only 36.6% today. Most Ukrainians in Kazakhstan, when faced with pressure from the majority Kazakhs, have tended to unite with Russian fellow Slavs. There is thus somewhat of a cultural divide within Kazakhstan's Ukrainian community between those who maintain a Ukrainian political and cultural identity (largely descendents of mid 20th century immigrants) and those who have become culturally and liguistically Russified (the descendents of those who migrated to Kazakhstan earlier).
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
began its existence in Kazakhstan when the first western Ukrainians were exiled there during and after World War II. Centered in Karaganda
, the Church services were conducted in people's homes until 1978, when the first Roman Catholic church was built. The first Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was built in 1996. Currently, Kazakhstan has nine parishes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic community was visited in 2002 by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major archbishop
Lubomyr Husar.
History
Beginning in the end of the 18th century, several waves of both voluntary and involuntary Ukrainian settlers came to Kazakhstan. The first Ukrainians to arrive were exiled HaidamaksHaidamaka
The haidamakas, also haidamaky or haidamaks , were paramilitary bands in 18th-century Ukraine. The haidamak movement was formed mostly of local Cossacks and peasantry , against the Polish nobility in right-bank Ukraine...
, members of paramilitary Ukrainian peasant and Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
bands, who were sent by the Russian government to Kazakhstan after their failed uprising in 1768
Koliyivschyna
Koliyivshchyna 1768-1769 was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion against Poland, which was responsible for the murder of noblemen , Jews, Uniates, and Catholic priests across the part of the country west of the Dnieper river...
.
Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
in the early 20th century. Between 1897 and 1917, the proportion of the population of Kazakhstan that was of Ukrainian ethnicity increased from 1.9% to 10.5%. They tended to settle in the regions of Kazakhstan that most resembled Ukraine, in the northern part of Kazakhstan. By 1917, Ukrainians came to make up approximately 29.5% of the population of Akmola Province
Akmola Province
Akmola Province is a centrally located province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Kokshetau. The capital of the whole country, Astana, is enclosed in the province, but is politically separate from Akmola Province. The province's population is 748,300; Kokshetau's is 124,000. The area is 146,200...
and 21.5% of the popualtion of Turgai province
Turgai (Imperial Russia)
Turgay was an oblast in Imperial Russia established on October 21, 1868 that was located in central part of present-day Kazakhstan, part of the Steppe governate....
. By 1926, according to the census, Kazakhstan was home to 860,000 Ukrainians.
In the 1930's during the Soviet process of collectivization, approximately 64,000 Ukrainian kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
(relatively wealthy peasant) families were forcibly resettled in Kazakhstan.
The first western Ukrainians were forcibly deported to Kazakhstan from the regions of Galicia and Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
when the Soviet Union annexed western Ukraine in 1939-1940
Soviet annexation of Western Ukraine, 1939–1940
On the basis of a secret clause of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union , the Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17, 1939, capturing the eastern regions of Poland , with Galicia and Volhynia, facing little Polish opposition and occupying the principal city of...
. They were followed by more deportees from western Ukraine, people who were accused of having been members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists is a Ukrainian political organization which as a movement originally was created in 1929 in Western Ukraine . The OUN accepted violence as an acceptable tool in the fight against foreign and domestic enemies particularly Poland and Russia...
. Approximately 8,000 of the latter were sent to forced labor camps near Karaganda
Karaganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
and many of them stayed there after having served their sentences. The descendents of the post-World War II Ukrainian immigrants tend to dominate the staffing of Kazakhstan's numerous UKrainian cultural centers.
Society and Culture
In an effort to split the Ukrainian and Russian communities in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh government has actively supported Ukrainian cultural aspirations. It has funded a Ukrainian newspaper. Ukrainian organizations operate freely in Kazakhstan, and currently there are 20 Ukrainian cultural centers that sponsor Sunday schools, choirs, and folk dancing groups. Kazakhstan's capital, AstanaAstana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, has a Ukrainian high school and Sunday school. The shared sufferings of the Kazakh and Ukrainian peoples at the hands of the Soviets are emphasized by Kazakh-Ukrainian activists.
Although the Ukrainian language continues to be significant in rural areas with compact Ukrainian settlement, and is actively supported by the Kazakh government, the use of the Russian language has come to dominate within Kazakhstan's Ukrainian community. Due to assimilation with Russian culture, the proportion of the Ukrainian population in Kazakhstan who declare the Ukrainian language to be their mother tongue has declined from 78.7% in 1926 to only 36.6% today. Most Ukrainians in Kazakhstan, when faced with pressure from the majority Kazakhs, have tended to unite with Russian fellow Slavs. There is thus somewhat of a cultural divide within Kazakhstan's Ukrainian community between those who maintain a Ukrainian political and cultural identity (largely descendents of mid 20th century immigrants) and those who have become culturally and liguistically Russified (the descendents of those who migrated to Kazakhstan earlier).
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
began its existence in Kazakhstan when the first western Ukrainians were exiled there during and after World War II. Centered in Karaganda
Karaganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
, the Church services were conducted in people's homes until 1978, when the first Roman Catholic church was built. The first Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was built in 1996. Currently, Kazakhstan has nine parishes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic community was visited in 2002 by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major archbishop
Major Archbishop
right|200 px|thumb|Archbishop [[Sviatoslav Shevchuk]], Major Archbishop of Kyiv-HalychIn the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop is a title for an hierarch to whose archiepiscopal see is granted the same jurisdiction in his autonomous particular Church that an Eastern patriarch has in...
Lubomyr Husar.