Ukrainian irredentism

Ukrainian irredentism or Greater Ukraine refers to claims made by some Ukrainian nationalist groups to territory outside of Ukraine which they consider part of the Ukrainian national homeland.

Principalities of Kievan Rus', (1054–1132)
Not to be confused with Great Ukraine.
Map of Ukraine presented by the Ukrainian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, before establishing the Ukrainian SSR.
Map of Ukrainian settlement in Eastern Europe based on a postcard issued in 1919.

History
See also: History of Ukraine and Ukrainian People's Republic

Rise of nationalism

The 10 commandments of the Ukrainian People's Party (1902–1907) were developed by Ukrainian nationalist, the leader of UPP Mykola Mikhnovsky in 1904. These commandments were a kind of honor code for the party. They called for a one, united, indivisible, from the Carpathians to the Caucasus, independent, free, democratic Ukraine – a republic of working people.[1]

Claimed regions

Since Mikhnovsky the idea of ‘Ukrainian Independent United State’ (Ukrainian: Українська Самостійна Соборна Держава Ukrainska Samostiyna Soborna Derzhava) has been a key nationalist slogan, but many would argue that the ‘unification’ (соборність sobornist’) of Ukrainian lands was partially completed in 1939–45.

Today's would-be Ukraina irredenta is mainly in the east, on the territory that is now part of the Russian Federation:[2]

In the west, some radical nationalists would also cover the following territories:[2]

Ukraine seriously claiming territories of neighbouring states is not considered possible.[2] (Foreign claims against Ukrainian territory[2] have been acted on in the Russian Federation's 2014 annexation of Crimea, its covert military support of separatism in the Donbas region, and aggressive rhetoric by the Russian government.)[3] In the case of Russian–Ukrainian conflict, radical Ukrainian nationalists could try to take advantage in the north Caucasus or elsewhere.[2]

Kuban
Ukrainians in Kuban, according to census of 1926.
Main article: Ukrainians in Kuban

Ukrainians first settled the Kuban in 1792 and until the mid-twentieth century the majority of the population there identified themselves as Little Russians or Ukrainians. However the percentage of those who identified themselves as Ukrainians dropped from an official 55% (1926) to 0.9% (2002).

See also

References
  1. Mirchuk, P. (1999). Возрождение национальной идеи [Revival of the national idea] (in Russian). Kyiv: Ukrainian publishing split.
  2. Wilson, Andrew (1997). Ukrainian nationalism in the 1990s: a minority faith. Cambridge University Press. pp. 181–183.
  3. "Putin's Ukraine rhetoric driven by distorted view of neighbour". The Guardian. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
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