Изменение мировоззрения российских меннонитов и разрушение их сообщества

The article raises the problems of the Mennonite community's reflection on the reforms in Russian Empire as well as the modernization of social, political and economic environment in 1861–1914, during the First World War, the recurring power changes and political anarchy in Ukraine during the Civil War. The author examines the Mennonites' attempts to adjust the changes in reality, the cause-and-effect relationships of arising social crisis which ultimately led to the destruction of the ethnoreligious community's canonical foundations. The research bases on the testimonies of the eyewitnesses (given in their diaries), memoirs and other published materials. The author examines the gradual deviation processes among the Mennonite society that were transforming the fundamental statements of the congregations’ doctrine and their moral norms and traditions. It is analyzed whether the Russian-Ukrainian Mennonites remained an ethno-religious conglomerate or lost their inherent values. As a result it has been proved the following: the Mennonites in Russia in a short period from the beginning of the reforms of the 1860s – 1870s to the beginning of the 20th century, went from a close-knit religious community to an opened and spiritually weakened unification. During the period of “challenges and reactions” of the First World War and the Civil War, the leaders of the community were unable to maintain the unity and cohesion, a complex of moral and ethical markers, pacifist views, social institutions, which led to a deformation of values and disorientation in further actions. Only a small part of the Mennonites society was able to organize itself and, thanks to the support of the Canadian Mennonites communities, it emigrated in 1923–1926 and thus avoided the Bolshevik regime repressions. Key words: the Mennonites, World War I, Civil War, Makhno, identity.

Штрихи до портрета дніпропетровських «всесвітників»: Сергій Плохій у спогадах учнів

The publication presents the memoirs of the famous historian Serhii Plokhii, who worked at the Department of General History of Dnipropetrovsk State University from 1983 till 1992. During this time he passed all the steps of academic growth from a lecturer to professor, the head of the department. The Department of General History of Dnipropetrovsk State University was a powerful centre of Soviet German studies. But after the socialist camp began to disintegrate, the study of GDR history lost its political relevance. The Germanists faced a problem in which direction the further research should be continued. During the abroad internship Serhii Plokhii found out that the Dnipropetrovsk State Archive contains funds that comprise the documents related to the history of the German colonies. Having returned from the internship, he offered the department staff to develop a new research area related to German colonization. Under his guidance, students and postgraduate students began to work on archival funds which had been previously closed and contained the materials on the colonization, adaptation, economic structure of the German colonies. Due to the active organizational policy Serhii Plokhii managed to involve young researchers - students into the scientific work, the most successful of them became postgraduate students and defended their dissertations on the problems of German studies. This publication presents the memoirs of three students of the historian: Mahomet Ismailov, Nataliia Venher, Oksana Beznosova. The author of each memoir reveals the history of personal relationships with the scientific supervisor, analyzes their own research paths in science. What the memories have in common is that the students note the significant influence of Serhii Plokhii on their academic career and destiny.

Народна школа грамоти в таборі полонених українців Вецляр, Німеччина (вересень 1915 – березень 1917 рр.): короткий нарис історії створення та діяльності.

The article analyzes the specifics of the functioning of the public school in the Wetzlar Camp of Ukrainian prisoners of war who served in the tsarist army. The authors also identify the impact of education on the prisoners. Although the school was an effective tool of the Ukrainization processes, its influence was limited by strong anti-Ukrainian obstruction by the Black Hundred groups’ members and the Little Russians during September 1915 – October 1916. They were kept in the camp for many months. Nevertheless, the teaching staff of the school did not stop their work, contributing into the formation of national consciousness of their Ukrainian students. In the autumn of 1916, the efforts of the local Ukrainian clubs and institutions (including the public school) brought about a cumulative effect – most campers had adhered pro-Ukrainian views and begun actively participate in the activity of camp cultural and educational centres. This way the public school became a kind of «centre of gravity» throughout the camp and the number of its students grew steadily. It happened because the prisoners realized the ultimate need for their own education. They wanted to get rid of their illiteracy and acquired additional primary knowledge from various subjects offered to them by the school. The teachers staff were the civilian members of the Educational Department of the “Union for the Liberation of Ukraine”. Thanks to them, the prisoners had the opportunity to learn Ukrainian literature, as well as get some knowledge in history and geography of Ukraine, arithmetic and science. Thus, because of the public school, the prisoners not only acquired literacy, got writing and grounding in mathematics, but they also broaden their minds. The irreversible changes in their national character happened due to the education and consistent patriotic position of the teachers. After visiting school, most of students were already inextricably linked to Ukraine, ready to share their knowledge to affirm national ideals among the Ukrainians. Key words: Ukrainians – prisoners of war, public school, alphabet, teacher, student, Wetzlar camp, Germany.

Шенфельдская волость: история возникновения и исчезновения меннонитских поселений

The author studies the history of the Shenfeld Mennonite volost foundation and destruction. The research tasks were as follows: to analyze the reasons of this volost establishing at the period of the colonist reform; to study development of the settlements at the second part of the 19th century, to find out how its inhabitants participated in the modernization processes; to follow the cultural and spiritual life of the colonies and Aleksandrovsky district as a whole; to highlight the problem of the Mennonite settlements destruction. The Shenfeld (Krasnopolskaya) volost was situated in the Aleksandrovsky district of the Ekaterinoslav province. It was founded in 1873. Its uniqueness lays in the fact that it did not have definite administrative-territorial boundaries, since the possessions were dispersed. The population was made up of the Mennonites from Molochansk and (partly) Khortytsa colonies. The families settled on farms, united into small villages. The process of the eastern part of Aleksandrovsky district settlement was a part of the German colonization in this area and in the province as a whole. However, the volost differed from the other ones because it only consisted of private farms. Its economy was organized on the purchased (not granted by the tsars) land. The author pays attention to Zilberfeld estate that is the least studied settlement of the volost. The fates of its owners have not been researched yet. The volost was famous for its prosperity and contributed greatly into this region economy development. The destruction of an entire volost during the Civil War, that was the result of the Makhnovist movement, is also one of the important parts of its tragic history. Key words: Mennonites, Shenfeld (Krasnopolskaya) volost, Alexandrovsky district, Ekaterinoslav province, Zilberfeld estate, Civil war, Yantsen family, Nestor Makhno.

«...Найчесніший та найшляхетніший українець, що носив лише німецьке прізвище...»: до 150-річчя барона Федора фон Штейнлеля

The article deals with the main periods of biography and activity of Baron Fedir von Schteingel whose life and work was closely connected with Volyn region. Fedir (Theodore Rudolf) von Schteingel was born on November 26, 1870 in Saint Petersburg into the family of Baltic German engineer and railroad builder Rudolf von Schteingel. Fedir’s father bought an estate in the village of Horodok not far from Rivne in Volyn province in1879. Fedir Schteingel spent most of his life there. He was interested in the history of Volyn from his student years. One of Schteingel’s activities was the research in the field of natural sciences. He was a member of several scientific societies. F. Schteingel and famous Ukrainian archeologist M. Bilyashivsky founded the first countryside historical museum in Ukraine in 1896. There were five sections with unique collections of exhibits, books, manuscripts and folklore materials there. Fedir Schteingel was engaged in charity work during all his life. He built and supported the two-grade vocational school in Horodok in which education was free of charge. He built a hospital with free treatment, a reading room, a mill, a bathhouse and supported a village fire brigade. Baron helped those who lost their possessions in a fire, paid pensions to invalids and poor people. He also provided financial assistance in building churches, hospitals, and orphanages in Zhytomyr, Kyiv and Warsaw. Fedir Schteingel was a famous public and political figure. He was a head and a member of governing bodies of different financial, legal, and educational institutions in Rivne and Kyiv for many years. He was a Head of Committee of South West Front of All-Russia Union of Cities in 1915-1917. He was elected Head of Executive Committee of Kyiv City Duma in March 1917. Schteingel began his political activity in 1906. He joined the Cadets Party and was elected Deputy of the First State Duma from Kyiv. He was a member of Cadets Party fraction and Ukrainian Duma community. He participated in masonic movement. He had been taking part in Ukrainian public and political life since 1908. He worked in Ukrainian Central Rada and Presidium of All-Ukrainian National Congress in 1917. He left the Cadets Party in June 1917 and joined the Ukrainian Party of Socialists and Federalists. Fedir Schteingel became the ambassador of Ukraine in Germany in 1918. He organized the first official visit of Hetman of Ukraine Pavlo Skoropadsky to Germany at the beginning of September 1918. Fedir Schteingel came back to Volyn in 1924 and continued his charity work. He represented the interests of Volyn and Ukrainian peasants to Polish authorities. He and his family secretly immigrated to Germany in autumn 1939. He spent the rest of his life in Radeberg near Dresden. He died on February 11, 1946.

Латиноамериканська тематика на сторінках «Новой и новейшей истории» (1985−1991 рр.)

The issues of the articles published on the pages of the scientific-historical periodical "New and Contemporary History" (1985−1991, so-called Perestroika epoch) has been analysed. The complex of publications devoted to various problems of the Latin America modernity and contemporary history is identified. The author offers his classification of the identified publications by genre. It is found out that the articles and monograph reviews were the most popular genres. It was found that the overwhelming majority of the authors belonged to Moscow group, while there is absence of works prepared by the scientists who came from other Soviet republics (at least in the field of Latin America research). The conclusion about the dominance of Moscow scholarly centres in the Latin America`s history studying is made. It is shown that a tangible ideology and propaganda component in the research problems and the plots were important during Perestroika period and this approach was mostly kept until the end of the Soviet Union existence. The problems studied by the authors were as follows: national liberation struggle of the local population against Spanish colonial rule; the trade union movement and opposition to American imperialism development; historical personalities who represented the national liberation movements; political and social revolutions. An analysis of publications on the Latin America history shows that the Soviet historians did not have clear preferences regarding definite countries of the continent under study. All the Latin America countries were paid the focus of attention by the Soviet researchers. The state of Latin American studies on the pages of "New and Contemporary History" shows unsatisfactory level of this research field elaboration that is especially obvious in comparison with European and American studies.The forming of the Soviet historiography heritage in Latin American studies is of great importance for further perspectives of the Ukrainian Latin American studies development. It makes sense to assert that a careful consideration of the Soviet historiography heritage on the subject is important for the contemporary Ukrainian historiography.

Кукавское восстание, август 1918 года: украинские гетманские власти, антигетманская оппозиция, австро-венгерские войска

The study of the official documentation of the Ukrainian State authorities (the Ukrainian state headed by Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskiy) and the Austro-Hungarian troops command of stationed in Ukraine makes it possible to determine the goals, nature and staff of the participants in the uprising in Kukavka (Podolia) in August 1918 and to reconstruct the sequence of events connected with this uprising. The uprising was organized by former executives of the Ukrainian People's Republic. It was conceived as part of a public uprising. Its programme provided for liquidation of the hetman state, restoration of the Ukrainian People's Republic, expulsion of the German and Austro-Hungarian troops supporting the hetman, destruction of large landholdings in Ukraine and distribution of landowners’ land among the peasants. Probably, following the example of the participants in the anti-government movement in Ukraine in 1768 (Koliivshchyna), the rebels of Kukavka intended to exterminate those who were considered as the oppressors of the Ukrainian people, especially the of estate owners. The uprising was preceded by thorough preparation. The members were well armed and had a considered plan of action. The battle groups formed in the villages consisted mainly of former military men of the Russian tsarist army, the veterans of World War I. On August 14, in Kukavka, the part of the combat groups united into a large detachment. In the following days, the detachment raided the territory of Mogilev, Yampolsky and Bratslav districts, absorbing the rest of the battle groups and trying to raise wide circles of population to fight. The plan of involving of a large number of peasants into the uprising failed. The movement did not become widespread. The total number of the participants, did not exceed three thousand people. By the end of August, the rebel army had been eliminated after a series of clashes with Austro-Hungarian military units.

Радянські шведи в пошуках кращого життя: між Швецією та СРСР

The article analyzes the short period of the Soviet Swedes living outside the USSR in Sweden (while their re-emigration). It is proved that majority of the native Swedes saw the common roots with the Soviet Swedes diaspora, approved their reunion and admired their ability to preserve national identity for a long period (about two hundred years) of living outside Sweden. Their arrival in the Motherland was called as reunification. However, there was also a different opinion among the native Swedish society. Some parts of the Swedes were criticising the Swedish government for the financial support of the resettlement. In the context of the economic crisis in the country, the Soviet Swedes were considered as a labor force. The Swedish government set up a committee to take care of the migrants` adaptation. The committee planned to сonnect the Soviet Swedes to successful farmers so that they could get business experience. The settlers were reported that all the money, having spent on their settlement, was only a government loan that they would have to repay. The mismatch between the expectations and the reality, the new conditions and requirements (loans and interest rates, capitalist competition and a new type of society) they faced, gave rise to the Soviet Swedes' desire to seek an even better fate. The last one they traditionally associated with relocation and emigration. Under the influence of the communist propaganda, some poor Swedes decided to return to the USSR. Changing their plans for future, they considered their departure to Sweden as a reckless step and proclaimed the Soviet Union their only true homeland. The back return of 265 Swedes (33% of the diaspora) to the USSR proved that the mentality of the Ukrainian Swedish immigrants had been changed by the Bolsheviks power and national policy. It turned out that the paternalistic policy of the state during the Russian Empire and the uninitiated life during the Soviet era (when the Swedes realized that nothing depended on them) did make some of them a kind of "other" people. This thing changed them so much that they were ready to be satisfied with small possibilities. That is why they were unable to take risks, could not live under the condition of competitive society and capitalist market.

Дніпропетровщина в роки Другої світової війни в німецькій мемуаристиці та історіографії

The article is devoted to the reflection of Dnipropetrovsk and Dnipropetrovsk region during the Second World War in German memoirs and historiography. The author notes that Dnipropetrovsk region is poorly represented in this kind of literature due to the fact that there were no long or fierce defensive battles on its territory, and there were no turning points. Therefore, in German historiography and memoirs Dnipropetrovsk region is presented only in fragments. Since the attack of German troops on the USSR, Dnipropetrovsk had been on the way of the "South" army group. The initial stage of the battles for Dnipropetrovsk is represented by German memoirists, sometimes with serious human and technical losses. The dead German soldiers were buried at a cemetery near the train station. An eagle-shaped monument was erected at the beginning of the occupation of the city. The main task of the Germans was to restore the connection between the left and right banks of the city on the Dnipro River. Since the bridges had been blown up by retreating Soviet troops, the pontoon bridge had to be repaired so that communication could be established. After the occupation Dnipropetrovsk plunged into a “peaceful life” and memoirists depict a secluded life: there were cinemas, libraries. At that time the city was visited by Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the best bomber pilot of the Second World War, Stalin's personal enemy. There he had a clash with one of the future memoirists. Dnipropetrovsk made a good impression on him. Once in the deep rear of German troops, Dnipropetrovsk turned into an important economic center of the occupied territories. So that the attention of the memoirists to the rear city is significantly reduced. The mentions of Dnipropetrovsk again increased during the Soviet offensive and the battles for the liberation of the city and the region by the Soviet army.

«После признания и торжества национального начала многие общечеловеческие вопросы разрешаются»: европейский опыт и российский национальный проект в работах А. Д. Градовского.

The purpose of the article is to study the researches by A. Gradovsky, dedicated to the problem of nationalism as a phenomenon that manifested itself in the 19th century Western Europe. The author studies how the scholar correlated the above-named phenomena with the situation in the Russian Empire. N. Venger has found out the place of Gradovsky in the context of the general polemic about the Russian national project. Being rather a scholar, teacher and observer than a politician and publicist, Gradovsky reflected the European experience through the prism of the Russian Empire`s history. His Eurocentricity was important due to the fact that the dominant conservative ideology had rejected the western pattern of development for a long time. Most of Gradovsky's articles on national issues were created in the 1870s – at the beginning of 1880s. The scholar was never able to propose a global national project for the Russian Empire. However, projecting European phenomena onto the Russian Empire`s future development, Gradovsky paid attention to the most painful points of the society, which impede the progress of the national project`s formation and required reforms. The author created his own concept of ethnicity and nation, discussed the issue of the language unification and state religion role as well as advocated freedom of conscience. The topics of serfdom remnants overcoming, the elimination of estates, the emancipation of the peasantry were of great importance for the scholar. Gradovsky also touched on the problem of choosing Russia`s national idea, which he associated with Slavism. Supporting decisive actions in Polish uprising suppressing, Gradovsky insisted on keeping a dialogue with the Poles. While solving the German question, he demanded to avoid Russian xenophobia regarding the Russian Germans. It was not clear what the scholar thought about the possibility to create a national state from the totally heterogeneous Russian empire.