European Reading Challenge #9

I read this for the European Reading Challenge 2024.

The Ukraine: Reprint of a Lecture Delivered on Ukrainian History and Present-day Political Problems - George Raffalovich

This short work was written in 1913, just before the outbreak of WWI. An advocate of Ukrainian independence who was based in London, Raffalovich argued that an independent Ukraine would contribute to greater stability in a wobbly Europe. Ukrainians would fulfill their dreams of unity and freedom from the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires.

The Russian nationalists would be checked in their fevered dreams of anti-Western, pro-despotic pan-slavism, the ideological fig leaf for Big Sister Russia calling the shots and pocketing all the revenue from the exploitation of natural resources, agriculture and factory labor. Then, as now, Russia feared an independent Ukraine because it would serve as a democratic example in the West, standing in contrast to autocratic leaders knouting a bruised and bleeding public in the East. Russia feared 1905-type riots and protests of workers and peasants if an example of a democratic Slavic nation were allowed to exist and thus inspire dissent and the wish to be free.

So with this series of lectures, Raffalovich’s goal was to introduce the history, literature, and religion of Ukraine to a thinking audience. This quick overview of the history and religion of the Uniat church is very interesting. He also gives an overview of Ukrainian issues in the world situation just on the eve of the Great War. One would think these problems would be of scarce interest at the present time, but it’s fascinating to see what at least one thinking person thought of the immediate future, before August 1914 and its aftermath blew up empires.

Links: Librivox and Text