The untold history of the Ukrainian Independence Day
What do we really celebrate on August 24th? One week after the Ukrainian Independence Day, I’d like to revisit three little-known facts about Ukraine’s fight for freedom.
First off, a one-minute lesson on Ukraine’s history — from 839 till now:
Fact #1: On August 24th, Ukraine celebrates the Restoration of its Independence.
The Act of Independence, signed on August 24th, 1991, was the second time Ukrainian legislators declared Ukraine an independent state. The first time was on January 22, 1918, when the Ukrainian Central Rada proclaimed that “Ukrainian People’s Republic is becoming self-existing, from no one dependent, free, sovereign state of Ukrainian people”.
In fact, the Ukrainian SSR (1922–1991) existed in parallel with the Ukrainian UPR government in exile. Hence, August 24th is better termed the Restoration of Ukraine’s Independence. For a more detailed explanation, see this thread by Yevhenii Monastyrskyi, a Ukrainian historian and sociologist at Yale:
Fact #2: Since 1654, every generation of Ukrainians experienced a war with Russia.
It’s hard to pin down the exact point when the Russian empire first started meddling in Ukraine. I’d argue, it was when Bohdan Khmelnytskyy, a Ukrainian Hetman, signed the Pereiaslav Agreement, a treaty between the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate and the Tsardom of Russia.
Russia didn’t fulfil the terms of the agreement, paving the way for Catherine the Great to later destroy the Zaporozhian Sich in 1775. In the 17th-18th centuries, amidst the nation-forming years of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate, Russia showed its imperialist claws, aiming to obliterate the strong democratic tradition of Ukraine.
Fact #3: Ukraine got its first Constitution in 1710 — a reflection of its long tradition of democratic rule.
It’s worth revisiting what independence actually means. A nation is truly independent if it’s ready to govern itself within a set of rules — a Constitution. Behind a written constitution lies the everyday painstaking work of nation-building — a long, bumpy, and often slow process of becoming a cohesive nation.
By the Constitutional criterion, Ukraine established itself as an independent democratic state already in 1710. Pylyp Orlyk, a Ukrainian Hetman, signed Ukraine’s first Constitution on April 5, 1710. This document established the principle of the separation of powers in government between the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches, as well as limited the executive authority of the Hetman, and established a Cossack parliament called the General Council.
Final words
Ukraine’s long-standing democracy puts Ukrainian Independence in stark contrast to the autocratic tradition of the Russian empire. This, in itself, should shed light on why Russia [yet again] invaded Ukraine. The current Russia’s war against Ukraine is a continuation of Russia’s long-standing imperialist conquest of its neighbours.
If you want to learn more about Ukraine’s history, here are five easy-to-access options (in English):
- How to be brave like Ukraine: 16 mini-lessons on Ukrainian language, folklore, traditions and business.
- Crimea: History and People: an online Udemy course on the past and present of Crimea and Crimean Tatars — indigenous people of Ukraine.
- Ukraine: History, Culture and Identities: a short Udemy course on the history, culture, and society of Ukraine from the Middle Ages to the present.
- The Gates of Europe. A History of Ukraine: a book by Serhii Plokhy, a Harvard-based Ukrainian historian.
- Making of Modern Ukraine: a lecture series by Timothy Snyder, a Yale-based historian.
P.S. Thanks for reading! I keep my posts free, but here’s a quick way to say thanks — donate to United24 or the KSE Foundation, and #StandWithUkraine! This is the best way to invest in freedom and ensure we live in a safe world.
