Now it is customary to talk about Ukraine as the largest country in Europe. This is, in general, correct. Now the territory of Ukraine is almost 604 thousand km 2, while the area of ​​France is only 547 thousand km 2, and Spain - 497. Only Russia is larger than Ukraine with its 3.7 million km 2.

However, one must understand a simple thing - Ukraine itself did not, in fact, have any merit in expanding its territory. Let's consider some stages of the formation of the borders of modern Ukraine.

The first proper Ukrainian state can be considered the state created by Bohdan Khmelnytsky in the course of liberation war against Poland (the Commonwealth).

In fairness, it should be noted that Khmelnitsky has never been a fighter for the independence of Ukraine. His correspondence with the Polish king leaves no doubt that he fought for the legal order in the Commonwealth in general (remember that his estate was subjected to an attempt " raider capture”) and for the rights of the Orthodox gentry in particular. Not meeting understanding, he received what he was looking for from the Moscow Tsar.

As of 1654, the borders of the state of Bogdan Khmelnitsky looked like this:

It is quite obvious that the hetman did not lay any claim to southern lands, Crimea and Donbass. This was all the area of ​​the "Wild Field", controlled by the Crimean Khan, who, at that time, was an ally of Khmelnitsky.

He did not lay claim to the lands of Sloboda, which, although they were inhabited by refugees from Ukraine, were, nevertheless, under the rule of the Russian tsar.

Galicia and Volyn were partially liberated during the war of liberation, but after the defeat near Berestechko, they remained under the control of the Poles. Khmelnitsky, by the way, did not seek to liberate the territories, but only the Orthodox people. That is why he limited himself to an indemnity from Lviv - there was, in fact, no one to release there, the Ukrainians (or rather, the Rusyns) lived there only on one Russian street, and even those, one must understand, fled from possible repressions from the Poles.

Well, about Transcarpathia, which was part of Hungary, there was no talk at all.

Borders of Ukraine in the Russian Empire

When we talk about the times of Catherine II, they prefer to recall the defeat of the Zaporizhzhya Sich and the official introduction of serfdom (de facto it existed even before that). However, at the same time, it is somehow naturally forgotten that it was during the Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century that the settlement (by the way, to a large extent by Ukrainians) of the former lands of the “Wild Field” - Novorossia and Crimea was carried out. The latter was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1783.

It was then that they founded Largest cities the modern South of Ukraine - Elisavetgrad (Kirovograd, 1775), Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk, 1776), Kherson (1778), Nikolaev (1789), Odessa (1794).

Already after the death of Catherine, in 1812, Bessarabia was annexed to Russia - Moldavia and Budzhak - part of the current Odessa region between the Prut and Dniester rivers.

If this is “occupation”, then the lands of the Nogai and Crimean Tatars were occupied. The Nogai horde, by the way, broke up, and the Nogais now live in Russia and Turkey.

In addition, according to the results of the second and third partitions of Poland in 1793-1795, Right-Bank Ukraine and Volyn were annexed to Russia. The remaining Western Ukrainian territories (Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia) remained part of Austria-Hungary.

The Russian Empress did not only what the hetmans could not do, but also what the hetmans did not even plan.

Surprisingly, the current "patriots" do not at all feel any gratitude to Catherine for such a radical expansion of the borders of Ukraine. True, speaking out against the monuments to Catherine, they are not at all in a hurry to return the lands that she annexed. Moreover, Southern Ukraine (not to mention Crimea), in contrast to the Right Bank and Volhynia, Ukrainian ethnic territory was not in any way and became it precisely thanks to the Russian conquests. Unless, of course, we talk about the “proto-Ukrainian Trypillia civilization”, which was located mainly on the territory of Romania and Moldova.

The period of "free zmagan"

Period after the collapse Russian Empire did not give any special territorial acquisitions. No, there are many absolutely fantastic maps of the Ukrainian People's Republic, covering not only Galicia, but also the Kuban.

However, in fact, the UNR was only one of the state entities created on the territory of the Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire. In 1917, this territory was divided among four state entities.

In 1918, this territory was united by the German occupation administration, which created the puppet state of Hetman Skoropadsky. Hetman, later, had to flee with the German occupiers...

The revived UNR managed to unite with the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, but this unification was formal, since it was at that moment that the ZUNR did not have its own territory, but was represented by the Petrushevich government and the Ukrainian Galician army ... Moreover, after the “unification”, the ZUNR continued to wage its war against the Poles , later finding it possible to cooperate with the "Muscovites" - first with the whites, and then with the reds.

The UNR, in fact, did not control its territory, since, besides itself, the quasi-state of Batka Makhno, the White Guard state-army, was located on it, in the end, the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic created in March 1919. It was not for nothing that it was said that "in the car - the Directory, under the car - the territory."

Petliura, by the way, ended up cooperating with the Poles, finally refusing both the “evil” from the ZUNR and the territory of Western Ukraine.

In the end, in 1920-1922, most of the Ukrainian lands (including Transnistria) were united as part of the Ukrainian SSR, which, in turn, became part of the USSR. Part of the Ukrainian lands remained under Polish and Romanian occupation.

Since 1939, a new stage of the unification of Ukrainian lands began.

In September 1939, the USSR liberated the territories of Western Ukraine, previously captured by Poland. Now the Soviet Union is scolded for "aggression" against Poland, condemned "cooperation" with Hitler and condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, but, for some reason, they do not propose to draw legal conclusions from this. The legal conclusions should be to return the territory of Galicia, Volhynia and part of Podolia to Poland, which “innocently suffered from Soviet aggression”. Strange - we condemn the annexation of Galicia to Ukraine, but we are in no hurry to give it back.

Something else is even more surprising… The same people who condemn the “Soviet occupation” of Western Ukraine are also simultaneously condemning the Polish occupation of the same territories in 1918. However, they are at least tolerant of their re-occupation by the Poles in 1920...

In 1940, the USSR delivered an ultimatum to Romania, demanding the return of the lands occupied in 1918. Romania ceded the territories of Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia.

A separate story took place in Transcarpathia, which, after the collapse of Czechoslovakia, proclaimed its independence in the status of Carpathian Ukraine (not at all striving, of course, to join Soviet Ukraine - there was no other at that time). It lasted only a few days, being occupied by Hungary.

In 1945, Transcarpathia was liberated from the German-Hungarian invaders, returned to Czechoslovakia, and then passed to the USSR.

Note that we are talking about a region that historically for several centuries was part of Hungary and even now does not territorially associate itself with Ukraine (a common expression for Transcarpathians is “to go to Ukraine”, for example, to Lviv).

And, finally, in 1954 Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. The official reason is "considering the commonality of the economy, territorial proximity and close economic and cultural ties between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR." Together with Crimea, Sevastopol also became part of Ukraine, although the legal grounds for the transfer of the city of republican subordination were not obvious. However, until the first half of the 90s, the issue of the status of the city was not raised, and later it was decided in favor of Ukraine.

However, the process also went in other directions. In 1940, Transnistria (Moldavian ASSR) was transferred to Moldova. In 1945, part of the territory of Western Ukraine, including the cities of Przemysl and Kholm, went to Poland. When clarifying the administrative boundaries within the USSR, some areas were transferred to Russia, and some, on the contrary, to Ukraine.

Borders of Ukraine in independence

However, in the name of Euro-Atlantic integration, Viktor Yushchenko sacrificed part of the continental shelf in favor of Romania. Although there were every reason not to give up the shelf with energy deposits. To do this, it was enough not to recognize the territory as disputed ...

conclusions

Historically, the territory of Ukraine is represented by approximately 8 regions of central Ukraine.

Western Ukraine (including Transcarpathia) could not be annexed and held by any Ukrainian authorities - there were not enough forces. Even when separate Ukrainian states were created on this territory, they could not maintain control over the territory. It turned out to be on the shoulder of tsarist Russia and the Stalinist USSR.

The south of Ukraine, Donbass and Crimea were annexed by the Russian Empire and transferred to Ukraine by the USSR. Actually, the territory of the "largest state in Europe" was formed by Catherine II and Stalin, and the relative independence, which generally allowed talking about some kind of "borders of Ukraine", she received from the hands of Lenin.

So people who talk about "Russian" and "Soviet" occupation should be ready to revise the borders of Ukraine - in favor of other victims of the "Russian" and "Soviet" "occupation". For, so to speak, our and your freedom... Or, nevertheless, "Freedom"?

False historians should be executed as counterfeiters. — Miguel de Cervantes

Putin's famous Valdai speech, where he made several statements on historical topics. Today, thanks to the Information World, one can know the real history, and not the one that politicians invent.

Borders of Ukraine before 1954

Vladimir Putin: Don’t you know, these lands were transferred from Russia to Ukraine in the 1920s, 1921-22 when the Soviet Union was created.

Facts: The statement is not true. In 1921-22, no territories were transferred from Russia to Ukraine. During these years, the Russian-Ukrainian border was not subjected to changes.

Vladimir Putin: These lands have historically always been called Novorossia. In essence, there was one region with the center in Novorossiysk, therefore it was called Novorossia.

Facts: The statement is not true.

The term "Novorossia" was in active use not "always", but from the 60s of the 18th century to the 70s of the 19th century, after which it went out of use and was not used.

In history, there were four administrative-territorial entities, with the name "Novorossia":

1. first Novorossiysk province 1765-1783
2. the second Novorossiysk province 1796-1802.
3. Novorossiysk Governor General 1802-1822
4. Novorossiysk and Bessarabian Governor General 1822-1874

The term "Novorossiya" could not come from the name of the city of Novorossiysk, since Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk) was renamed Novorossiysk only in 1796 - 32 years after the formation of the first Novorossiysk province in 1764.

After 6 years - in 1802 - the name Ekaterinoslav was returned to the city. For 123 years (until 1925), Yekaterinoslav was the center of the Yekaterinoslav province, and not Novorossiysk.

Ekaterinoslav province, 1802-1925

History is the truth that becomes a lie in the mouth of a politician - Jean Cocteau

• For more than two centuries (since 1802) there were no Novorossiysk provinces and regions in the Russian Empire, USSR, Ukraine, Russia.
• Since 1874, in the Russian Empire, the USSR, Ukraine, Russia, there have not been any administrative units with the term "Novorossiya" in their name.

Vladimir Putin: This is Kharkov, Lugansk, Donetsk, Nikolaev, Kherson, Odessa region.
Facts: Kharkiv has never been part of any administrative-territorial unit with the name Novorossiya.

The population on the territory of modern Kharkov has been continuously living since 1630, when Ukrainian Cossacks from the Dnieper region settled there. The historical Ukrainian region, in the center of which Kharkov is located, is called Slobozhanshchina.

• In the Russian Empire, Kharkov was the provincial center of the Sloboda province 1765-1780, the Sloboda-Ukrainian province 1796-1835, then the Kharkov province.
• Neither in the Russian Empire nor in the USSR until 1932 was there an administrative entity Odessa region. 1921-22 - Odessa and the surrounding territories were part of the Kherson province.

Unscrupulous politicians liken History to a nail on which you can hang whatever you want. - Alexandr Duma

Vladimir Putin: These lands were transferred from Russia to Ukraine during the creation of the Soviet Union.
Facts: Not true. The creation of the Union of the SSR took place on December 30, 1922. During its creation, as well as in 1921-22, no territories were transferred from Russia to Ukraine.

The formation of the modern Russian-Ukrainian border took place somewhat differently.

On November 7, 1917, with its 3rd Universal, the Ukrainian Central Rada proclaimed the formation of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) within the borders of nine provinces of the Russian Empire with a predominantly Ukrainian population

The territory of the People's Ukrainian Republic includes lands populated mainly by Ukrainians: Kiev region, Podolia, Volyn, Chernihiv region, Poltava region, Kharkiv region, Ekaterinoslav region, Kherson region, Tavria (without Crimea).

The final determination of the borders of the Ukrainian People's Republic, regarding the annexation of parts of the Kurshchyna, Kholmshchyna, Voronezh region and adjacent provinces and regions, where the majority of the population is Ukrainian, was established with the consent of the organized will of the peoples.

Ukraine in 1919

The history of Russia is a struggle between ignorance and injustice. — Mikhail Zhvanetsky

Under the contract dated 12.o6. 1918 RSFSR recognized the Ukrainian State within its borders.

Under an agreement dated March 10, 1919, the UNP transferred to the RSFSR:
a) the Crimean part of the Taurida Governorate (Crimean Peninsula);
b) completely Surazhsky, Starodubsky, Mglinsky counties and most of the Novozybkovsky county of the Chernigov province.

On April 16, 192o, by an agreed decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR and the VUTsVK “On the Formation of the Donetsk Governorate”, the RSFSR transferred to Ukraine some territories of the Don Army Region:
a) the villages of Gundorovskaya, Kamenskaya, Kalitvinskaya, Ust-Belokalitvenskaya, Karshovo-Obrivskaya Volost of the Donetsk Okrug;
b) the villages of Vladimirskaya, Aleksandrovskaya of the Cherkassy district;
c) the city of Taganrog with the Taganrog district.

In August 192o, the RSFSR handed over the village of Luganskaya to the Ukrainian SSR.
- On December 28, 1920, an agreement was concluded between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR on cooperation in the military and economic activity, which did not touch upon issues of borders.
- On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR was concluded, which also did not affect border issues.

On October 16, 1925, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR “On the settlement of the borders of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic with the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic”, a mutual exchange of territories between the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR was carried out

Ukraine transferred to the RSFSR
a) the city of Taganrog, Fedorovsky, Nikolaevsky, Matveyevo-Kurgansky, Sovetinsky, Golodaevsky districts and the eastern part of the Yekaterinovsky district of the Taganrog district;
b) the city of Shakhty, Glubokinsky, Leninsky, Kamensky, Ust-Belokalitvensky, Vladimirsky, Sulinsky, Shakhtinsky districts and parts of the territory of the Sorokinsky and Alekseevsky districts of the Shakhtinsky district.

RSFSR handed over to Ukraine
a) Semenovskaya volost of the Novozybkovsky district of the Gomel province;
b) the village of Znob, Trubchevskaya volost, Pochepsky district, Bryansk province;
c) the villages of the Khinel volost of the Sevsky district of the Bryansk province: Fatevizh, Baranovka, Demyanovka, Muraveinya, Tolstodubovo (Lemeshkovsky volost) and Seltso-Nikitskoye, Setnoye, the village of Grudskaya (Podyvodskaya volost);
d) the entire Putivl district (with the city of Putivl), with the exception of the Krupetsk volost;
e) Krinichevskaya volost of the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk province;
f) the southern part of the Grayvoron volost of the Grayvoron district of the Kursk province;
g) the southern part of the Murom volost of the Belgorod district of the Kursk province;
h) Troitskaya volost and part of the Urazovskaya volost of the Valuisky district of the Voronezh province.

On October 16, 1928, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, an exchange of territories between the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR was carried out.

Ukrainian SSR handed over to the RSFSR
the village of Znob, Trubchevskaya Volost, Pochepsky Uyezd, and the village of Grudskaya (Podyvodskaya Volost), Sevsky Uyezd, Bryansk Governorate.

RSFSR handed over to the Ukrainian SSR
a) the villages of Rashkovichi and Smokarevka, Khinelsky volost, Sevsky district, Bryansk province;
b) the villages of Staritsa, Prilipki and Ogurtsovo, Murom volost, Belgorod district, Kursk province;
c) the villages of Velikaya Rybitsa, Miropolye, Studenki, Zapselye, Pesnyaki, Alexandria, Vasilievka and Novaya Derevnya, Miropol Volost, Graivoronsky Uyezd, Kursk Governorate.

Ukraine in 1928

The Russian people have your history, for which they have enough imagination. — Maxim Zvonarev

• On April 26, 1954, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR transferred the Crimean region to the Ukrainian SSR.
• On December 8, 1991, by the Agreement on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia and Ukraine recognized the territorial integrity of each other and the inviolability of the borders existing between them.
• On January 14, 1994, by the Budapest Memorandum, Russia pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine.

Russia reaffirmed its commitment to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine. She also assumed that no weapons would be used against Ukraine, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

May 30, 1997 by the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership Russian Federation under the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, pledged to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and reaffirmed the inviolability of the existing borders between Russia and Ukraine.

PUTIN: The communists had a simple wording to raise the percentage of the proletariat in Ukraine.
Facts: Ukraine included provinces with a predominantly Ukrainian population, regardless of their social composition.

Ukrainian provinces in 1914 and the modern border of Ukraine.

Science History is a collection of facts that should not have been. — Stanislav Lets

Distribution of the population according to the native language of the Ukrainian provinces according to the 1897 census

PUTIN: It was done then in violation of even the Soviet law, I will tell you what this violation was. According to the regulations then in force, according to the laws of the Soviet Union, in order to transfer one territory of a union republic to another union republic, a decision was needed from the Supreme Council of one and the second subject, that is, one republic and the second. This was not done, but what was done? Stamped with the appropriate decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR and Ukraine, but not the Parliament itself, but only the Presidium. It was a gross, clear violation of the rules then in force.

Facts: These statements are not true. The Constitution of the USSR of 1936 (including the then valid version of August 8, 1953), the constitutions of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR of 1937 did not require decisions by the Supreme Soviets to change the borders between the union republics.

Article 16 of the Constitution of the RSFSR and Article 15 of the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR established that the territories of the republics could not be changed without their consent. Both constitutions did not indicate which body had the authority to act on behalf of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR, respectively.

An indirect reference to the powers regarding the definition of boundaries is contained in Article 19 of the Constitution of the RSFSR (a text similar in content is contained in Article 19 of the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR). In it, the jurisdiction of the republics represented by its supreme authorities and state administration bodies includes:
c) submission for approval by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the formation of new territories and regions, as well as new autonomous republics and regions within the RSFSR;
d) approval of the boundaries and regional division of the autonomous Soviet socialist republics and autonomous regions;
e) establishment of boundaries and regional division of territories and regions.
The republic is in charge only of changing the borders of autonomous republics, autonomous regions, borders and regional division of territories and regions.

The powers to change the borders between the union republics, according to the Constitution of the USSR of 1936, belong to the jurisdiction of the USSR

Article 14. The jurisdiction of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, represented by its highest bodies of state power and bodies of state administration, is subject to: approval of changes in the borders between the union republics.

Consequently, the authority to make decisions on changing the borders between the union republics belonged to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. It was these bodies that accepted.

Critical Decision was adopted in the form of the Law of the USSR, approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. USSR LAW on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics decides:

1. Approve the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 19, 1954 on the transfer of the Crimean region from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
2. Introduce appropriate changes to Articles 22 and 23 of the Constitution of the USSR.

Chairman of the Presidium
Supreme Soviet of the USSR
K. VOROSHILOV
Secretary of the Presidium
Supreme Soviet of the USSR
N.PEGOV
Moscow Kremlin
April 26, 1954

A similar procedure (the adoption of laws by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in the presence of representations from the Presidiums of the Supreme Soviets of the Union Republics and the absence of preliminary decisions of the Supreme Soviets of the Union Republics) was also applied in case of other changes in the borders between the Union Republics:

• Law of the USSR of March 31, 1940 "On the transformation of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic into the Union Karelian-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic".
• Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 12, 1943 "On the liquidation of the Karachaev Autonomous Region and on the administrative structure of its territory."
• Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 20, 1956 "On a partial change in the border between the Kazakh SSR and the RSFSR."
• Law of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 16, 1956 "On the transformation of the Karelian-Finnish SSR into the Karelian ASSR and the inclusion of the Karelian ASSR into the RSFSR."

Vladimir Putin: As for the West. Do you know something, after the Second World War, part of the territories was cut to Ukraine - as a result of the Second World War? Part was cut off from Poland, from Hungary. What city was Lvov if not Polish? What, you don't know about this or what?
Facts: With this comment, Putin de facto confirmed the authenticity of P. Sikorsky's earlier statement about V. Putin's discussion with a number of foreign leaders of the issue of ownership of parts of the territory of Ukraine by neighboring states.

1. Carpathian Ruthenia, which became the Transcarpathian region of the Ukrainian SSR, in 192o-38. was part of Czechoslovakia. Its occupation and annexation in 1939-44. Hungary, an ally of Nazi Germany, was not recognized either in the region itself or by the anti-Hitler coalition. Putin's mention of Hungary, and not Czechoslovakia, as the former owner of part of the territory of Ukraine says a lot about the nature of the Kremlin leader's thinking.
2. The city of Lviv was founded by the Grand Duke of Galicia Daniil Romanovich in 1256 and named after his son Leo. Lviv became Polish a century later, in 1349, when it was occupied by the troops of the Polish king Casimir. During its history, Lviv was under the control of the Polish, Austrian, Russian authorities. At the time of the occupation of the city by the Red Army in the autumn of 1939, the population of the city consisted mainly of Poles, Jews and Ukrainians.

February 19, 1954

To the 300th anniversary of the UNION OF UKRAINE WITH RUSSIA

In 1653 year, the hetman of the Zaporizhzhya Army, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, sent an embassy to Moscow to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with a request to accept " all of his Little Russia and all of the Zaporizhzhya Army into OWN ETERNAL SOLID POSSESSION, citizenship and patronage.

January 8 (18), 1654 in Pereyaslavl there was a transition of the Polish Registered Zaporozhian Army and parts of the territories under his control (Hetmanate) into the citizenship of the Tsar of White and Little Russia, Alexei Mikhailovich, FOR ETERNAL TIMES. In historiography, this event is called "Accession of Little Russia to Great Russia".

MOSCOW KINGDOM from the end of the 16th century, it waged endless wars on two fronts: in the West - with the Commonwealth and in the South - with TURKEY, which conquered lands all the way from the Balkans in the West to the lower reaches of the Dnieper and Don, Crimea, Kuban and the North Caucasus.

RUSSIAN EMPIRE in the 18th century went to the Black Sea and took possession of the territory south of the former Polish Ukraine and the Zaporozhian Sich. These lands were called Novorossia (as opposed to Little Russia and Great Russia). In 1784, the Crimean Khanate became part of the Empire. The peninsula was named Tauris. New Russian cities were built: Odessa, Kherson, Kharkov, Lugansk, Donetsk (where they found coal) and Sevastopol, which became the base Black Sea Fleet Empire.

The lands of the Commonwealth in 1775 were divided among themselves by three empires: Russian, Austrian and Prussian. The Commonwealth lands of Little Russia (Galicia, Bukovina, Volhynia, Podolia) conquered by the Commonwealth were ceded to Austria. After the 1st World War, Bessarabia with Bukovina was captured by Romania, and Galicia, Volhynia and Lvov were captured by Poland.

SOVIET UNION. In 1918, thanks to the "damned Bolsheviks" on political map peace For the first time in history there was a new state called Ukrainian SSR. At the same time, the former Little Russians were renamed into "Ukrainians"(that is, inhabitants of the outskirts-Ukraine), to their language ( move) added an epithet "Ukrainian". The first capital of the new state was Kharkiv, and since 1926 the capital was moved to Kyiv(for some reason called by historians not "father", but "mother of Russian cities").

Odessa, Kherson - all of Novorossia and Donbass were donated to "fraternal Ukraine". The Crimean peninsula remained part of the RSFSR, but a curious story happened to it. The fact is that “under the guise” of the First World War, their “rights to self-determination” were presented not only by the Poles and Lithuania, but also by many other residents of the former Russian Empire, before joining it, they never had their own statehood. These were: Belarusians and Little Russians, Cossacks, Finns, Courlanders, Livonians and Estonians - not to count. And among them lived everywhere for a long time special people— ISRAEL. He lost his "historical homeland", Judea, in the Middle East almost 2,000 years ago and was in exile all this time. And then an opportunity presented itself - without waiting for the return to the Promised Land (especially since it was then appropriated by the British), create Eretz-Israel in Tauris.

I do not vouch for the accuracy of this story and do not bear responsibility. I quote from an article found on the Internet, believing that the story about this 1922-1949 scam can shed light on the hidden causes of the fatal transfer of Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR.

PENINSULA FOR 20 "LEMONS"

The restoration of Taurida needed money, but where to get it? For good or for bad, Soviet Russia in those years, foreign investors poured in. Among them in 1922 representatives of the Jewish financial organization from the United States "Joint" appeared, who began to push through the idea of ​​​​creating a Jewish Autonomous Republic in Crimea.

A branch of the Agro-Joint bank was created in Simferopol, and Jewish settlements began to appear, the number of which reached 150. In November 1923, the head of the Jewish section of the RCP (b) Abram Bragin submitted to the Politburo a draft full-fledged Soviet socialist Jewish republic.

Things moved forward: 132 thousand hectares of Crimean land were allocated for the settlers. Having heard that the Bolsheviks opened a branch of the Promised Land in the Crimea, Jews from all over Russia began to arrive there. On February 19, 1929, an agreement was signed between the "Joint", which at that time, in the absence of diplomatic relations with the United States, represented America with us, and the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR.

The document that carried beautiful name "About Crimean California", contained the obligations of the parties. The Joint, for example, provided the USSR with 1.5 million dollars a year (before 1936, 20 million dollars were received), and for this amount the CEC pledged 375,000 hectares of Crimean land. They were issued in shares that were bought by more than 200 Americans, including politicians Roosevelt and Hoover, financiers Rockefeller and Marshall, General MacArthur ... All disputes under this agreement were to be resolved in an arbitration court German Heidelberg.

The money went to the Jewish settlers directly through Agro-Joint, bypassing the Soviet budget. They bought equipment, inventory and products. Such injustice spurred the protests of the Tatars, Bulgarians, Greeks, Germans, and the Ukrainian population living in Crimea. At one of the meetings of the Politburo, Stalin declared that "Crimean California" does not give the country anything but national civil strife. He suggested that the project be closed, and it was closed.

JEWISH ANSWER

HISTORY with "Crimean California" resurfaced at the height of World War II. In 1943 At the Tehran conference, Roosevelt, in a conversation with Stalin, said that his administration would soon have problems with Lend-Lease deliveries to the USSR if the Crimean California project was not reanimated. This was written by a very informed source - Milovan Djilas, the future vice-president of Yugoslavia. He secretly flew to the USSR with Tito and in a personal conversation asked Stalin why the Tatars were deported from Crimea in the spring of 1944. According to him, Stalin referred to the obligations given to Roosevelt to clear the Crimea for Jewish settlers.

Stalin understood that the Americans were pushing through the Crimean project not in the interests of Soviet Jews, but for their own geopolitical purposes. However, difficult circumstances forced them to maneuver, and the bargaining around the "Crimean California" continued. Stalin insisted that public education must be part of the USSR in the status of an autonomous republic(they were going to appoint Lazar Kaganovich as the head), and wanted to get a $10 billion loan to restore the country's economy. Money seemed to be promised, but subject to the secession of the Crimea from the USSR. The case has come to a head once again...

But that's not the end of the story. The year 1954 arrived, which was supposed to be the time for the final payment of old debts. The Americans believed that the remainder of the 20 million loan was still hanging on the USSR, although through the Joint, many captured German weapons were transferred to Israel to pay off these debts for the war with the Arabs. Washington could start a squabble and demand the Crimean lands. And then the new collective leadership of the USSR - Khrushchev, Bulganin, Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich decided to insure.

In autumn 1953 Khrushchev visited the Crimea. The peninsula made a depressing impression on him. Then he flew to Kyiv, where for a long time he persuaded the leadership of the Ukrainian SSR to accept the Crimea under their jurisdiction. The Ukrainian comrades did not want to take the Crimea - after the war they had enough of their own problems. However, using old connections, Khrushchev persuaded the Ukrainian leaders. Now the Ukrainian SSR had to answer for the old Soviet debt. Having transferred the peninsula to her, Moscow retained the main base of the Black Sea Fleet - Sevastopol.

In fact, Kyiv took it into its own hands only with the collapse of the USSR. However, this is a completely different story. Khrushchev apparently believed that he had found the perfect way, some kind of trick, a legal hook to outwit both the US and its Jewish lobby. Perhaps, in terms of 1953, it was so. Even in a nightmare, Nikita Sergeevich could not imagine that in less than 40 years the USSR would simply disappear from the world map!

Crimean region as part of the RSFSR on the map until 1954

From the protocol No. 49 of the meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU

on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR

Present: Members of the Presidium of the Central Committee vols. Khrushchev N.S., Voroshilov K.E., Bulganin N.A., Kaganovich L.M., Mikoyan A.L., Saburov M.Z., Pervukhin M.G.

Candidates for members of the Presidium of the Central Committee vols. Shvernik N.M., Ponomarenko P.K.

Secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU vols. Suslov M.A., Pospelov P.N., Shatalin H.N.

"On the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR"

1. Approve, with the amendments adopted at the meeting, the attached draft Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.

2. To recognize it as expedient to hold a special meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, at which to consider joint representation of the Presidiums of the Supreme Soviets of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.

Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU N. Khrushchev

ALRF.F.Z.Op.10.D.65L1,4-b Original.

Chairman. The floor is given to the Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Deputy Pegov.

Pegov N.M.(Kungur constituency, RSFSR).

Comrade deputies! The Presidiums of the Supreme Soviets of the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR entered the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a joint submission on the transfer of the Crimean region from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic into the Ukrainian SSR. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR considered this submission and February 19, 1954 adopted the Decree on the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. ... The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR submits a Decree on the transfer of the Crimean region to the Ukrainian SSR for approval by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

… As is known, The Crimean region does not have a common border with other regions of the RSFSR, but directly adjoins the Ukrainian Republic, is a continuation of the southern steppes of Ukraine, constituting together with them a single territory of this region. …In this way, on territorial and economic considerations, the transfer of the Crimean region to the Ukrainian Republic is COMPLETELY EXPECTABLE. The transfer of the Crimean region by the Russian Federation to the Ukrainian SSR is a testament to the UNLIMITED TRUST AND LOVE of the Russian people to the Ukrainian people, clear evidence of the fraternal relations that have developed between the peoples of our country. (Applause).

... The decision to transfer the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR is responsible the general state interests of the Soviet Union. This decision adopted on the significant days of the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, indicates further strengthening unity and unbreakable friendship Russian and Ukrainian peoples in the great fraternal family of the peoples of our socialist Fatherland. (Applause).

The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR expresses confidence that this Decree will meet unanimous approval of the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. (Applause).

TYCHINA P.G.(Kyiv constituency, Ukrainian SSR).

… WHAT COULD BE MORE HAPPY THAN TALKING ABOUT FRIENDSHIP OF THE UKRAINIAN AND GREAT RUSSIAN PEOPLES, ABOUT FRIENDSHIP OF ALL PEOPLES OF OUR MULTINATIONAL HOMELAND! THIS FRIENDSHIP IS BASED ON GENUINE EQUALITY, COOPERATION AND A COMMON DESIRE TO BUILD COMMUNISM. … WE ARE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL TO THE GREAT TO THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE WHO SAVED UKRAINE FROM THE ABSORPTION OF ITS SULTAN TURKEY AND THE POLISH NOBILITY.

special tenderness we feel for Zhukovsky and Bryullov that promoted ransom of Taras Shevchenko from bondage. We reverently relate to Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Nekrasov, with whom our the immortal kobzar opposed tsarism, landlords and capitalists. To the Great Patriotic War the Ukrainian people defended their freedom in the fight against brutal fascism ONLY THANKS TO HELP the great Russian people and all the peoples of our Motherland.

The Ukrainian people, like all fraternal peoples, knows and deeply understands that all his successes in economic and cultural construction, in the creation of their statehood is the result of a wise Leninist-Stalinist the national policy of our Party, the result indissoluble and ever-strengthening friendship of the peoples of our Motherland.

When and in what capitalist country was such a magnanimous act possible as the transfer by a great people ONE OF THE BEST ITS AREAS to another people, and the transfer is disinterested, heartily, in good faith?

Such a friendly act became possible only in our country, where there is no and cannot be enmity and national differences between the peoples of our Fatherland, where relations between Soviet people are based on friendship of Peoples. …

SOVIET UKRAINE IS AN ESSENTIAL AND COMPONENT PART OF THE SOVIET UNION…

IN YOUR NATIONAL ANTHEM UKRAINIAN PEOPLE SING:

Language translation into Russian:

Live, Ukraine, beautiful and strong, - Live, Ukraine, beautiful and strong,

In the Radyansk Union you knew happiness, In the Soviet Union you found happiness,

Mizh pivnimi rivna, mizh vilnimi vilna, Between equals - equal, between free - free,

Under the sun of freedom, how it blooms, blossomed! Under the sun of freedom, like a flower, blossomed !

LET IT SHINE FOREVER FOR US THE SUN OF THE HOLY LENIN-STALIN FRIENDSHIP PEOPLES OF OUR HOMELAND! LET THE FRIENDSHIP OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE WITH THE GREAT RUSSIAN PEOPLE LIVE AND PROSPER!

CHAIRMAN. ARE THERE OTHER WANTS TO TAKE THE WORD? NO WANTED? NO. ALLOW TO READ OUT BEFORE VOTING DRAFT LAW ON THE TRANSFER OF THE CRIMEAN REGION. (read out). I PUT TO VOTE. WHO IS FOR THE ADOPTION OF THIS LAW PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS. PLEASE DOWN. WHO IS AGAINST? - NO. WHO ABSTAINED? - NO.

THEREFORE, THE LAW ON THE TRANSFER OF THE CRIMEAN REGION FROM THE RSFSR TO THE UKRAINIAN SSR ACCEPTED UNANIMOUSLY. (APPLAUSE)

ANTHEM OF INDEPENDENT UKRAINE

to verses by P. Chubinsky 1862

REFERENCE. According to the 1939 census, the population of Crimea was about 50% Russians, 25% Tatars and only 10.2% Ukrainians. In 1944, the deportation of peoples began from the Crimea. Besides the Tatars were deported Greeks (almost 15 thousand) and Bulgarians (12.5 thousand).

In the 1960s, the process of the return of the Tatars and the settlement of Crimea by Ukrainians and Russians began. There was a voluntary-compulsory Ukrainization. Everywhere except Sevastopol,

The alleged disintegration of Ukraine into 4 parts

RESULTS: Sergei Ivanov. FACTS ONLY (Google check)

Transferred to Ukraine from the RSFSR from 1920 to 1926 - yellow on the map:

1920: Russian Azov part of the Don Cossack Region;

1922: huge territories, torn away from the Russian Empire and Poland;

1923: Russian Donbass;

1925: Putivl uyezd (without Krupetsk volost), Krenichanskaya volost of Graivoron uyezd and two volosts of Grayvoronsky and Belgorod districts of the Kursk province;

1926: Semenovskaya volost of the Novozybkovsky district Gomel province, Trinity volost of Valuysky district Voronezh province;

From Poland: 1939: Western Ukraine (light blue)

From Czecho-Slovakia: (purple color)

From Romania: 1940: Northern Bukovina, Hertz region, southern part of Bessarabia (Budzhak), northern part of Bessarabia. (ocher)

POLITICAL SCIENTISTS ON THE TURNING OF UKRAINE INTO A PROTECTORATE OF THE USA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

From the Internet:

“The association agreement with the European Union actually legalizes the establishment of a Western protector over Ukraine. This agreement will not only open Ukrainian markets, but, in fact, will transfer the country under external control: all the institutions of Ukraine, the judiciary, the Foreign Ministry, and the armed forces will fall under the control of the EU.”

The date of September 17, 1939 is not a holiday for the Russian world, although it made it possible to unite Ukraine and Belarus within the national republics within the USSR. On September 17, a Ukrainian scientist, political scientist, historian and publicist, editor of the Ruska Pravda portal Sergey Lunev told a REGNUM correspondent about this on September 17, assessing the prospects for establishing a memorable date in the calendar of the post-Soviet republic.

“September 17 is a tragic date for all Russians. As much as we would not like to admit it, but in 1939 it was not Russia that was reunited, but Soviet Ukraine, which included several million Galicians alien in mentality and religion. It was not possible to tame and re-educate them, the "Sovietization" of the region failed, but the Western Ukrainian cadres actively participated in the Ukrainization of "Radyanskaya Ukraine". Already under independence, thanks to the Galicians, Ukraine has become a reserve of Russophobia and chauvinism,” Lunev said.

in 2005, it was proposed to divide Ukraine in this way, but this did not pass ...

“Ukrainians may not recognize this, but Ukraine has never been united. It was a fragment of the Empire. Accordingly, the central authorities had to pursue imperial policy. However, the Nazis, who seized power in Kyiv, considering themselves a titular nation, decided to spread their views to the entire territory of Ukraine. The result makes itself felt. Ukraine is disintegrating and it is impossible to reassemble it, because for the sake of unity it is necessary to sacrifice the obsession of the Galicians to reshape the Ukrainians in their own image and likeness. This applies not only to Russians, but also to the inhabitants of historical Ukraine, who for the Galicians are the wrong Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian expert believes.

Galicia's claims to such a separation of the territory

“Thus, the disintegration of Ukraine along the borders before 1939 is a matter of time, as well as the return of Galicia to Poland, which considers these lands to be its own. It is not surprising that the Polish leadership fully supports all the decisions of Kyiv, because they lead to the disintegration of the country, ”Lunev concluded.

As REGNUM reported, in Soviet historiography, the date of September 17, 1939 was interpreted as a positive event, the result of which was the reunification of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples within the BSSR and the Ukrainian SSR. In the post-Soviet period, the official historiography of Ukraine has undergone a radical revision, and for more than 20 years official publications have been replicating frankly anti-scientific fabrications about the “great Ukrainians”, which are attributed to the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, the invention of the wheel, and all greatest achievements humanity. In the universities of the post-Soviet republic, students are instilled with the idea of ​​​​the eternal enmity between Ukrainians and Russians, and the image of the followers of the local variety of chauvinism is presented as “nationally conscious” and “national heroes”. The greeting of the followers of Stepan Bandera "Glory to Ukraine - glory to the heroes" became the official slogan of the participants in the coup d'état in February 2014 ("Euromaidan") and punitive battalions destroying the cities and population of Novorossia.

Option discussed in Minsk

language differences

Any use of materials is allowed only if there is a hyperlink to the REGNUM news agency

Now there are many disputes about the borders of the state of Ukraine and the legitimacy of certain territories belonging to it. How did the historical borders of the Ukrainian state actually form?

Ukraine within the generally recognized state borders. 2017

Let us immediately state that territorial integrity of the state of Ukraine within the existing borders is confirmed by a number of existing international treaties and agreements, in particular:

In addition, according to the current international the territory of the Crimean peninsula, including the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, is part of Ukraine.

Ukraine on the map of the Russian Empire on the eve of the October Revolution of 1917

* The white line marks the modern state border of Ukraine.

The formation of the modern state border of Ukraine began November 7, 1917.

On this day, the Ukrainian Central Rada ІІІ Universal proclaimed the formation Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) within the borders of nine provinces of the Russian Empire with a predominantly Ukrainian population:

“The territory of the People's Ukrainian Republic includes lands inhabited mainly by Ukrainians: Kiev region, Podolia, Volyn, Chernihiv region, Poltava region, Kharkiv region, Yekaterinoslav region, Kherson region, Tavria (excluding Crimea). The final definition of the borders of the Ukrainian People's Republic, regarding the annexation of parts of Kurshchyna, Kholmshchyna, Voronezh and adjacent provinces and regions, where the majority of the population is Ukrainian, must be established with the consent of the organized will of the peoples.

Under an agreement dated June 12, 1918, Russia (RSFSR) recognized the Ukrainian State within its borders.

Borders of Ukraine before World War II

Since the beginning of 1919, there have been territorial changes in the borders of Ukraine as a result of a number of agreements with the RSFSR.

• Crimean part of the Tauride province (Crimean Peninsula);
• completely Surazhsky, Starodubsky, Mglinsky counties and most of the Novozybkovsky county of the Chernihiv province.

April 16, 1920 by an agreed resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the RSFSR and the VUTsVK "On the formation of the Donetsk province" The RSFSR transferred to Ukraine some territories of the Don Cossack Region:

• the villages of Gundorovskaya, Kamenskaya, Kalitvinskaya, Ust-Belokalitvenskaya, Karshovo-Obrivskaya volost of the Donetsk district;
• villages of Vladimirskaya, Aleksandrovskaya of the Cherkassy district;
• the city of Taganrog with the Taganrog district.

In August 1920 The RSFSR handed over to the Ukrainian SSR the village of Lugansk.

December 28, 1920 between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR an agreement was signed on cooperation in military and economic activities, which did not address border issues.

December 30, 1922 was concluded Treaty on the formation of the USSR, also did not touch upon the issues of borders between its constituent republics.

October 16, 1925 by the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR "On the settlement of the borders of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic with the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic" a mutual exchange of territories between the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR was carried out.

According to this Decree, Ukraine transferred to the RSFSR:

• the city of Taganrog, Fedorovsky, Nikolaevsky, Matveyevo-Kurgansky, Sovetinsky, Golodaevsky districts and the eastern part of the Ekaterinovsky district of the Taganrog district;
• the city of Shakhty, Glubokinsky, Leninsky, Kamensky, Ust-Belokalitvensky, Vladimirsky, Sulinsky, Shakhtinsky districts and parts of the Sorokinsky and Alekseevsky districts of the Shakhtinsky district.

In its turn, The RSFSR handed over to Ukraine:

• Semyonovskaya volost, Novozybkovsky district, Gomel province;
• the village of Znob, Trubchevskaya volost, Pochepsky district, Bryansk province;
• villages of the Khinel volost of the Sevsky district of the Bryansk province: Fatevizh, Baranovka, Demyanovka, Muraveynya, Tolstodubovo (Lemeshkovsky volost) and Seltso-Nikitskoye, Setnoye, the village of Grudskaya (Podyvodskaya volost);
• the entire Putivl district (with the city of Putivl), with the exception of the Krupetsk volost;
• Krinichevskaya volost, Sudzhansky district, Kursk province;
• the southern part of the Grayvoronsky volost of the Grayvoronsky district of the Kursk province;
• the southern part of the Murom volost of the Belgorod district of the Kursk province;
• Troitskaya volost and part of the Urazovskaya volost of the Valuysky district of the Voronezh province.

On October 16, 1928, the Decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR was exchange of territories between the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR.

The Ukrainian SSR handed over to the RSFSR:

• the village of Znob, Trubchevskaya volost, Pochep district, and the village of Grudskaya (Podyvodskaya volost), Sevsky district, Bryansk province.

The RSFSR handed over to the Ukrainian SSR:

• the villages of Rashkovichi and Smokarevka, Khinel volost, Sevsky district, Bryansk province;
• the villages of Staritsa, Prilipki and Ogurtsovo, Murom volost, Belgorod district, Kursk province;
• the villages of Velikaya Rybitsa, Miropolye, Studenki, Zapselye, Pesnyaki, Alexandria, Vasilievka and Novaya Derevnya, Miropol Volost, Graivoronsky Uyezd, Kursk Province.

Ukraine before World War II (1939):

Borders of Ukraine during the Second World War (1939-1945)

As a result of the reshaping of the map of Europe during World War II, Ukraine has grown significantly in the west at the expense of the lands that passed to the Soviet Union from Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania.

In 1939-1945, it included the lands that made up the Volyn, Drohobych (later included in the Lviv), Stanislav (renamed Ivano-Frankivsk), Transcarpathian, Lvov, Rivne, Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions of the country.

Ukrainian SSR after the annexation of Western Ukraine, Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia. 1940:

Borders of Ukraine after World War II

In 1951, according to the interstate "Treaty between the Polish Republic and the USSR on the exchange of plots of state territories" there was an alignment of the Ukrainian-Polish border.

To the Lviv region of Ukraine lands were added in the area of ​​the Western Bug River and its left tributary of the Solokiya, in return in favor of Poland border has been cleared in the southwestern part of the Lviv region (Drohobych district).

April 26, 1954 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the law "On the transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR", which approved the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 19, 1954 on the transfer of the Crimean region from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

This act was previously agreed with the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and the Councils of Ministers of the RSFSR and the USSR.

On December 8, 1991, by the Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia and Ukraine recognized the territorial integrity of each other and the inviolability of the borders existing between them.

On January 14, 1994, according to the Budapest Memorandum, Russia pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine and reaffirmed its commitment to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. It has also pledged that none of its weapons will ever be used against Ukraine, except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

May 30, 1997 by the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership Russian Federation in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter and obligations under the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, pledged to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and reaffirmed the inviolability of the existing borders between Russia and Ukraine.