Eastern Ukraine

The eastern Ukraine covers an area in the east of Ukraine, both in terms of the natural configuration ( predominantly steppe areas) and the historical development, and the ethnic composition of the western and central Ukraine differs greatly. Many, however, have parallels with the South Ukraine (see also: New Russia ).

The largest city and the cultural and spiritual center of Eastern Ukraine is the industrial city of Kharkov ( Kharkov russian ). Other important cities are Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Mariupol.

Geographical Scope

A geographical demarcation of eastern Ukraine can be done in different ways. Based on the historical development can be the " left bank of Ukraine" define as eastern Ukraine, which includes the areas south of the river Dnieper and the capital situated on the right bank of the Dnieper Kiev, as these areas had already become 1654 and 1667 part of the Russian Empire. The " right-bank Ukraine ", however, remained there until the Partitions of Poland still under Polish control and was partially only in the course of the Second World War under Russian and Soviet rule.

Terms of economic development, the eastern Ukraine from the West Ukraine borders from the fact that the former was already industrialized relatively early because of great natural resources. This was especially in the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk from the late 18th century, the industrial area of the Donets Basin. Another important industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, which is located between the coal mining region in the Donets Basin and the Erzabbaugebiet to Krivoy Rog ( Krivoy Rog ). The industrial development resulted in eastern Ukraine to a strong urbanization process, while the Western Ukraine is very rural still partly (some western Ukrainian oblasts have an urbanization rate of less than 50 %). The Ukrainian culture and language in today's East Ukraine had always only a relatively small influence.

Regarding the national composition of the eastern Ukraine borders with southern Ukraine from the fact that in some oblasts provide people with Russian nationality a majority, in the other a large minority, with this mainly concentrated in the larger urban centers. In the larger cities and especially in the oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea also continues to dominate the Russian as their native language, which is also used by many Ukrainians, Russian as a lingua franca. The importance of the Russian language and culture, especially in the cities of eastern Ukraine, is because in the course of industrialization, many Russians in the newly founded towns such immigrated (particularly from Kursk Oblast ). So were about in the census in 1897 63.17 % of the population of the city of Kharkiv Russian nationality. To what extent in the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian population Rurale was specifically murdered by a systematic and organized by the regime of Stalin famine ( Holodomor ) and forced to migrate, is the subject of research controversy.

Ethnic and religious demarcation

In the east and south of Ukraine, the Russian population is still high. In the Ukrainian regions Kharkiv, Luhansk (Russian Lugansk ), Mykolaiv (Russian Nikolayev ), Zaporizhia (Russian Zaporozhye ), Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk (Russian Dnepropetrovsk ), Kherson and Odessa as well as in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea ask Russia the majority of the population against both the Ukrainians as well as towards the Crimean Tatars ( non-Christian and non-Slavic minority, see also Islam in Ukraine).

They are mostly atheistic, Russian Orthodox or Ukrainian Orthodox with commitment to the Moscow Patriarchate - unlike Catholics, Uniate and Ukrainian Orthodox with commitment to the Kyivan Patriarchate in western Ukraine.

The Russian language dominates in eastern Ukraine continue well ahead of the Ukrainian.

Historical demarcation

Throughout history, the east and south of Ukraine were repeated and long-term to the steppe empires of the Eurasian nomads and horsemen of the Khazars, Kipchaks ( capital Sharukhan at Kharkov) and Tatars ( Golden Horde on the Volga ), while the peasantry in western Ukraine Kievan Rus was based.

After the collapse of the Tatar and Lithuanian rule rose the Orthodox eastern Ukraine Cossacks led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky in 1648 against the Catholic Poles and in 1654 placed themselves under Russian protection. Poland had 1668, the Russian rule over the eastern Ukraine Kiev together with recognize. 1793 and 1795 and 1809 was also the majority of the rest of Ukraine to Russia.

After the victory of the Soviets and the suppression of the Ukrainian independence movement 1920-1934 Kharkiv was the capital of Soviet Ukraine Kiev instead. The Soviets encouraged the industry to the east of the country and the shipping industry in the south against agriculture in the West.

Since Ukraine's independence in 1991 showed all the presidential and parliamentary elections that this division of the country continues. All Ukrainian election winners had to rely on a majority of the votes of Russians in Eastern Ukraine, most recently also in the runoff round of presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004.

The repeat ballot reinforced this polarization yet. During the Russia of east Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych supported in all nine regions of the East and the South partly achieved very substantial majorities, the western Ukrainian candidate Viktor Yushchenko continued especially with his followers from western Ukraine and Kiev, as well as with the support of the local ecclesiastical dignitaries finally.

In view of the " orange revolution " discussed in Kiev Yanukovych's supporters openly about the proclamation of the autonomy or the promulgation of a secession of the eastern Ukraine. In the case of a connection to Russia Moscow had won a land connection to the Dniester Republic, but Kiev lost its most important industrial areas and access to the sea. The leaders of the nine eastern and southern Ukrainian regions could not agree on a common line or balked at the expected consequences, especially as Russia has shown no support for such a project. The heads of major industrial companies in the eastern Ukraine were a very reserved towards secession because they have lost access to the export quotas for metals over a detachment of the East and South, granted by the WTO Ukraine.

Critique of the model of a " bipolar Ukraine"

Especially during the reporting as a result of the presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004 the image of an East- West division of the country was trying to illustrate the political separation between Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych in western media. As the territories of today's Ukraine were characterized by various multi-ethnic empires, the regions have developed culturally different, which is also reflected in language use. However, the representation of an East-West dichotomy, characterized by a Russian-speaking, sowjetnostalgischen East and a Ukrainian-speaking, nationalist and democratic values ​​oriented to the West ignores the spectrum of national and cultural identities language in Ukraine. The population of Ukraine can be better in Ukrainian -speaking Ukrainians, Russian-speaking Ukrainians divide and Russian-speaking Russians, the transition between identities is often fluid. So may be accompanied by the self-definition as Ukrainians also with ties to the Russian language culture.