Learn about the 19th-century history of Ukraine, improve your Ukrainian vocabulary and listening skills in the next history lesson from the Ukrainian Lessons Podcast!

In this Ukrainian Lesson, you will:

  • listen to my introduction about попередні уроки історії;
  • listen to the 4th part of the Ukrainian History Course;
  • relisten by smaller parts with my explanations and comprehension questions
  • try to solve a short quiz;
  • learn more about “Енеїда” – the first book published in the modern Ukrainian language.

Study these important terms before listening to the episode:

  • Наддніпрянщина – “The land above Dnipro” – the territory on either side of the middle course of the Dnieper River. The term appeared soon after the partition of Poland when Ukraine, as a former territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, became divided between the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire and was referred to as Russian-controlled Ukraine.
  • Російська імперія – The Russian Empire – was an empire that existed across Eurasia from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.
  • Австрійська імперія – The Austrian Empire – was a Central European multinational great power from 1804 to 1919 created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs.
  • Кріпацтво – serfdom – is the status of peasants under feudalism. It was a condition of bondage which lasted in some European countries until the mid-19th century.
    Кріпаки – serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for пан – lord of the manor who owned that land.
  • Перша хвиля еміграції – the first wave of emigration of Ukrainians from the last quarter of the 19th century and until the beginning of World War I. First Ukrainian emigrants went to the United States, Brazil, and Canada, then Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Islands. This first wave was caused by the agrarian overpopulation of Ukrainian territories and by economic, social, political, and national oppression.
  • Іван Котляревський “Енеїда” – Eneyida by Ivan Kotliarevskyi (1798) is considered to be the first literary work published in the modern Ukrainian language.
  • Кирило-Мефодієвське товариство – The Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius was a secret political society that sought to revive the ideals of the traditional Ukrainian brotherhoods and envisioned a Ukrainian national rebirth, including independence within an equal Slavic federation. Микола Костомаров, Пантелеймон Куліш, and Тарас Шевченко were its members. It was suppressed by the government in 1847, with most of the members punished by exile or imprisonment.
  • Громади – secret Ukrainian societies in the middle of the 19th century that laid the groundwork for the appearance of the Ukrainian political elite and national political movement.
  • Валуєвський циркуляр – The Valuev Circul of 1863 – was a secret decree of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire Петро Валуєв by which the publications (religious, and literature used for school training) in the Ukrainian language was forbidden.
  • Олександр II – Alexander II – was the Emperor of Russia from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881.
  • Русько-українська радикальна партія – Ukrainian Radical Party – was founded in 1890 in Lviv by Ukrainian activists, including the poet Іван Франко, the publisher Михайло Павлик, and others. It was based on the radical movement in western Ukraine and was the first modern Ukrainian political party with a defined program, mass following, and registered membership.

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Transcript, Vocabulary List, and Flashcards!

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  • Full transcript & translation of all the introduction and the lecture in history;
  • Encyclopedia: important historical terms explained;
  • Exercises: fill-in the blanks, true or false, new vocabulary practice;
  • Vocabulary List: new words from the episode in a chart with English translation.

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  • Digital flashcards with all the new words every 10 episodes!