The Valuev Circular and the End of Little Russian Literature
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Date
2017
Authors
Dibrova, Volodymyr
Journal Title
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Abstract
In the summer of 1863 right after the Polish uprising, the Russian Minister of the Interior Piotr
Valuev issued a circular that effectively banned the publication of all popular literature, including
textbooks and religious texts. The article is an attempt to gauge the impact of the Valuev Circular
on Ukrainian literature by comparing book publishing at different periods of the 19th century in
terms of the number of books, languages, genres, and geography, as well as its relevance to the
contemporary literary canon. The author concludes that the Valuev Circular was an unambiguous
manifestation of awareness on the part of the Russian authorities that the Ukrainian cultural
revival posed a serious danger to the unity of the Empire. And the detrimental effect it had on
all of Ukrainian culture is well documented. The silver lining, if there was any, was that the very
name “Little Russian” acquired a derogatory meaning, and since 1863 all “nationally conscious”
Ukrainians (“natsionalno-svidomi,” a term coined by Borys Hrinchenko) had to radically rethink
their attitudes towards the country they lived in. The bilingualism of the previous generation
was now considered an act of betrayal. The Circular did not succeed in eradicating the Ukrainian
movement. Ukrainian literature, as a repository of national aspirations, survived half a century
of external pressure, but it had to pay a high price. By banning the Ukrainian language from
school church, and from most other spheres of state and social life the Valuev Circular deprived
Ukraine of at least two generations of Ukrainian readers (arguably, one of the two indispensable
elements of any literature) and seriously curtailed the ability of Ukrainian literature to create a
viable infrastructure.
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Keywords
Ukrainian literature, the Valuev Circular, language, impact, book publishing, readers, article
Citation
Dibrova Volodymyr. The Valuev Circular and the End of Little Russian Literature / Volodymyr Dibrova // Kyiv-Mohyla Humanities Journal. - 2017. - No. 4. - P. 123-138.