ian books was established in Kiev. In 1769 even the printing of
Ukrainian primers was forbidden, and Russian text-books were introduced
in spite of the protests of Ukrainian educators.

Step by step, national feeling was stifled in Ukraine. In 1775, the
"Zaporogian Sitch," the last bulwark of Ukraine's autonomy, and the
basis of the Ukrainian Army, was destroyed. In 1783 the peasants of
Ukraine, free since 1648, when they had thrown off Polish domination,
were again subjected by the Russian government to serfdom in its most
cruel form. Hundreds of thousands of free peasants and Cossacks,
together with millions of acres of Ukrainian land, were distributed
among the favorites of Catherine II.

This measure had the effect of crushing the resistance to Russification
among the Ukrainian nobility, and estranged them from the common
people. The serfdom of the small farmer was so profitable for the
gentry that the preponderance of the aristocracy became superficially
Russian. Under pressure of Russian schooling, administration and
military service, they adopted the Russian language and political
ideas. To achieve this desirable result, the Muscovite government did
not hesitate to persecute ruthlessly anything that could be held as a
reminder of the republican regime in Ukraine. At the same time, an
analogous Polonization of the upper classes was being carried out in
western Ukraine. The last quarter of the century witnessed a temporary
eclipse of the Ukrainian spirit of nationalism.

The French Revolution released forces that had been imprisoned in the
hearts and minds of the people. A wave of nationalistic feeling swept
through Europe, bringing inspiration to the Slavs as well as to their
western brothers. Every branch of the Slavic race awoke to a
realization of its history, its traditions and its great men. The
Ukrainians shared in this renaissance. Between the revived nationalism
and the spirit of democracy a natural alliance presently sprang up.
Especially in the Dnieper district, there began an enthusiastic study
of the country's history, and a perusal of old documents and popular
traditions. The keenest interest was manifested in everything
pertaining to ethnography, philology and popular culture. It was the
tardy recognition of the people as guardians of national culture which
did much to break down the lack of sympathy which had so long prevailed
between the nobles and the lower classes.

But the Ukrainian movement