The Albanians in Ukraine ( uk, Албанці в Україні (арнаути);

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Албанцы на Украине; Albanian: Shqiptarët në Ukrainë) are an ethnic minority group located mainly in

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...

and

Budjak Budjak or Budzhak ( Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...

. They descend from Albanian warriors who fought against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the Russo-Turkish wars and were allowed to settle in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in the 18th century.

History

The historical community of Albanians in Ukraine call themselves ''ga tantë'' (from ours) and they speak a language ''si neve'' (like us). Their ancestors came to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet, they trace their ancestry to Tosk Albanians (southern dialect) who in the 16th century settled in eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

( Despotate of Dobruja) along with

Gagauz people The Gagauz ( gag, Gagauzlar) are a Turkic people living mostly in southern Moldova (Gagauzia, Taraclia District, Basarabeasca District) and southwestern Ukraine (Budjak). Gagauz are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christians. The term Gagauz is also o ...

.Rybalko, O.
Albanians of the Northern Azov Littoral - hidden people of open steppes
Forum of Nations. November of 2008 The arrival of the Albanians was connected to the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774. During this war some Orthodox Christian Albanians revolted against the power of the

. After their rebellion initially failed many joined up with the Russian fleet which was on its Aegean Expedition. At the end of the war about 1,700 Albanian fighters and family members went to the

. They settled primarily in the vicinity of

Kerch Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...

and

Yenikale Yeni-Kale ( uk, Єні-Кале; russian: Еникале; tr, Yenikale; crh, Yeñi Qale, also spelled as ''Yenikale'' and ''Eni-Kale'' and ''Yeni-Kaleh'' or ''Yéni-Kaleb'') is a fortress on the shore of Kerch Strait in the city of Kerch. Histor ...

. Some Albanian immigrants to the Russian Empire from

settled primarily in the vicinity of Odessa and Budzhak. In 1811 Albanians established their own settlement of Karakurt in Budzhak near the Bolhrad city.Seven ethnographic miracles of Ukraine

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...

. May 13, 2014 After the Albanians in Odessa there are two streets Great Arnaut Street and Little Arnaut Street. Due to defeat of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, many Albanians moved to the east Ukraine in 1861 and resettled there. It was not until the 20th century that the Albanians of Ukraine realized that there are Albanians. At some point of time in Odessa existed the Albanian cultural center "Rilindja" (Renaissance).

Contemporary History

In 1911, Albanian Orthodox priest and national awakening figure Fan Noli met there with members the community in Odessa, and held a mass in the local church. In 1979, Friar Arthur Liolini of the Albanian Orthodox Church of Boston held mass in the same church. Their most important religious feast is that of St. George, which is in veneration of George Castriot. During the Stalinist regime in USSR, better off members of the community were deported to Siberia, none returned alive. In many cases, some of their population was shipped to different regions of the USSR in order to promote assimilation. Thus, the Albanian village communities in Ukraine is one of the poorer communities in the country. Their utensils and supplies speak of their backwardness in comparison to the rest of the country. However, their culture is not fully assimilated to the greater Ukrainian culture, many still claim to be Albanian, and buy and drink Albanian beers and raki. Use of Albanian is also less common than previously but still apparent, many continue to wear traditional costumes and keep to old traditions, such as the giving of homemade bread to guests.

Albanian studies in the Soviet Union and Russia

The first who studied the Albanians in Ukraine since 1914 was a Soviet philologist (Slavic studies) and historian Nikolai Derzhavin who was born on the territory of modern

(at the time Taurida Governorate). In 1930, he published his monograph, "Albanians in the Ukraine", in Russian. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the major study on Albanians of the Southern Ukraine was conducted by the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yulia Ivanova. In 1957 with help of the academician Agnia Desnitskaya at the Saint Petersburg State University was opened the Department of Albanian language. Alas, in contemporary Ukraine Albanian studies are not being conducted.

Geography and demographics

Geography

By the late 20th Century, only a few years before the fall of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

the Albanians of Ukraine were mainly concentrated in

in Pryazovske Raion: ''Geandran'', today ''(Hamivka)'', ''Taz'' (today ''Divnyns'ke'') and ''Tuiushki'' (today ''Heorhiivk''a). There is also an Albanian village in

Bolhrad Raion Bolhrad Raion ( uk, Болградський район; ro, Raionul Bolgrad) is a raion (district) in Odesa Oblast of Ukraine. It is part of the historical region of Bessarabia. Its administrative center is the town of Bolhrad. Population: On ...

Odessa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administ ...

: Caracurt (''Karakurt'' in Albanian, ''Caracurt'' in Romanian, () in Ukrainian and since 1947 ().

Demographics

In 1958 they numbered 5,258 in the entire

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Their number had fallen to 4,402 by 1970.

Notable Albanians

Alemdar Mustafa Pasha Alemdar Mustafa Pasha (also called Bayraktar Mustafa Pasha; born 1755, died 15 November 1808) was an Ottoman military commander and a Grand Vizier born in Hotin (modern Khotyn) in the then Ottoman territory of Ukraine in 1765. Of Albanian or ...

, Ottoman military commander and a Grand Vizier

Legacy

* The city of Odessa has two streets, ''Great Arnaut Street'' and ''Little Arnaut Street'', ''Arnaut'' being an ethnonym for ''Albanian''.

Notes

Sources

* Wixman, Ronald. ''The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook''. (Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc, 1984) p. 8 * Olson, James S., ''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires''. (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1994) p. 28-29

External sources

Albanian dialects spoken in the Black Sea region
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albanians In Ukraine Ethnic groups in Ukraine

Social history of Ukraine