Mikhail Vladimirovich Yuzefovich (russian: Михаил Владимирович Юзефович) (29 June 1802 – 2 June 1889) was the deputy commissioner of the Kiev school district, chairman of the Kiev archaeological commission, and instigator of the

Ems Ukaz The Ems Ukaz or Ems Ukase (russian: Эмский указ, Emskiy ukaz; uk, Емський указ, Ems’kyy ukaz), was a secret decree (''ukaz'') of Emperor Alexander II of Russia issued on May 18, 1876, banning the use of the Ukrainian lang ...

that severely restricted the use of

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state lan ...

. Yuzefovich was known for his extreme

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 ...

nationalist views and fierce opposition to the revival of the Ukrainian culture and language. In his 1876 report to the Russian government "On the so-called Ukrainophile movement", he characterised Ukrainian language societies as subversive and claimed they were organised by

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n enemies of Russia. Yuzefovich's recommendations were incorporated in the Ems Ukaz, which was signed on 30 May 1876 by the Russian tsar Alexander II in the town of

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Ba ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. This Ukaz also became known as the "Yuzefovich Ukaz".

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukrainian poet, wr ...

called Yuzefovich 'traitor'. Yuzefovich was born in a noble Polonized family form Brest (today in Brest). His ancestors were members of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Registered Cossacks Registered Cossacks (, , pl, Kozacy rejestrowi) comprised special Cossack units of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth army in the 16th and 17th centuries. Registered Cossacks became a military formation of the Commonwealth army beginni ...

. Yuzefovich was born in

Pyriatyn Pyriatyn (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Pyriatyn Raion. Population: History At the end of 1941 or beginning 1942, a ghetto guarded by policemen was established and numbered over 1,500 Jews by la ...

county of the

Poltava Governorate The Poltava Governorate (russian: Полтавская губерния, Poltavskaya guberniya; ua, Полтавська Губернія, translit=Poltavska huberniia) or Poltavshchyna was a gubernia (also called a province or government) in t ...

(today in

Boryspil Raion Boryspil Raion ( uk, Бориспільський район, translit.: ''Boryspil's'kyi raion'') is an administrative raion (district) in east-central Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Boryspil. Population: . On ...

) and was homeschooled. In 1819 he graduated the Moscow University Noble Boarding School (russian: Московский университетский благородный пансион) receiving the 14th rank of state service (see

Table of Ranks The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a ...

). His military service Yuzefovich started as

junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

at the Chuguev Uhlan Regiment (russian: Чугуевский 11-й уланский полк) commanded by his uncle Dmitriy Yuzefovich (russian: Дмитрий Юзефович), a Russian hero of the 1812 Patriotic War. In 1822 Mikhail Yuzefovich was promoted to the rank of cornet. Since 1826 he served at

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

region and as a poruchik took part in the 1828–1829 Russo-Turkish War. Yuzefovich had been distinguished at the 1828 Siege of Kars and the 1829 battle of

Bayburt Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River and is the provincial capital of Bayburt Province. According to the 2021 census the population is determined as around 82,274. Bayburt was once an important center on the ancient ...

(both in northeast Anatolia Region). In 1830 the Yuzefovich's regiment was transferred to a garrison service and rerouted to extinguish the 1830-1831

Polish Uprising This is a chronological list of military conflicts in which Polish armed forces fought or took place on Polish territory from the reign of Mieszko I (960–992) to the ongoing military operations. This list does not include peacekeeping operation ...

. In 1836 he resigned due to health in rank of major. He also was in acquaintance with Russian poet

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

. Since 1840 he worked for the Ministry of National Enlightenment of the Russian Empire as an inspector of budget schools in the Kiev Educational District and took part in creation of public student quarters at the district's gymnasiums. In 1843 Yuzefovich was granted the rank of court councilor (the 7th in table of ranks) and appointed an acting deputy trustee of the Kiev Educational District (confirmed in 1845).

References

;inline ;general *
Ems Ukaz

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...

Mikhail Yuzefovich

Mykhailo Yuzefovych
Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuzefovich, Mikhail Politicians of the Russian Empire 1802 births 1889 deaths People from Kyiv Oblast People from Poltava Governorate People from the Russian Empire of Lipka Tatar descent Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) Russian people of the November Uprising Anti-Ukrainian sentiment Burials at Askold's Grave