Mikhail Vladimirovich Yuzefovich () (29 June 1802 – 2 June 1889) was the deputy commissioner of the
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
school district, chairman of the Kiev archaeological commission, and instigator of the Ems Ukaz that severely restricted the use of
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians.
Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...
.
Yuzefovich was known for his extreme
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
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 and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
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,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. This Ukaz also became known as the "Yuzefovich Ukaz".
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
called Yuzefovich 'traitor'.
Yuzefovich was born to a noble Polonized family in Brest. His ancestors were members of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Registered Cossacks
Registered Cossacks (, ) 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 beginning in 1572 soon after the ...
Poltava Governorate
Poltava Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796–1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Polt ...
(today in Boryspil Raion) and was homeschooled. In 1819 he graduated the Moscow University Noble Boarding School () receiving the 14th rank of state service (see
Table of Ranks
The Table of Ranks () was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a struggle with the existing hereditary ...
).
His military service Yuzefovich started as
junker
Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...
at the Chuguev Uhlan Regiment () commanded by his uncle Dmitriy Yuzefovich (), a Russian hero of the 1812 Patriotic War. In 1822 Mikhail Yuzefovich was promoted to the rank of
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
. Since 1826 he served at
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
Bayburt
Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River. It is the seat of Bayburt Province and Bayburt District.northeast Anatolia Region). In 1830 the Yuzefovich's regiment was transferred to a garrison service and rerouted to extinguish the 1830-1831 Polish Uprising. In 1836 he resigned due to health in rank of
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
.
He also was in acquaintance with Russian poet Pushkin.
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).
Encyclopedia of Ukraine
The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies.
Development
The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...
Encyclopedia of Ukraine
The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies.
Development
The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...