Depiction of the Valuev Circular at a performance against Russification of Ukraine

The Valuev Circular (; ) of 18 (30) July 1863 was a

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

(

ukaz In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz ( ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leadership (e.g., Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' or the Most Holy Synod) that had the force of law. " Edict" and "decree" are adequate transla ...

) issued by

Pyotr Valuev Count Pyotr Aleksandrovich Valuev (; September 22, 1815 – January 27, 1890) was a Russian politician and writer. Biography Valuev was born in the Tsaritsyno District of Moscow on September 22, 1815. Valuev served as Emperor Alexander II's ...

(Valuyev),

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, by which many publications (religious and educational literature recommended for the use in primary literacy training) in the "Little Russian" (Ukrainian) language were forbidden, except for ''

belles-lettres () is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pej ...

'' works.

History

The circular put the reason for the growing number of textbooks in Ukrainian and beginner-level books in Ukrainian as "the Poles' political interests" and the "separatist intentions of some of the Little Russians". The circular quoted the opinion of the Kiev Censorship Committee that "a separate

Little Russian Little Russia, also known as Lesser Russia, Malorussia, or Little Rus', is a geographical and historical term used to describe Ukraine. At the beginning of the 14th century, the patriarch of Constantinople accepted the distinction between what ...

language never existed, does not exist, and shall not exist, and the tongue used by commoners (i.e. Ukrainian) is nothing but Russian corrupted by the influence of Poland." The circular ordered the Censorship Committees to ban the publication of religious texts, educational texts, and beginner-level books in Ukrainian; but permitted publication of ''belles-lettres'' works in the language. Further restrictions were placed on Ukrainian by the

Ems Ukaz The Ems Ukaz or Ems Ukase (; ), was an internal decree (''ukaz'') of Emperor Alexander II of Russia issued on banning the use of the Ukrainian language in print except for reprinting old documents. The ukaz also forbade the import of Ukrainia ...

in 1876, which completely prohibited the usage of the language in open print.

Notes

* Andrii Danylenko
The Ukrainian Bible and the Valuev Circular ofJuly 18, 1863
', Acta Slavica Iaponica, Tomus 28 (2010), pp. 1‒21 * Volodymyr Dibrova
The Valuev Circular and the End of Little Russian Literature
', 124 Kyiv-Mohyla Humanities Journal 4 (2017) * Andrii Danylenko
Linguistic russification in Russian Ukraine: languages, imperial models, and policies
', Russ Linguist (2019) 43:19–39 * Alexei Miller, ''The Ukrainian Question. The Russian Empire and Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century'', Central European University Press, Budapest – New York, 2003, *

Magocsi, Paul Robert Paul Robert Magocsi (; born January 26, 1945) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980 and became a Fellow of the Royal Society ...

(1996). ''A History of Ukraine''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. . pp. 369–370 contain a translation. {{Russification 1863 in Europe 1863 in Ukraine 1863 in the Russian Empire Language policy in Ukraine Politics of the Russian Empire Ukrainian language Anti-Ukrainian sentiment Russification Language policy in Russia

History

See also

Notes

Further reading