Ukraine

Bukovina

A small territory between the middle Dniester River and the main range of the Carpathians, Bukovina had formed part of Kievan Rus and the Galician-Volhynian principality. In the 14th century it was incorporated into Moldavia, which in the 16th century became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. At the time of its annexation by Austria in 1774, the population, Orthodox in religion, was binational, with Ukrainians predominating in the north and Romanians in the south.

The Habsburgs quickly instituted reforms similar to those in Galicia. Bukovina was joined to Galicia as a discrete district from 1787 to 1849, when it became a separate crownland; it achieved full autonomy in 1861. In the 19th century, sizable Jewish and German communities came into being as a result of immigration. German was the province’s official language; however, both Ukrainian and Romanian had currency in public life and, in certain disciplines, at the local university. Romanian-Ukrainian friction grew toward the end of the century over such issues as the Ukrainian attempts to gain parity in the Orthodox church administration, but it did not reach the level of hostility prevailing in Galicia.

From the late 1860s the Ukrainian national movement in Bukovina paralleled the developments in Galicia, with which there were close connections; a similar network of cultural and civic organizations and publishing enterprises was created. The provision of Ukrainian schools and educational facilities was superior to that of any other Ukrainian territory.