On Monday, January 22, Ukraine celebrates Unity Day (Den' Sobornosti) - in honor of the proclamation of the Act of Unification of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) and the West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) in 1919.
"Apostrophe" tells what is "Sobornist' " and how Ukrainians have been striving for it throughout the centuries.
What is Sobornist'
Sobornist' is a concept with many meanings. It is the union of lands where a certain nation lives, and the territorial integrity of the state, and most importantly - the cohesion of all citizens of the country. Unfortunately, Ukrainians throughout history have had to defend their right to a national state.
Kyivan Rus'
Ukrainian statehood has a thousand-year history. And it begins with the first mention of the foundation of Kyiv in 482. Since that time Kyivan Rus' actively developed and reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of Princes Volodymyr the Great and his son Yaroslav the Wise.
In 1016, the first book of legal norms on the territory of Kyivan Rus' was promulgated - the "Rus'ka Pravda" of Yaroslav the Wise, which regulated criminal, inheritance, commercial and procedural legislation.
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
After the Mongol invasion of the territory of Kyivan Rus' at the end of the 12th century, the idea of unity of Ukrainians did not disappear anywhere, but was transformed in the new principality of Galicia–Volhynia (1199-1349). The coronation of Danylo Galytsky in 1253 showed that Ukraine was moving along the European path and conformed to the traditions of Western monarchies.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a union of Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian lands. At that time the lands of Rus' were much more developed than Lithuanian lands both economically and culturally. Therefore, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania took many norms and laws of law, language, faith and culture. Ukrainian lands had wide autonomy.
Hetmanshchyna
Hetmanshchyna emerged as a result of the national liberation war in the middle of the XVII century on the basis of the Zaporizhian Sich. Cossacks settled in the Podniprovia, Slobozhanshchyna, and Donbas regions and created a new model of Ukrainian state. It was based on the ideas and principles of personal freedom and direct democracy. Although Hetmanshchina could not last long, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky created a real viable state, which had its own territory, laws, authorities, army, financial, tax and regulatory systems. And in 1710 Hetman Pylyp Orlyk wrote the world's first Constitution - the norms and rules of political and legal development of Hetmanshchyna.
UNR and ZUNR
During the revolution of 1917-1921, the Ukrainian People's Republic was established. On January 22, 1918, the Ukrainian Central Rada proclaimed its independence and sovereignty. The UNR had its own judicial, electoral, financial systems, government, coat of arms, anthem, flag, monetary unit, language, church and troops. The West Ukrainian People's Republic was also established. The Ukrainian lands divided between the empires were able to unite on January 22, 1919, when the UNR and ZUNR proclaimed the Act of Unification on January 22, 1919 on Sofiivska Square in Kyiv. Later Carpathian Ukraine functioned on the basis of the UNR (1939) and the Act of Restoration of the Ukrainian State was adopted in June 1941 in Lviv. If you look at a map of Ukraine in 1919, you can see that it extended beyond the modern borders of the current state. In 1991, Ukrainians showed sobornist' (unity), self-sacrifice and patriotism in their endeavor to create an independent state.
