# Ukrainophilia

Ukrainophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the people, culture, language or government of Ukraine. One who espouses Ukrainophilia is called a ukrainophile. Its opposite is Ukrainophobia. The term is used primarily in a political and cultural context. "Ukrainophilia" and "Ukrainophile" are the terms used to denote pro-Ukrainian sentiments, usually in politics and literature. Ukrainophilia was severely persecuted by the imperial Russian government, and Ukrainian-language books and theater were banned. Pro-Ukrainian sentiments have gained in popularity after the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

## History of Ukrainophilia

The Ukrainophile movement developed among ethnic Ukrainian intellectuals in the Russian Empire and in Galicia, where it was also known as Narodovtsi, in the second half of the 19th century. Ukrainophiles sought to preserve and develop the Ukrainian language, literature and culture. They called for the introduction of the Ukrainian language in Ukrainian schools and the autonomy from the Russian Empire, that would allow for national self-determination of Ukrainians and free development of Ukrainian culture.
Ukrainophilia in the 19th century included various degrees of intensity, from the simple love of one's people all the way to passionate nationalism and independence.
The Ukrainophile movement in Russian literature led to the publishing of books and textbooks in the Ukrainian language. Ukrainophile intellectuals published a number of journals: Osnova in St. Petersburg (1861–62), Chernigovskiy Listok, Samostaine Slovo, Hromadnytsia, Pomyinytsia. They also sought to popularize the Ukrainian language by publishing pamphlets in Ukrainian. Ukrainophiles of the Russian Empire also created a network of Ukrainophile organizations, the most important of which were in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Poltava and Odesa, which actively sought to organize Ukrainian-language instruction in schools.
In the first half of the 19th century, many Ukrainophiles were also Polish nationalists, who sought to form the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth, a reformed Poland-Lithuania with Ruthenia/Ukraine as a third coequal partner in the federation. After the 1830-31 Polish uprising against the Russian Empire, Polish Ukrainophiles and Ukrainians of Polish origins, seeking allies against Russia, played a major role in the Ukrainian cultural movements and fomented anti-Russian sentiment by referring to the Ukrainians as Rus' which they distinguished from Muscovy (Russia).
After the Russian Empire crushed the Polish uprising of 1863, the Russian government put intense pressure on the Ukrainophile movement (Valuyev Circular in 1863, Ems Ukaz in 1876), but the movement continued flaring up, especially in early 1870s and late 1880s. After the movement was repressed, most of its members turned their attention away from political organizing to literary work, such as creating Ukrainian dictionaries, writing Ukrainian books, developing the discipline of Ukrainian studies. During the Soviet period the Ukrainophile movement was characterized as a "burgeois-national" movement.

## Ukrainophilia today

Ukrainophilia exists among the Ukrainian diaspora in Russia, North America and elsewhere.

### Canada

Canadians show many Ukrainophile tendencies, owing in part to the legacy of Watson Kirkconnell and to the presence of a large Ukrainian diaspora.

### Israel

In the 1990s many Jewish people emigrated from the former Soviet states, especially from Ukraine, to Israel. Jewish Ukrainians had lived in Ukraine for centuries, having partially assimilated, intermarried and adopted the culture of the people that they lived among. Even today many Ukrainian Jews in Israel feel a sense of connection to and pride with Ukraine, and are still influenced by Ukrainian culture, language and food.

### Poland

Poland was one of the first countries to recognise the independence of Ukraine, and a 2022 opinion poll put Polish support for Ukraine at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at 71%. Poland also accepted over a million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, but the attitude of Poles towards them have since soured according to a survey published in June 2024. Relations have also been troubled over trade disputes concerning the influx of cheaper Ukrainian grain into the European Union, with Polish farmers voicing their displeasure by blockading the Polish-Ukrainian border. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk warned that the conflict could lead to "sudden anti-Ukrainian sentiment" in the country.
Prior to World War II, the Second Polish Republic restricted rights of people who declared Ukrainian nationality, belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church and inhabited the Eastern Borderlands, in reaction to a wave of sabotage and terrorist attacks perpetrated by Ukrainian nationalists.

### Romania

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, around 600,000 Ukrainians have fled to Romania, with both countries signing a security cooperation agreement in 2024. Historically, much alike the Poles, the Romanians too had land disputes with the Ukrainians, mostly surrounding the historically Romanian controlled regions like Budzhak and Northern Bukovina, now owned by Ukraine.
Historically, many Ukrainians also emigrated to Romania from the USSR. Today Ukrainians are the third-largest ethnic minority in Romania. 2021 Romanian census puts their number 45,835 people, although Ukrainian sources declare the number to be over 250,000 people.