Green Ukraine

Ukrainian name for a would-be independent Ukrainian state in the southern Russian Far East

Not to be confused with Environment of Ukraine, Party of Greens of Ukraine, or Greens (Ukraine).

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Green Ukraine" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Republic of Green Ukraine

Зелений клин

1917–1922

Modern-day proposal for a flag representation of Green Ukraine[1][2]

Proposed territory of Green Ukraine

Status| unrecognized, self-declared entity
Head of government|

• 1918—1922

| Yurii Hlushko
Historical era| Russian Civil War

• Established

| 24 June 1917

• Independence

| April 1918

• Disestablished

| 1922

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Russian Republic

|

| Far Eastern Republic |

|

Today part of| Russia

* Far Eastern Federal District

Green Ukraine,[a] also known as Zelenyi Klyn[b] or Zakytaishchyna,[c][note 1][3][4] is a Ukrainian name for a would-be independent Ukrainian state in the southern Russian Far East area between the Amur River and the Pacific Ocean, an area roughly corresponding to Outer Manchuria.

"State colonies of Ukraine", Yuri Hasenko, 1920

After the establishment of the Bolshevik Far Eastern Republic on April 6, 1920, Far Eastern areas with a significant ethnic Ukrainian minority population discussed the possibility of establishing an entity called Green Ukraine.[5][6][7] This movement quickly proved abortive.

Geographically, Green Ukraine borders the present-day North Korea, in the special city of Rason and the Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin.

## History

[edit]

The Zeleny Klyn was an area of land settled by Ukrainians which is a part of the Russian Far East in the area of the Amur River and the Pacific Ocean. Ukrainian settlers named it. The territory consists of over 1,000,000 square kilometres and has a population of 3.1 million (1958). The Ukrainian population in 1897 made up 15% of the Primorskaya Oblast's population.[8]

The territory was also informally known as Ukrainian: Закитайщина, romanized: Zakytaishchyna, "Trans-China", i.e., "land beyond China".[9][10][11]

Zeleny Klyn became part of the Russian Empire much later than Siberia and other parts of the Far East. The first attempts at colonizing the area date back to the mid-17th century when Yerofey Khabarov founded the fort of Albazin on the Amur River. From that time, constant skirmishes took place with the Manchu people of China. In 1689 China and Russia signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk, which granted Russia limited territory.

Green Ukraine on the map of modern Russia

In the mid 19th century, the second Russian expansion took place after Russia lost the Crimean War (1853–1856). A number of Cossack settlements were established on the Amur river. China had become far weaker than Russia at the time and ceded territory to Russia in the Treaty of Aigun of 1858 and by the Convention of Peking of 1860 (see Amur Annexation).

During this period, only a small number of settlers settled in the region consisting of some 14,000 Cossacks and 2,500 Russian soldiers. In 1861, two oblasts were established, the Primorsky and Amur. Khabarovsk was founded in 1858, Vladivostok in 1860.

In 1882, free transportation was announced for settlers to the area from Ukraine and free land was offered to settlers. By 1897, the population had increased to 310,000. With the establishment of the railroad in 1901, over 14,000 settlers were moving to the area per year, with a maximum of 78,000 settlers moving there in 1907.

Ukrainian demonstration in Vladivostok

After 1917,[citation needed] the area came under the jurisdiction of Admiral Alexander Kolchak. In 1920, the Far East Republic was established as a buffer republic between Russia and Japan. In 1922, the republic joined with the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. In 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast region was established with its capital at Birobidzhan.

## Name

[edit]

This term was also used for Yellow Ukraine, Pink Ukraine and Grey Ukraine.[12]

## Proposed state

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

* 24 June 1917 – First All-Ukrainian Far Eastern Congress at Nikolsk-Ussuriysky formed the Far Eastern Krai Rada (Council).
* January 1918 – Second All-Ukrainian Far Eastern Congress at Khabarovsk proclaimed Green Ukraine as part of the Ukrainian State (in spite of the lack of geographical connection).
* April 1918 – The Third All-Ukrainian Far Eastern Congress asked for the creation of an independent Ukrainian state on the Pacific Ocean.
* Summer 1918 – The Far Eastern Ukrainian troops (more than 5,000) enlisted by General Boris Khreschatitsky.
* 11 April 1920 – Order of Hetman Grigory Semyonov on the right of Far Eastern Ukrainians for national self-determination and autonomy in the limits of a united Far Eastern state of Cossacks, Buryats, and Ukrainians.
* 1922 – Dissolution of Green Ukraine.

Yuri Hlushko-Mova

Head of the Krai Secretariat:

* June 1918 – 1919 – Yuri Hlushko-Mova (1st time)
* January 1920 – 1922 – Yuri Hlushko-Mova (2nd time)

## Territory

[edit]

The Green Ukraine was located in the Outer Manchuria, extending across Amur River, Zeya, Svobodny, Blagoveshchensk, Ussuriland, to the north, Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok. to the south. The Green Ukraine had a roughly 2,500 km coastline along the Pacific Ocean that extended from the Sea of Japan, to the Sea of Okhotsk. Green Ukraine was nearby the Sakhalin island and the Japanese archipelago.

## Religion

[edit]

Most of the Slavic population were Christians. The local Tungusic peoples followed local religions; some Ashkenazi Jews in areas around the present-day Jewish Autonomous Oblast practiced Judaism.

## See also

[edit]

* Russia portal
* Ukraine portal

* Grey Ukraine
* Yellow Ukraine
* Pink Ukraine
* Ukrainians in Russia

## Notes

[edit]

### Lingual

[edit]

1. ^ Ukrainian: Зелена Україна, romanized: Zelena Ukraina
Russian: Зелёная Украина, romanized: Zelyonaya Ukraina
2. ^ Ukrainian: Зелений клин, romanized: Zelenyi Klyn, lit. '[the] green gore/wedge'
Russian: Зелёный Клин, romanized: Zelyonyy Klin
3. ^ Ukrainian: Закитайщина, lit. 'Trans China'

### Explanatory

[edit]

1. ^ The flag of Green Ukraine appears to be a play on words on the concept of a "green wedge" combined with traditional Ukrainian colors. Ukrainian parlance also referred to other ethnic enclaves as "wedges" - note that Yellow Ukraine, Grey Ukraine, Pink Ukraine \- compare Ukrainian historical regions.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Smith, Ned (24 February 2001). "Green Ukraine / Ukrainian Far East (1921, Russian Far East)". FOTW "Flags Of The World". CRW Flags. Retrieved 24 October 2018. "In "Flags of Non-Russian Peoples Under Soviet Rule" by Prof. Walter Trembicky [tbc69], pages 134 and 135, it mentions two proposed flags for Green Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Far East, neither of which was officially adopted, since the movement quickly proved abortive. There are simple black & white line drawings illustrating the two proposed flags on p. 133 of [tbc69]. The green in the two flags was described as dark or deep green. ... One [of the two proposed flags] was the Ukrainian blue-over-gold bicolor with a green triangle at the hoist."
2. ^ Trembicky, Walter (1969). Flags of Non-Russian Peoples Under Soviet Rule. Flag Research Center. pp. 134, 135.
3. ^ "«Закитайщина». «Другая Украина» на Дальнем Востоке". Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
4. ^ "Юрій Глушко (Мова) — Україна Incognita". Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
5. ^ Jonathan D. Smele (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Russian Civil Wars, 1916-1926. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 476\. ISBN 9781442252813.
6. ^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 17 декабря 1926 г". 1927.
7. ^ "Зеленый Клин. Как украинцы осваивали дикие земли Дальнего Востока". 28 January 2024.
8. ^ "Russian Census of 1897". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
9. ^ Андрій Манчук, «Закитайщина». «Другая Украина» на Дальнем Востоке
10. ^ Андрій Безсмертний-Анзіміров, Юрій Глушко (Мова)
11. ^ Smele, Jonathan D. (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Russian Civil Wars, 1916-1926. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 476\. ISBN 978-1442252813.
12. ^ Білий Д. Д. (1994). Малиновий клин (Нариси з історії українського населення Кубані). Київ: Україна.

### Sources

[edit]

* Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Volume 2, Paris 1957

## External links

[edit]

* Flag of the Green Ukrainian Republic of the Far East 1921
* worldstatesmen.org

Authority control databases |

* Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine

|

51°18′N 133°24′E﻿ / ﻿51.3°N 133.4°E﻿ / 51.3; 133.4
*[lit.]: Literal translation