Strike Movement of Ukrainian Peasantry at the Beginning of the 20th century: Historiographical Review

Historians’ views on the nature, classification and statistics of peasant strikes in Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century are analysed. The author distinguishes wighty contributions into the study of the current issue made by Soviet researchers A. Bucyk, P. Kotlov, P. Kudlai, N. Leshchenko, F. Los, A. Mykhailiuk, N. Myrza-Avakiants, Y. Reva, L. Senchakova, A. Shestakov, as well as by the contemporaries of the revolutionary events P. Maslov, L. Kleinbort and by the representatives of modern historiography E. Herasymenko, D. Liukshyn, Iu. Prysiazhniuk. The differences in scientists’ visions of the next questions are specified: strikes typology, their stages, reference of this struggle type to “the first” or “the second social wars in the countryside”, making claims, estimations of the quantity of strike acts, strikebreakers, conflicts in peasant environment amid antilandlords war (the struggle of “friend peasants” against so called “prykhodky” (foes) and, finally, the notion of “peasant strike” itself. Moreover, special emphasis is put on the development of the classification of rural strike movement by N. Leshchenko: active and passive, strikes of the first and the second social wars, strikes against pomeshchiks and kulaks, strikes of regular labourers, against peasants and peasant proletarians and peasants altogether. Considerable attention is paid to the understanding of the organized strike phenomenon, manifested in the appearance of the actions managing bodies, making sound and deliberate claims with a written notice to the administration of the economies, in united actions of labourers and nonviolence. Notably, the dynamics of the accumulation of information about Ukrainian peasants’ participation in strike movement experienced an exponential growth. The estimations of I. Reva who approximated the final amount to 3000 facts of work stoppage (including repeated actions) is considered the most complete. The article also addresses the state of historiographical knowledge on the issue of strike movement of Ukrainian peasantry, mainly in coverage of Soviet authors. It detects insufficient level of generalization and extensiveness of the problem study as well as its fragmentary and superficial character, apart from the work of M. Simonova.

Source: Kudinov D. (2015) Strike Movement of Ukrainian Peasantry at the Beginning of the 20th century: Historiographical Review. Sumy Historical and Archival Journal. XXV: 5-18

Source web-site: https://shaj.sumdu.edu.ua/data/25_2015/Kudinov.pdf