THE INTERMARIUM PROJECT ROOTS IN MYKOLA KOSTOMAROV IDEAS

The idea of ​​building an alternative military and political alliance headed by Ukraine against the multicultural EU or agonizing barbarian state of Russian Federation became the cornerstone of the past two years. However, Intermarium idea for Ukrainians is not new, its ideological foundation reaches not only the beginning and middle of the twentieth century., As the middle of the XIX century. Building on the territory of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic-Black Sea Union of the Ukrainian intellectuals, the middle of the XIX century. It caused a storm of enthusiasm, because outside of the royal imperial Vienna and Moscow could be combined most of the Slavic peoples, many of which are historically and genetically related and have common economic, cultural, military and political interests.

As it’s known, the Ukrainian national cultural renaissance, founded in the late XVIII century – in the first third of the XIX century by philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda, writer Ivan Kotliarevskyi, poet Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko and prophet Taras Schevtchenko, continued to develop. Writers and commentators of that era in their works described in the main Ukrainian village and simple peasants, so they are inspired mostly ethnographic material: legends, superstitions, proverbs, etc., which is readily treated.

In the first half of the XIX century. dominant in political and legal life of Ukraine were issues such as the elimination of serfdom in the economy, social and legal spheres, the struggle for the dissemination of ideas of European enlightenment, and advocacy in all possible forms of interests and peasant masses aspirations – a simple Ukrainian people, the oppressed of Russian barbarian tsarist ideology. To solve these problems important was the impact of the effects of the activities of the Decembrists organizations in the Dnipro-river, especially in the next generation of ‘adherents’ of the Ukrainian nation, among whom were the first founders of the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius. To put these ideas on the national stage, in front of the educated stratum of citizenship faced with the task distribution among the peasantry of education and training of political culture. Therefore, much attention has been paid to the organization of schools, the publication of national literature, which was to serve as a wake-up political and legal awareness among the Ukrainian population.

A great contribution to the domestic constitutionalism, human rights theory and the citizen, political and legal thought as a whole has made the above of the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, which united the prominent representatives of Ukrainian intelligentsia of that period. Important steps towards the radicalization of the Ukrainian national movement made all members of society, but most clearly can distinguish two people – Mykola Kostomarov and Taras Schevtchenko.

It is worth noting that such a sore topic today, as a geopolitical military alliance between the two countries Intermarium, was laid exactly one of the Brotherhood of Kyrylo and Mefodii – Mykola Kostomarov, who began his literary and scientific activity in the second half of the 1830s – in early 1840's. Born into a Ukrainian family in Voronizh governorate, primary education in a private boarding house in Moscow was then a gymnasium in the provincial Voronizh, then in Kharkiv University he was graduating in 1837. So, in Kharkiv young Kostomarov met with Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko who mastered Ukrainian songs, folklore, perfectly learned the Ukrainian language by the works of Hryhorii Skovoroda and Ivan Kotliarevskyi. Kostomarov himself was a scholar, a writer, Ukrainian historian, ethnographer, folklorist, politician, practiced law, knew many foreign languages.

Famous Ukrainian social poet from Galician Ivan Franko attributed Kostomarov to the ‘apostles of a better life in Ukraine’, as he left a great scientific legacy of the political Ukrainian history, namely such works as ‘Bohdan Khmelnytskyi’, ‘Ruina’, ‘Mazepa’, ‘Mazepyntsi’, ‘Hetmanstvo Vyhovskoho’ ‘Hetmanstvo Yuria Khmelnytskoho’, ‘Pavlo Polubotok’ and others. In these studies, along with the political ideas Kostomarav was laid his legal theory. For example, the ideal of Kostomarov was the Federal Democratic Republic of Slavonic Union Nations (without Russians!), o-called ‘the United States of Europe’, but only of the Slavic countries like Poland, Ukraine, Czech, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. This is especially evident in his work ‘Zakon Bozhyi’ (‘The God’s law’) or ‘The book of life of the Ukrainian people’, written by Kostomarov as a policy document in 1846 for the Brotherhood of Kyrylo and Mefodii: “...And Ukraine will rise from their graves, and then respond to all the brother and in their Slavs, and hear the cry of it, and stand the Slavonia Union Land, and there will be no king nor prince nor the princess or prince, no count nor duke nor lordship nor excellence, nor master, nor nobleman nor a serf or slave or Muscovy or Poland or Ukraine or the Czech Republic, either in Serbia or in Bulgaria...”

Kostomarov himself dreaming of the incarnation of the early Christian idea of ​​full social justice, freedom, equality, and fraternity, the abolition of serfdom, and class distinctions “based on Christian morality are constantly take care of the education and welfare of the people, its culture...” As conductor of the ‘theory of the national element’ in the political and legal process Kostomarov idealized ‘Ukrainian spirit’, ‘rational Ukrainian democracy’, ‘fraternal cohabitation equal Slavic peoples’. Particular emphasis Kostomarov did on the federal structure of the Slavic state, which, in its political and legal theory, must manage elected for 4 years President and Congress.

Despite the cultural and religious differences, for example, between the Croats and the Belarusians in this state had to been currently co-host, the same monetary system, overall management of external relations. As you can see, in a purely Slavic federation proposed Kostomarov as an alternative to absolutist Russia and Austria, there were a lot of federal features, similar to the initial stage of development of the state of the United States from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln.

According Kostomarov, recovery of Ukrainian-Polish alliance was possible only in case of failure of the imperial ambitions of Poland itself, which was to restart its historical relationship with the Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians, and so this was a chance for the people who once worked Rzeczpospolita on mutual understanding.

As expected ideology Kostomarov almost been a leader Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood and led a debate with the other members. It should be noted that, sharing the general principles of its political and legal programs, community members differed on the question of priorities. 

Kostomarov himself considered a priority to achieve the unity of the Slavs, and his opponents, such as Panteleimon Kulisch, spoke about the development of Ukrainian culture in the first place, and Taras Schevtchenko passionately defended the idea of ​​social and national liberation of the Ukrainians.

Until the end of his life Kostomarov defended the idea of ​​the difference between the ‘Two Russian nationalities’, as he called them – Ukrainians (heirs of the democratic traditions of Kyiv Rus) and Russian-Muscovites (creators of despotic of Muscovy and the Russian Empire), which is considered not quite Slavs, but rather ethnic surrogate Finno-Ugric peoples with impurities of the Mongol-Tatar and Slavic blood. The founders of the Democratic Republic of Novgorod XII-XV centuries. Kostomarov also seen people close by blood and spirit is the Ukrainians, but not Russian-Muscovites.

The idea of ​​unification of all Ukrainian lands Kostomarov put forward in his poetic works. Thus, in a program of poetry ‘My Song’, singing the Ukraine, he recalls, and Sian-river with the Carpathians and the Dnipro-river to the Black Sea, and home small river Don for him, which is the town of Ostrogozhsk, which flows into the Don.

Kostomarov's reputation as a historian, and in life, and after his death he was repeatedly subjected to strong attacks. However, the overall contribution to the development of Kostomarov Ukrainian historiography and the idea of ​​building a Slavic confederation Intermarium can, without exaggeration, be called great. He was introduced and persistently carried out in all his writings the idea of ​​Ukrainian folk stories. Sam Kostomarov understood and exercised it mainly as a study of the spiritual life of the people. Later researchers have expanded the content of this idea, but the merit Kostomarov this does not decrease. Although the views Kostomarov populist largely remained naive, his concept of unity of Slavic nations became significant step in the formation of their own geopolitical doctrines Intermarium and deserves the attention of contemporaries.

by Denis Kovalyov, source AzovPress