Westrus’ism as a Research Problem

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Westrus’ism as a research problem

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by ANDRZEJ TICHOMIROW

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Graduate School for Social Research, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw, Poland/Grodno, Belarus)

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Development of the present-day countries in Central and Eastern Europe, is one of the main subjects of historical and sociological research, as well as literature and philosophical studies. Political and economic changes in this area since 1989, contributed to the development of research on the subjects of nations and nationalism. Each society from “our part” of Europe experienced the crash of communist ideology, political and economic transformation and having to dig our way out of external isolation. Some societies also experienced the establishment of their own independent states, development of their own political and intellectual élites, changes in the notion of their own countries and their history, and in some cases ethnic and religious armed conflicts. The former Western Republics of the Soviet Union – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova make up a particular region, which has a lot in common and simultaneously maintains significant differences between individual countries. The essential differences are in the influences of the Great Powers throughout their history, different religious and philosophical traditions, political experiences and ethnic origins. Paradoxically, their geographical positions, common his-

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I would like to thank Darius Staliūnas for his critical comments during the discussion of the general concept of this text and Bartosz Kucharski for the translation into English.

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Andrzej Tichomirow ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. 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torical experience and the numerous connections between these countries are their common features. The area between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, linked with many trade routes, gives the different perspective to the East-West line perspective. However, in accepting the thinking in terms of North-South, it is hard to forget about influences of the East and the West. This region is a borderland of different Christian traditions and an area of their mutual penetration with the simultaneous co-existence of other religions, particularly Judaism and Islam. There is no doubt that the BalticBlack Sea region is the part of Europe which is significantly open to influences of Oriental tradition. At one time it was the Polish Borderland (“Kresy”), later the Russian Borderland (“Okraina”), and finally the western periphery of the USSR. New independent countries of this area, founded as a result of the disintegration of the USSR, had different experiences in forming their own nations and countries. Some of them had been documented and recognizable versions of their national history and myths, developed national lifestyles and an image of an ideal fatherland. On the other hand, some of them had to start from scratch to form their own national ideologies and to pass imagined traditions on to the majority of society. In many cases it had involved clashes between competitive visions of their history and future. Those competitive visions were either based on striving for close cooperation, even full integration, with the neighbouring nations or were a kind of alternative within the framework of the same ethnic or religious group without referring to their neighbours. Since 1991, Belarus has been an independent country and an example of a country having several significantly different intellectual visions of its own history and perspectives. The relatively late development (from the 1880’s and 90’s) of the Belarusian national concept contributed to the development of significantly different visions of Belarus as a part of Poland or Russia. The attempt to form their own independent country in 1918 – The Belarusian People’s Republic – failed and resulted in the partitioning of the country and the status of a federal republic within the USSR. The Soviet vision of Belarusian history, deprived of many elements and the whole historical periods, was mostly a fusion of the Russian historiographic tradition and the communist ideology, seasoned with the “local specific” on the folkloristic level. In the late 1980’s, the restoration process

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of the national tradition started. It referred to the output of the Belarusian intellectualists and emigrants from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, whose basic element was an attempt to bring the Belarusian language into the public space, forming a modern culture, and later achieving independence. At the same time, after having deprived the Communist Party of its monopoly on intellectual life, previous visions of the history and past of Belarus (mostly referring to different versions of the ideology of unification with Russia) came back to life. A new stream in historiography, journalism and politics called “Westrus’ism” was a specific “discovery” and inspiration for many scientists. With a political need for such ideas after 1994, “Westrus’ism” entered the intellectual life of the country and became one of the elements influencing the political culture, philosophy and education of Belarus. As an ideological stream, “Westrus’ism” appeared in the second half of the 19th century on the territories of presentday Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, which as a result of the partition of Poland had been incorporated into the Russian Empire. In a way, the appearance of this stream was a reaction to political and social changes occurring in the Empire during the “great reforms” of Alexander II, as well as the activation of the Polish national movement on this territory. According to many researchers, the accelerator of ‘Westrus’ism’ was the January Uprising (1863-1864) and other factors: changes in the Uniate Church (from the initial “comeback” to Eastern liturgical origins to the complete annihilation of that Church in Russia in 1839), changes in the cultural orientation of the part of the élite (from the Belarusian and Ukrainian territories to the proRussian orientation), ownership and property reforms in the years 1861-64, and the formation of the Belarusian and Ukrainian national movements. The appearance of the ”Westrus’ist” stream may be considered as the next change in the cultural paradigm of Belarus at a time when the culture inspired with the western model (based on Catholicism) was giving in to eastern culture, as a result of the conqueror’s actions and the actions of their cultural élite (based on the Russian Orthodox Church). The basic assumption of this stream was the refusal of ethnic, cultural and religious differences of the Belarusians and the

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Andrzej Tichomirow ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................

Ukrainians from Russians and the fight against the influences of Polish culture and the Catholic Church in the “Western Provinces” of the Russian Empire. The representatives of this school supported endeavours to Russificate the “commandeered territories”, expand the scope of influence of the Orthodox Church and create a social base for the Russian authorities. However, some ideologists of “Westrus’ism” had a prevailing conviction that the main decider of the transformation should be the nation, aroused from ideological torpor and endowed with a reborn national awareness2. At first they tried to reinforce the distinctiveness of the local peasants from the Poles, sometimes even supporting aspirations for emancipation of the “folk languages” (particularly Ukrainian)3 and making use of social antagonisms between the peasants and the landowners4. It would be unfair not to mention the fact, that some authors of different research works strived to prove the “primary and uquestionable” “Russianness” of the Belarusian and Ukrainian territories, actually, proving their originality and dissimilarity to Russia. Most of the representatives of this stream came from the “Western Provinces” and stressed their originality using terms like “Western Russia” (or “Western Rus’”) and “West-Ruthenian man”, as if as a counter-proposition to the term “Eastern Russia”5. It was not a completely ethnic term, rather geographical, and gradually (especially in the 1860’s) gained some ethnic dimension. The “Westrus’ist” ideology seems not to have concentrated just on the question of Belarus. Actually, it was sometimes more concerned with Ukrainian issues. “Western Russia” used to mean not only Belarus, but also Ukraine, Lithuania, and some authors even included Galicia6. It is possible that “Westrus’ism” aimed to absorb the ideology of “Little-Russianism”. However, 2

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Что такое хлопомания и кто такие хлопоманы?, „Вестник юго-западной и западной России”, т. II, 1862, кн. 5 (ноябрь), отд. IV, c. 139-156. Ibidem, c. 153-154. П.-Р., Объяснение одной фразы в объявлении об издании «Вестника югозападной и западной России», „Вестник юго-западной и западной России”, т. II, 1862, кн. 4 (октябрь), отд. IV, c. 65-84. М. О. К о я л о в и ч , Лекции по истории Западной России, Москва 1864, с. 3-4; Взгляд на историю западной Руси, СПб. 1848, c. 36. An interesting comparative perspective is provided by the possibility of tracing the parallel phenomena among the Ukrainians in Galicia and the Belarusians: J.-P. H i m k a , The Construction of Nationality in Galician Rus’: Icarian Flights in Almost All Directions [in:] Intellectuals and the Articulation of the Nation, ed. by R. G. Suny and M. D. Kennedy, Ann Arbor 1999, p. 109-164, especially p. 150-153.

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according to many historians, it was the existence of that stream and the policy of Russification that impeded the development of the Belarusian intellectual élite7. The “Westrus’ist” ideology manifested itself in historiography, journalism, literature and political actions (organized by political groups in the area of the “Western Provinces” at the beginning of the 20th century). The main representative of this stream in historiography (and as some researchers believe – the only creator of a specific philosophy of history)8 was Mikhail Koialovich (182891)9, professor of the Orthodox Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg and born in Kuźnica Białostocka (today, a town on the Polish-Belarusian border). He gathered a rather methodologically and thematically coherent historiographic school. Later, its members were still professionally active in Russia, the USSR and in the 1920’s and 30’s went into exile. In journalism, the most important translator of “Westrus’ist” thought was the “Wiestnik Zapadnoj Rossii” (Messenger of Western Russia) magazine, It was first published in Kiev (1862-64), under the name “Wiestnik Jugo-Zapadnoj i Zapadnoj Rossii” (Messenger of South-western and Western Russia), and later in Vilnius (1864-71), and was edited by Ksenofont Govorskii and Ivan Eremich. At the beginning of the 20th century a new resurrection of the “Westrus’ian” ideology could be observed.

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I would like to express my gratitude to John Paul Himka for making his article accessible and a recommendation. А. В а б і ш ч э в і ч , Асоба беларускага інтэлігента ў гістарычным кантэксце ХХ ст., [in:] Асоба ў гісторыі: гераічнае і трагічнае. Матэр.рэсп.навук.-практ.канф., частка 1, Брэст 2004, с. 5. А. Л и т в и н с к и й , Д. К а р е в , Западнорусизм в российской историографии второй половины XIX – начала ХХ веков, [in:] Стэфан Баторый у гістарычнай памяці народаў Усходняй Еўропы, Гродна 2004, с. 296. There is hardly any English literature on the subject of „Westrus’ism”, mostly small notices in works concerning the Russian Empire’s policy in the “Western Provinces”. However, there are valuable works worth mentioning: D. S t a l i ū n a s , Making Russians. Meaning and Practice of Russification in Lithuania and Belarus after 1863, Amsterdam – New York, N. Y. 2007; W. R o d k i e w i c z , Russian Nationality Policy in the Western Provinces of the Empire (1865-1905), Lublin 1998; T. R. W e e k s , Nation and State in late Imperial Russia. Nationalism and Russification on the Western Frontier, 1863-1914, DeKalb 1996; E. C. T h a d e n, Conservative Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Russia, Seattle 1964; Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finland, 1855-1914, ed. by E. C. Thaden, Princenton, N. J. 1981; J. Z e j m i s, Belarusian National Historiography and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a Belarusian State, „Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung”, 48 (1999), H. 3, p. 383-396.

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New magazines were published and political groups relating to the movement were created. Some elements of “Westrus’ist” ideology (particularly in historiography and teaching history) were absorbed by the communist ideology (especially in the late 1930’s) and practically influenced the telling of Belarusian history during the whole Soviet period10. One such element was a claim concerning the “everlasting strivings of Belarusians and Ukrainians to join Russia”11. Researching “Westrus’ism” as an intellectual stream requires the discussion of many important problems. The first thing that needs to be studied, is the reason why “Westrus’ism” has not been an important object of research. The first, and until recently the only, research work on that movement was the book by Alexandr Tsvikevich, entitled “Westrus’ism. An outline history of the social thought in Belarus from the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century” (1929)12. The author presented the problem on the basis of the works of the leading members of Koialovich’s school, and liberal criticism of their ideas(which was presented by the Russian historian and ethnographer, Alexandr Pypin13), and Marxist methodology. He was the first to introduce the term “Westrus’ism”. Almost immediately after publication, the whole edition was withdrawn from circulation, and its author was arrested and executed. Practically from the 1930’s to the 1980’s, Tsvikevich’s book and its main subject – “Westrus’ism” – were forbidden or unmentioned in Soviet Belarus. Ideological factors giving way to the prohibition of the practicing of some disciplines of science or scientific subjects was a common method of repression used in those days. Hence, the absence of a tradition of research on “Westrus’ism” not only had an effect on the whole intellectual history of Belarus in the 19th century, but also influences attempts to understand the subject today.

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10 В. Г р ы ц к е в і ч, Пераадолець інэрцыю стылю [in:] Адраджэнне. Гістарычны альманах. Вып. 1, Мінск 1995, c. 127. 11 А. Л и т в и н с к и й, Д. К а р е в, Западнорусизм в российской историографии второй половины XIX – начала ХХ веков..., c. 205. 12 А. Ц ь в і к е в і ч, “Западно-руссизм”. Нарысы з гісторыі грамадзкай мысьлі на Беларусі ў ХІХ і пачатку ХХ в., Менск 1993. 13 Mainly in the 4th volume of his „History of the Russian ethnography”, See: А. Н. П ы п и н, История русской этнографии, т. IV. Белоруссия и Сибирь, СПб. 1892.

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Another relevant problem, concerns the prejudices of the nationally oriented Belarusian intellectualists, who until recently considered wider interest in this matter to be a manifestation of involvement in a modern version of “Westrus’ism”. The observation of Belarusian scientific discussion, shows that opponents present visions so closed to the arguments of the opposite site, that it is hard to understand, how they co-exist together in the same space. “Pro-Russian” and “pro-Western” (“pro-European”) perspectives in Belarusian intellectual circles have significantly different hierarchies of values, they have their own heroes and traitors and their views on political and economic perspectives also differ. At the same time there are some voices which refer to both streams, in an attempt to reconcile both narratives and create the basis for a common vision of their own country. Equally relevant to the issue is the question concerning the determination of a chronological time limit on the phenomenon called “Westrus’ism”. Most Belarusian researchers consider the January Uprising of 1863-64, and the repressions following it, to be the beginning of the movement, since from that time forward, publications of the majority of the research and journalistic works by the main representatives of the movement, can be observed. The ideological fight against the Polish Uprising was the basic element of the Russian Empire’s policy in this country and from that point of view “Westrus’ist” historians could play the role of the “key witnesses” in the “Western Provinces’ ” affairs. However, if another research perspective is adopted, such as East Christian tradition (Greek Catholic and Orthodox) in this area in the 19th century, the initial intellectual changes could be noticed in the 1820’s and 30’s (especially after the final liquidation of that Church in 1839). Looking back to the end of the 18th century, the partitions of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth contributed to the crisis of loyalty in the Uniate Church and the formation of a group within that church which would later opt to join the Russian Orthodox Church14.

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14 Л. В у л ь ф, Уніяцкая царква і падзелы Польшчы: самазахаванне канфесіі ў век асвечанага абсалютызму, “ARCHE”, 2008, № 7-8, с. 695-796 (Original edition: L. W o l f f, The Uniate Church and the Partitions of Poland: Religious Survival in an Age of Enlightened Absolutism, „Harvard Ukrainian Studies”, vol. XXVI, No. 1-4, 2002-2003, p. 153-244).

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Basically, the end of “Westrus’ism” was the beginning of World War I and the collapse of the Russian Empire. After the German occupation of Vilnius in 1915 and the evacuation of the Russian bureaucracy and intelligentsia, “Westrus’ism” lost its importance and was replaced by a completely different ideology. Although the continuity of the tradition of the telling of Belarusian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian history in the “Westrus’ist” style was interrupted, elements of this stream have survived to this day. An ambiguous question is the choice of sources for research. Who should be regarded as a member of this movement? In some cases, it is hard to say easily, whether a particular scientist or publicist was a member of the school or not. Although there are doubts about the historian, Pavel Bobrowskii, and the philologist, Eufimii Karskii, they are considered to be the followers and disciples of Koialovich and Govorskii. Internal divisions and differences in opinions about many crucial issues among “Westrusists” must be taken into account. In such an approach, historical sources are derived from the conclusions of the intellectual works of the historians belonging to that school (books, scientific articles, journalist articles, reviews), critical works about them, private sources (diaries, memoirs, correspondence), official documents, obituaries and finally scientific works concerning “Westrus’ism”. In this case the influence of censorship (as a part of the government policy) placed on scientific research cannot be ignored, as well as the real intentions of the authors. An equally important element of research on this subject may be the historiography. Different approaches and attempts to understand the phenomenon of “Westrus’ist” ideology depend on several factors: the political, religious and national views of the author, the methodology used and a positive or negative attitude towards the subject of research. Different axiological approaches are significant factors affecting the perspective of the research. It is obvious that “Westrus’ism” did not exist in emptiness and was dependent on the policy of the Empire, whether directly from the Tsar’s court and the capital Saint Petersburg, or as in many cases from the governors of the “Western Land”, in particular Vladimir Nazimov, Mikhail Mirav’ev, Eduard Baranov and Konstantin Kaufman. Not all “Westrus’ist” writers had uncritical attitudes towards the actions of the authorities. Many times they

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expressed their disapproval in the press and proposed alternative solutions. Sometimes these efforts even came to fruition and had an influence on the shape of policy. Thorough study of the discussion on the “Russophilian” environment allows us to reject the theory of homogeneity in the vision of “Russification in the Western Land” and the lack of discussion on that problem. “Westrus’ism” may be considered a part of late Russian Slavophilism. However, other intellectual sources of this movement need further studying. “Westrus’ist” historians acquired their basic knowledge about Belarusian, Lithuanian and Ukrainian territories from works written in Polish at the University of Vilnius in the first half of the 19th century, not from Russian works. In most cases the main target of their attacks and criticisms were the Polish people, who paradoxically had a great impact on them. In spite of their rejection, the achievements of Western ideology, especially the German Romantics, had great influence on their ideas, as well as on the Slavophile’s ideas. What’s more, there was some influence of Czech and Ukrainian writers on “Westrus’ist’s” studies. The Ukrainian writers came not only from Russia, but also from the Habsburgs’ Empire. It would also be interesting to see the geographical range of the imagined “Western Russia”. Were Ukrainian, or Belarusian and Lithuanian territories more important for these writers? Were , Galicia and Carpathian Rus included in the ideal “Western Russia”? The real centre of activity of “Westrus’ists” was Saint Petersburg, where most of them studied, made their scientific careers and lived permanently. Vilnius was only a temporary stop. They often went back, but they did not go back to stay. Some of them stayed in the “Western Land” to work among the “people”, whom they wrote about. However, they only copied the models sent from Saint Petersburg. Another interesting issue is the comparative perspective. The pro-Russian attitude not only existed among intellectuals coming from Belarus. There was a “Russophilian” movement among the Latvians15, and the Estonian movement was supported by the Russian authorities. Comparison with the simi-

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15 P. L a z d a, The Phenomenon of Russophilism in the Development of Latvian Nationalism in the 19th Century, [in:] National Movements in the Baltic Countries during the 19th Century. The 7th Conference on Baltic Studies in Scandinavia, Stockholm, June 10-13, 1983, ed.by A. Loit, Uppsala 1985, p. p. 129-135.

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lar phenomena in Ukraine is very effective. On the one hand, “Westrus’ism” had aspirations to not only show the history of Belarus, but also the history of Ukraine (the Ukrainians were considered to be a stronger and more developed element of the “great Russian nation”). On the other hand, in Ukraine they had their “Russophilian” phenomena, such as “Little-Russianism” in the Russian part of Ukraine and “Russophilia” in Galicia and Carpathian Rus’. Some of them were even much older than “Westrus’ism”. Concentration on the history of Belarus and Ukraine in the works of most of the representatives of the mentioned school, did not remove the history of greater Russia from their speculations. Mikhail Koialovich wrote the history of Russian historiography16 and gave lectures on the history of Russia at the Orthodox Theological Academy17. The last representative of this stream, Ivan Solonewich, who was a philosopher and a political writer, was also mostly interested in Russia. The relations with the Belarusian national movement are one of the vital problems related to “Westrus’ism”. The Belarusian national ideology formed later than “Westrus’ism”. Nevertheless, some “Westrus’ist” elements became the foundations of modern Belarusian ideology. To give a few examples: the rejection of the Polish influence, the concentration on peasant problems, the defining of the boundaries of the Belarusian nation and the regarding of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a Ruthenian or Belarusian country. After “Westrus’ism” had been formed as a nationalist ideology, it became impossible to build a commonwealth on the basis of religion. The Belarusian ideology became national and one of its main elements was the overcoming of religious differences between members of the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. The essential difference in these phenomena lay in the status of Belarusians and the Belarusian language. “Westrus’ism” regarded the Belarusian people as a part of the Russian nation and rejected efforts towards the promotion of the Belarusian dialect to the rank of an independent literary language. On the other hand, the Belarusian movement strove not only for the acknowledgement of 16 М. О. К о я л о в и ч, История русского самосознания по историческим памятникам и научным сочинениям, СПб. 1884. 17 М. О. К о я л о в и ч, Лекции по русской истории, Гродно 2008.

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Westrus’ism as a research problem

Belarusians as a separate nationality with their own language, but also for the establishment of their own independent state. Another complex problem is the self-determination of “Westrus’ism”. It had all the features of Russian nationalism, including xenophobia. Therefore, should it not be regarded as a Russian phenomenon? Nevertheless it is difficult to deny that all of its leading members came from Belarus, from the “Western Provinces”. They knew local Belarusian or Ukrainian dialects and the Polish language very well. Most of them were the sons of clergymen (Uniate or ex-Uniate, who converted to the Orthodox Church after 1839) and were brought up speaking Polish around the dinner table. We could even go so far as to say that “Westrus’ism” was a specific alternative to the Belarusian national ideology, which not only had features of external origin (transferred from Russia), but also internal features. These internal features were born in the homeland, on the basis of their own historical experiences. Political events in the second half of the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century had a considerable impact on the evolution of the mentioned idea. This can be attributed to the January Uprising, the Emancipation Reform, Russification of the public, educational and scientific spheres, repressions against the Poles and the Catholics, government support of the Orthodox Church, the revolution of 1905 and the political reforms in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. The methodological perspective is very interesting as well. The primordial approach as to the question of nations, was also familiar to historians from the “Westrus’ist” school. Liberal critics, such as Alexandr Pypin and Mitrofan Dovnor-Zapol’skii, used mostly positivist methodology. Alexandr Tshvikievich had a Marxist point of view in criticising “Westrus’ism”. Stalinist methodology combined “Westrus’ism” with atheism. In the 1990’s, combinations of “Westrus’ism” with communist ideology and modern Russian nationalism (referring to the Orthodox Church) appeared. Recently there has been a trial to use the constructionist methodology for this phenomenon (works of Valer Bulhakau and Ihar Babkou)18. 18 В. Б у л г а к о в, История белорусского национализма, Вильнюс 2006; І. Б а б к о ў, Генэалёгія беларускай ідэі. Зь лекцыяў для Беларускага Калегіюму, “ARCHE”, 2005, № 3, c. 136-165.

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Another question is what was the role of religion in “Westrus’ian” thought? Was Orthodoxy more important than Russian nationality? Is it possible to talk about a nationality or is it necessary to still talk about an ethnic group? Most of the writers of this stream were concentrated on the history of the Eastern Church (Orthodox and Greek-Catholic) throughout the ages. However, in this case the church didn’t play the role of a religious institution, but rather an ethnic one . Analyses of religious subjects were useful in the fight with the competing Christian denomination - Catholicism. Changes in Eastern Christianity in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th to the 18th century, including the Union, were regarded almost only as political events deprived of spiritual meaning. The last important question refers to the name of the school. “Westrus’ism” is the name, which comes from the opposing ideological party and seems not to be fully adequate. Nevertheless, this name is currently accepted by most scientists and in a way shows its main object of interest - territories of imagined “Western Rus’”. “Westrus’ism” has many features which are characteristic for borderlands; joining in itself the perspectives of the borders and the centre. The scientific approach to this phenomenon, from the point of view of history and other humanistic subjects, enables us to reconstruct its historical role and to understand the processes which are taking place at present, in Belarus and in neighbouring countries.

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