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Центральна Рада, УНР (1917-1918 рр.)

MEMORANDUM.
TERRITORY OF THE UKRAINE REPUBLIC
(By Ellen C. Semple, under the direction of Mark Jefferson)

I. Area and population. – The Governments or Provinces specifically included in the Republic by the Universal of the National Council of November 20, 1917 (Ukraine Peace, p.5), and Article II of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty of February 9, 1918 (ibid, pp. 10-11), comprise an area of approximately 178,750 square miles, with a population of 28,300,000. If the whole linguistic or ethnic area of the Ukrainians on the north and east be included, the Republic will gain a further 62,000 square miles in area and 5,500,000 in population.

II. Nationality. – The Ukrainians or Little Russians base their claim to nationality on the following facts: They differ from the Great Russians in manners and customs. Their language is so markedly differentiated both in sounds and forms from the Great Russian that it is regarded by many Slav scholars as a distinct tongue. Furthermore there is a distinct Ukrainian literature. Ukrainians are physically distinguished from the Great Russians by broader skulls, taller stature, and more brunette coloring.

III. Soil. – The rich black-earth belt of southern Russia covers about two-thirds of the Ukrainian ethnic area. The northwestern third, including the major part of Volhynia and Chernigov Provinces, together with the Cholm district of Poland and the neighboring districts of Grodno and Minsk, all belong to the forest region of less fertile bandy soil. The black earth is a porous, friable soil with a large admixture of humus and extends to a great depth. The Ukraine Republic comprises the portion of this belt which has adequate rainfall.

IV. Climate. – The rainfall in the middle zone of Ukraine averages 20 inches. This amount declines to 16 inches or less in the south-east and increases to 24 inches in the forest district of the northwest. The middle zone, including Podolia, Kief, Po1tava, western Charkov, and Kursk, has winters mild enough and snow mantle thick enough to insure extensive crops of winter wheat and rye. These crops are excluded from the eastern section because the winters are too severe, and from the southern section along the coast because the snow covering is inadequate. The chief rainfall occurs in May and June, and is therefore well timed for the growing crops.

V. Agriculture. – The Ukraine Republic embraces in its territory the great grain district of southern Russia. The chief crops are winter and spring wheat, rye, barley, spelt, buckwheat, and oats, with wheat largely in the ascendency. Marked predominance of grain crops gives a one-side economic character to the agriculture. However, in the favored middle zone, where population is relatively dense and practices more advanced tillage methods, sugar beets, flax, hemp,. and oil plants are also considerably cultivated. Diminution of rainfall toward the east and south is attended by deterioration of tillage methods, growing sparsity of population, backward civilization, and monotony of agricultural products. In the middle zone the prevailing crops have given rise to appropriate industries – flour mills, distilleries, breweries, sugar, and oil-expressing factories. Stock raising is limited except in the southeastern section, where backward agriculture necessitates extensive fallow fields, which serve as pastures.

VI. Mineral resources. – Important iron ore deposits are found along the Donetz River, and near Kriwi Rog, inside the elbow of the Dnieper. In the latter district they are said to be already somewhat exhausted. Veins of ore are found also in a small area south of Kief.

Rich coal fields exist in the neighborhood of Lugansk. The readily accessible seams promise a yield of 10,000,000,000 tons. The eastern part of these deposits furnishes anthracite, and the western coking coal. Exploitation of the Lugansk mines was small till 1870. Now they yield one-half of the whole Russian demand for coal.

VII. Fisheries constitute an important industry in Ukraine, owing to its access to the rich fishing grounds of the Black Sea coast and its control of the southern rivers of Russia.