Authors

Oleksandr Kravchuk¹;  ¹ University of Bristol, UK

Discussion

In my presentation, I examine the transformation in self-understanding and social status among officials of Ukrainian origin who entered service in the southwestern provinces of the Russian Empire, with particular emphasis on the Taurida Governorate. My approach is based on a mass analysis of formulary lists (personal accounting documents) of officials, rather than on case studies of individual intellectual elites who left written sources. In the late 18th century, the Russian Empire faced a significant shortage of educated individuals to fill numerous bureaucratic positions. As a result, the Ukrainian Cossacks and the representative of Ukrainian elites (Starshyna) were heavily recruited to serve in the newly annexed lands of the Northern Black Sea region, at times making up as much as one-third of the total number of officials. For many members of the Ukrainian elite, this was a period of dismantling old self-identifications and group affiliations and adapting to new circumstances. Entering imperial service allowed them to preserve their former social rights while gaining new privileges.
The formulary lists of officials provide detailed information about their social status, particularly diverse among those from the “Ukrainian governorates”. These individuals had not yet fully integrated into the “regular” imperial social categories, still bearing the marks of their recent Cossack past. One of my key areas of focus is analysing how officials’ names were recorded, as they often used Ukrainian rather than Russian variants. In my presentation, I also aim to explore whether ethnic origin influenced marriage strategies among officials, or whether their decisions were driven primarily by religious affiliation or material benefits. By analysing these records over an extended period, covering multiple generations of officials, I hope to shed new light on the transformation of their social status and self-understanding. This approach also offers the opportunity to examine how quickly former Cossacks and Starshyna adopted imperial loyalty. I argue that self-understanding was not fixed but often multiple and fluid. Joining the noble estate did not necessarily mean severing ties with one’s Cossack past or abandoning Cossack identities. My approach aims to provide a fresh perspective on the social, religious, regional, and imperial forms of belonging that were most prevalent and played a crucial role during the period under review.