Historian Every Saturday: Ihor Stambol. Prosvita, not an Austrian general staff: how Ukrainian cadres were forged (13.12.2025)
A lecture by historian Ihor Stambol (the “Historian Every Saturday” cycle) on the Prosvita society as a forge of Ukrainian cadres. The key point: a refutation of the myth that “Ukraine was invented by an Austrian general staff” — the Ukrainian nation arose from a grassroots civic movement (Prosvita, 1868/1905), not from anyone’s decree; ironically, the artificial language («язичіє») was invented precisely by the Russophiles, who were financed by Russia. A source for the article on modern Ukrainian nation-building.
Key moments
- 7:30 Russophilia was financed by Russia; it invented an artificial language, «язичіє»
- 8:22 The Prosvita society (1868, Halychyna) as a grassroots counterweight to Russophilia
- 33:25 Refutation of the myth that 'Ukraine was invented by an Austrian general staff'; a state born of a civic movement
- 34:26 Evolution: from a civic organization to a political one and to state-building