Women of Southern Ukraine in the peasant uprisings of the first third of the 20th century

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to show the participation of Ukrainian women in the peasant rebel movement in the South of Ukraine. Methods of research: ideographic, historical-typological and historical-comparative. Main results. The women’s movement, which manifested itself with particular force in the critical periods of history – the Ukrainian Revolution, the removal of church values and collectivization should be considered as a significant part of the South-Ukrainian rebellion. For the past years, the role of women in rebel movement of peasants has not been a subject of a separate historical study. Only in recent years, the activities of women in the times of Atamanschyna and the confrontation of various authorities in Ukraine has attracted the attention of historians. The article attempts to consider a gender aspect of insurgent movement of Southern Ukraine population. The more tragic the situation in Ukraine was, the more women participated in armed struggle, in particular, in the ranks of peasant insurgent detachments. Revolutionary uprisings took place mainly in the period of the Ukrainian Revolution. They were supported by women having an active life position. It is important to study the life of six “Marusya atamans”: Marusya Sokolovska, “Black Marusya”, Maria Kosova, “Bloody Maria”, Maria Tarasenko, Marusya (Maria Nikiforova).The religious women’s uprisings took place in Mykolayiv region in the spring of 1922 during the requisition of church values, when women resisted their carrying off in Otbedo-Vasylivska volost. The “Case” of Barmashova had the greatest resonance which was transformed from criminal to political one. In the South of Ukraine, the most famous female riots in 1929 took place in Birzulsky district of Odessa Oblast (Region). The problems of women in the Makhno insurgent movement requires a special study. It is important because, for example, the fate of G. Kuzmenko (the wife of N. Makhno) is learned to a greater or lesser extent, but the activity of other women is covered superficially. The author believes that the study of the rebel movement active participants’ biographies, involving the methods of other sciences, psychology in particular, is a prospective one. Originality: unpublished eyewitness testimonies from the Personal Archives of the Priest Rak Valentin of Church of the Nativity of Christ, Vasilivka village’as well as materials from the Central State Archives of Public Associations of Ukraine and the State Archives of Mykolayiv Oblast (Region) are used. Scientific novelty: the typology of women’s uprisings in the South of Ukraine is proposed for the first time – revolutionary, religious and women’s riots. Type of the article: descriptive-analytical.