Repository: UIHistories Project: War Publications - WWI Compilation 1923 - Article 21 [PAGE 5]

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it went the restless spirit of a d v e n t u r e of rebellion, of continuous offenlive and defensive warfare- Ukraine became an integral part of the Russian Empire which established itself firmly over the vast territory of southeastern I urope, for many centuries the battleground of tribes, races, and nationalities. Peaceful communities, peaceful because of the ion hand from Petrograd, spread gradually <,\ r the b mtiful land of Little Russia with its broad i viguble rivet its rich black soil, its huge deposits of metallic ami non-metallic minerals. The sword and the musket gave way to the plow ami the scythe. As cultivators of the soil, the Ukrainians, to whom were added many other ethnical groups of the Russian population, spread southward into Taurida and eastward into the region of the Don. They transformed the plains and the hillsides into fields of wheat, rye, and corn, of sugar beets and tobacco, into fruit orchards and vineyards; they dotted the country with farm sites, hamlets, and villages, where the only reminder of the old days of bloody strife and of military glory is the song of the kobzar. Some of the Little Russians achieved distinction in Russian literature, art, and sciences; some of them have become prominent in industrial and commercial pursuits; others have occupied responsible governmental positions under the old regime, but the majority of them are peasants and shepherds, having little inclination and aptitude for manufacturing and trade activities. Most of the cities of Ukraine as well as of Southern Russia owe their development and prosperity to the Great Russians, the Jews, and the foreigners. The peasants of Little Russia do not lack natural intelligence; they love poetry and music, but they are poor and ignorant; they still use in many parts of the country the wasteful three field system of agriculture; they have no modern implements and machinery, and^thus, notwithstanding the favorable climatic conditions and the fertile soil of their land* they do not get on an average more than ten bushels of wheat a year per acre. Occupying the " Black Earth Belt" of the old Russian Empire, they produced before the present war about 35 per cent ot Russia's wheat and close to 80 per cent of her sugar beets and tobacco; they also raised about 40 per cent of Russia's live stock output. In the Donetz basin of Little Russia are found large supplies of coal, iron, manganese, and limestone. This proximity of fuel, metals, and fluxes, coupled with heavy import duties on iron, attracted foreign , capital and led to the establishment of important iron and steel works. In 1914, Ukraine produced over 70 per cent of the coal, 60 per cent of 5

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