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Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia, 1914–1915. On August 18, 1914, the Imperial Russian Army invaded the Austrian Crownland of Galicia. On August 19, Russian troops defeated the Austro-Hungarian Army, advanced 280–300 kilometers into Austrian territory and captured most of eastern Galicia. The principal city, Lemberg, fell into Russian hands on September 3.〔Von Hagen 2007, p. 19〕 Eastern Galicia had a population of approximately 4.8 million people〔Ivan Lysiak Rudnytsky, John-Paul Himka. (1981). ''Rethinking Ukrainian History.'' Edmonton, Alberta: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press.〕 Byzantine Catholic Ukrainians made up approximately 65% of the population of Eastern Galicia while Poles made up 22% of the population.〔Timothy Snyder. (2003). ''The Reconstruction of Nations.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 123〕 It was the last large Eastern Slavic territory and the last historic part of the medieval state of Kievan Rus to fall under Romanov rule. The Russian Empire would control and administer this territory from September 1914 until June 1915. Throughout the occupation, the Tsarist officials, pursued a policy of integrating Galicia with the Russian Empire, forcibly Russifying local Ukrainians, and persecuting both Jews and Byzantine Catholics. ==Background== The territory of eastern Galicia had once been an integral part of the medieval state of Kievan Rus before existing as an independent kingdom and principality until 1349. From the mid 14th century until 1772 it had been ruled by Poland. Following the First Partition of Poland in 1772 it became a part of the Austrian Empire (see Austrian partition). The Austrian government emancipated the Ukrainian peasants from serfdom, introduced a rudimantary educational system, and raised the status of Ukrainian Catholic priests in a way that made them equal to Roman Catholic priests. These reforms insured the loyalty of most of the Ukrainian population to the Austrian state. When the Austrian Empire was reorganized as Austria–Hungary eastern Galicia continued to be under Austria's jurisdiction and remained this way until the Empire's collapse following World War I. According to the 1900 Austrian census Eastern Galicia had a population of 4.8 million people,〔 of whom approximately 65% were Ukrainian, 22% Polish〔 and 13% Jewish.〔Arthur Ruppin, Margaret Bentwich. (1913). ''The Jews of Today.'' New York: H. Holt and Company, p. 96〕 Rivalries between the ethnic groups and between political factions within those ethnic groups would shape the occupation policies of the Russian administration.〔Von Hagen 2007, pp. 10–18〕 Although a minority, prior to World War I the Poles wielded considerable political power due to their domination of the province prior to Austrian rule and the near monopoly of power within the local government. Much of the land was owned by Polish aristocrats and Poles were a majority of the population in the territory's largest city and cultural capital, Lviv. Eastern Galicia's Ukrainians predominated in rural areas and were primarily peasants or priests. Historically, the Ukrainians of eastern Galicia had had an ideological rivalry between Ukrainophiles – people who considered themselves to be part of the Ukrainian nation – and Russophiles – those who believed that Ukraine was an artificial creation and that Ukrainians were part of the Russian nation. Russophiles dominated western Ukrainian society in the mid 19th century but by the beginning of the First World War had been eclipsed by the Ukrainophiles. No longer widely popular within their own community, the Russophiles depended on support from Russia (such as from the Galician-Russian Benevolent Society based in St. Petersburg) and from Polish aristocrats who used their movement to split Ukrainian society. This support notwithstanding, both Russophiles and Ukrainophiles were opposed to the Poles whom they considered to be historical oppressors. However, the Russophiles were loyal to Russia and hoped that the war would bring about the integration of eastern Galicia with Russia while the Ukrainophiles, in contrast, were loyal to Austria and hoped that the war would bring about a dismemberment of the Russian Empire and the emergence of an independent Ukraine in its territory. Both factions within the Ukrainian community were bitterly opposed to each other. Galicia's Jews, seeing the Habsburg dynasty as their protectors and considering the Russian state to be antisemitic, were generally quite loyal to Austria during the war.〔(Marsha Rozenblit. (2004) ''Reconstructing a National Identity: The Jews of Habsburg Austria during World War I.'' New York: Oxford University Press )〕 On the eve of World War I, with war against Russia looming, the Austrian authorities began a wave of persecution against the Russophiles. Hundreds were arrested, and Russophile organizations and newspapers were shut.〔 Former Russian Interior Minister Pyotr Durnovo was an outspoken opponent of the annexation of eastern Galicia. Writing in February 1914, he claimed that the people had for the most part lost all connection to the Russian fatherland, and that in addition to a "negligible handful" of Russophile Ukrainian Galicians, Russia would take in large amounts of Poles, Jews, and Ukrainophile Ukrainians. Durnovo wrote that currently Ukrainian separatism was not a threat to Russia but that annexing a territory with many Ukrainian nationalists could plant seeds within Russia for a dangerous movement and that this might have unexpected consequences. Despite this warning, most Russian political figures across the political spectrum supported annexing eastern Galicia. Mikhail Rodzianko, chairman of the State Duma, declared that war against a common enemy would unite all nationalities within Russia, a sentiment echoed by the liberal politician Alexander Kerensky.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia, 1914–15」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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