Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that ...

, variously described as part of either

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

(or both).Klaus Peter Berger
The Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria
Kluwer Law International, 2010, p. 132 The region is located on the northern slopes of the central

Eastern Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya Sy ...

and the adjoining plains, today divided between

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Settled initially and primarily by Romanians and subsequently by Ruthenians (Ukrainians) during the 4th century, it became part of the Kievan Rus' in the 10th century and then the Principality of Moldavia during the 14th century. The region has been sparsely populated since the Paleolithic, with several now extinct peoples inhabiting it. Consequently, the culture of the Kievan Rus' spread in the region, with the Bukovinian Church administered from

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

until 1302, when it passed to Halych metropoly. Then, in the 14th century, Bukovina passed to Hungary, and became part of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

. King Louis I of Hungary appointed

Dragoș, Voivode of Moldavia Dragoș, also known as Dragoș Vodă, or Dragoș the FounderMaramureș and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

to the territory.

Bogdan of Cuhea Bogdan I, commonly known as Bogdan the Founder ( ro, Bogdan Întemeietorul), was the first independent ruler, or voivode, of Moldavia in the 1360s. He had initially been the voivode, or head, of the Vlachs in the Voivodeship of Maramureș in the ...

came to power in 1359, and removed Moldova from Hungarian control. Thereafter, Ukrainians and Moldovans cohabited Bukovina, fighting together against invaders and oppressors. The territory of what became known as Bukovina was, from 1774 to 1918, an

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Locals sought to annex the historically Ruthenian north to the Western Ukrainian National Republic in the early 20th century. In 1940, the northern half of Bukovina was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in violation of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

, a non-aggression pact between

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and the Soviet Union. Afterwards, the region was temporarily recovered by Romania as an ally of Nazi Germany after the latter invaded the Soviet Union which, however, they retook the northern part in 1944. Bukovina's population was historically "almost solidly Ukrainian in the north and Romanian in the south, while in the towns there were also a number of Germans, Poles, and Jews." Today, Bukovina's northern half is part of Ukraine (represented by the Chernivtsi Oblast), while the southern one is part of Romania (represented by

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

). Furthermore, Bukovina had been sometimes labeled as '

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

of the East', given its diverse ethnic mosaic and deep forested mountainous landscapes.

Name

The name first appears in a document issued by the Voivode of Moldavia Roman I Mușat, on March 30, 1392, by which he gives to Ionaș Viteazul three villages, located near the Siret river. The name ''Bukovina'' came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the

, which became the

in 1804, and

in 1867. The official

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

name of the province under Austrian rule (1775–1918), , was derived from the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

form , which in turn was derived from the common Slavic form of , meaning

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

tree (compare

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

; German ; Hungarian ). Another German name for the region, , is mostly used in poetry, and means 'beech land', or 'the land of beech trees'. In Romanian, in literary or poetic contexts, the name ('the land of beech trees') is sometimes used. In some languages a definite article, sometimes optional, is used before the name: ''the Bukovina'', increasingly an archaism in English, which, however, is found in older literature. In Ukraine, the name (''Bukovyna'') is unofficial, but is common when referring to the '' Chernivtsi Oblast'', as over two thirds of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

is the northern part of Bukovina. In Romania, the term ''Northern Bukovina'' is sometimes synonymous with the entire Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine, while ''Southern Bukovina'' refers to the

of Romania (although 30% of the present-day

covers territory outside of the historical Bukovina).

History

The territory of Bukovina had been part of Kyevan Rus since the 10th century. It then became part of the Principality of Galicia, with the establishment of the Ukrainian Bukovinian church. Then, it became part of

in the 14th century, with the Ukrainian and Romanian locals repelling invading forces and fighting together to preserve autonomy. It was first delineated as a separate district of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in 1775, and was made a nominal duchy within the Austrian Empire in 1849.

Background

The region, which is made up of a portion of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the neighbouring plain, was settled by both

Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...

(i.e.

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

) and

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

(i.e.

ns). The former constituted the largest ethnic group in the north, while the latter went on to become the largest ethnic group in the south. After being inhabited by ancient peoples and tribes ( Trypillian, Scythians, Dacians, Getae) starting from the Paleolithic, Slav culture and language emerged in the region, as early as in the 4th century. Later, Ukrainian culture spread, and by the 10th century the region was part of Kievan Rus. Among the first references of the

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

(Romanians) in the region is the late 12th century chronicle of

Niketas Choniates Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...

, where it is written that some Vlachs seized the future Byzantine emperor, Andronikos Komnenos, when "he reached the borders of Halych" in 1164. After 1342, when Louis I defeated the Tatars, many Romanians from Transylvania and the Maramureș settled in the region.

Early settlement

First traces of human occupation date back to the Paleolithic. The area was first settled by Trypillian culture tribes, in the Neolithic. It was then settled by now extinct tribes (

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...

Getae The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

/ Scythian tribes). Meanwhile, many nomads crossed the region (3rd to 9th century AD). By the 4th century, the Slavs appeared in the region. These Slavic people were part of the tribal alliance of the Antes. In the 9th century

Tivertsi The Tivertsi ( uk, Тиверці; ro, Tiverți or ), were a tribe of early East Slavs which lived in the lands near the Dniester, and probably the lower Danube, that is in modern-day western Ukraine and Republic of Moldova and possibly in easte ...

and White Croatians and Cowari composed the local population.

Kievan Rus

Kingdom of Galicia Volhynia Rus' Ukraine 1245 1349

United by

Prince Oleg Oleg ( orv, Ѡлегъ, Ольгъ; non, Helgi; died 912), also known as Oleg the Wise (russian: Олег Вещий, lit=Oleg the Prophet; uk, Олег Віщий), was a Varangian prince of the Rus' who was ruler of Novgorod. He later con ...

in the 870s, Kievan Rus' was a loose

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

of speakers of East Slavic and

Uralic languages The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian (w ...

from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the

Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

, founded by the Varangian prince

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...

. Bukovina gradually became part of Kievan Rus from the 10th to the 11th century. Parts of Bukovina were first conquered in 981 by Vladimir the Great. It was incorporated into the Principality of Terebovlia in 1084. When Kievan Rus was partitioned at the end of the 11th century, Bukovina became part of the

Principality of Galicia-Volhynia A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

Principality of Galicia-Volhynia

After the fragmentation of Kievan Rus', Bukovina passed to the Principality of Galicia (

) in 1124. The Church in Bukovina was initially administered from

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. In 1302, it was passed to the Halych metropoly. After the Mongols under Batu invaded Europe, with the region nominally falling into their hands, ties between Galician-Volhynian and Bukovina weakened. As a result of the Mongol invasion, the

Shypyntsi land Shypyntsi ( ua, Шипинці; ro, Șipeniț), a village in Ukraine, is located within Chernivtsi Raion (district) of Chernivtsi Oblast (province), about driving distance southwest of Kyiv, and about northwest from the provincial capital of C ...

, recognizing the suzerainty of the Mongols, arose in the region. Eventually, this state collapsed, and Bukovina passed to Hungary. King Louis I appointed

Dragoș, Voivode of Moldavia Dragoș, also known as Dragoș Vodă, or Dragoș the FounderMaramureș and

. The

n state was formed by the mid-14th century, eventually expanding its territory all the way to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. Upon its foundation, the Moldovan state recognized the supremacy of Poland, keeping on recognizing it from 1387 to 1497. Later (1514) it was vassalized by the Ottoman Empire. Bukovina and neighboring regions became the nucleus of the Moldavian Principality, with the city of

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

as its capital from 1564 (after Baia, Siret and Suceava). The name of

( ro, Moldova) is derived from a river (

Moldova River The Moldova () is a river in Romania, in the historical region of Moldavia. It is a right tributary of the river Siret. The river rises from the Obcina Feredeu Mountains of Bukovina in Suceava County and joins the Siret in Cotu Vameș, east of ...

) flowing in Bukovina.

Polish and Moldavian period

Petru II moved the seat of Moldova from Siret to Suceava in 1388. In the 15th century,

Pokuttya Pokuttia, also known as Pokuttya or Pokutia ( uk, Покуття, Pokuttya; pl, Pokucie; german: Pokutien; ro, Pocuția), is a historical area of East-Central Europe, situated between the Dniester and Cheremosh rivers and the Carpathian Mounta ...

, the region immediately to the north, became the subject of disputes between the Principality of Moldavia and the Polish Kingdom. Pokuttya was inhabited by

(the predecessors of modern Ukrainians together with the Rus', and of the

Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group from the Carpathian Rus', Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn language, Rusyn, an East Slavic languages, East Slavi ...

). In 1497 a battle took place at the

Cosmin Forest Cosmin is a masculine Romanian given name of Greek origin. Notable people with the name include: *Cosmin Băcilă (born 1983), Romanian footballer *Cosmin Bărcăuan (born 1978), Romanian footballer * Cosmin Bodea (born 1973), Romanian footballer a ...

(the hilly forests separating

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

and Siret valleys), at which Stephen III of Moldavia (Stephen the Great), managed to defeat the much-stronger but demoralized army of King

John I Albert of Poland John I Albert ( pl, Jan I Olbracht; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland from 1492 until his death in 1501 and Duke of Głogów (Glogau) from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty, the s ...

. The battle is known in Polish popular culture as "the battle when the Knights have perished". The region had been under Polish nominal suzeranity from its foundation (1387) to the time of this battle (1497). Shortly thereafter, it became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire (1514). Cetatea de Scaun a Sucevei la ceas de seara

Cetatea de Scaun a Sucevei la ceas de seara

In this period, the patronage of Stephen the Great and his successors on the throne of Moldavia saw the construction of the famous painted monasteries of

Moldovița Moldovița ( uk, Молдовіца; german: Russ Moldawitza) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of four villages: namely Argel, Demăcușa, Moldovița, and Rașca. A Latin-rite Catholic Dio ...

Sucevița Sucevița (german: Suczawitza or Kloster Suczawita) is a commune in Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of two villages, namely Sucevița and Voievodeasa (german: Fürstenthal). Sucevița Mo ...

, Putna,

Humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

, Voroneț,

Dragomirna The Dragomirna Monastery was built during the first three decades of the 17th century, 15 km from Suceava, in the Mitocu Dragomirnei commune. It is the tallest medieval monastery in northern Moldavia and renowned in Orthodox architecture f ...

Arbore Arbore is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of three villages: namely Arbore, Bodnăreni, and Clit. Church of Arbore Arbore is best known for its church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist ...

and others. With their renowned exterior

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es, these monasteries remain some of the greatest cultural treasures of Romania; some of them are

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s, part of the

painted churches of northern Moldavia The north of the Moldavia region in Romania preserves numerous religious buildings as a testimony of the Moldavian architectural style developed in the Principality of Moldavia starting from the 14th century. Of these, eight Romanian Orthodox C ...

. The most famous monasteries are in the area of Suceava, which today is part of Romania. Also part of Romania is the monastery of , an Orthodox saint and martyr, who was killed by the Tatars in

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

. From 1490 to 1492, the Mukha rebellion, led by the Ukrainian hero

Petro Mukha Petro Muha ( fl. 1490) was a Ukrainian rebel, military leader and Ukrainian national hero, best known as the leader of the eponymous Mukha Rebellion against Polish magnates and noblemen in Galicia started with Moldavian support. This uprising was ...

, took place in Galicia. This event pitted the Moldovians against the oppressive rule of the Polish magnates. A rebel army composed of Moldavian peasants took the fortified towns of Sniatyn, Kolomyia, and Halych, killing many Polish noblemen and burghers, before being halted by the Polish Royal Army in alliance with a Galician ''

levée en masse ''Levée en masse'' ( or, in English, "mass levy") is a French term used for a policy of mass national conscription, often in the face of invasion. The concept originated during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the period followi ...

'' and Prussian mercenaries while marching to Lviv. Many rebels died in the Rohatyn Battle, with Mukha and the survivors fleeing back to Moldavia. Mukha returned to Galicia to re-ignite the rebellion, but was killed in 1492. In May 1600 Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), became the ruler the two Romanian principalities and Transylvania. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Ukrainian warriors (''

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

'') were involved in many conflicts against the Turkish and Tatar invaders of the Moldovian territory. Notably,

Ivan Pidkova Ivan Pidkova ( uk, Іван Підкова) or Ioan Potcoavă (died 16 June 1578), also known as Ioan Creţul, and Nicoară Potcoavă among Romanians, was a prominent Cossack ataman, and short-lived Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia (November–Decem ...

, best known as the subject of Ukraine's bard

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...

's ''Ivan Pidkova'' (1840), led military campaigns in the 1570s. Many Bukovinians joined the Cossacks during the

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising,; in Ukraine known as Khmelʹnychchyna or uk, повстання Богдана Хмельницького; lt, Chmelnickio sukilimas; Belarusian language, Belarusian: Паўстанне Багдана Хмяльніц ...

. As part of the peasant armies, they formed their own regiment, which participated to the 1648 Siege of Lviv. Ukrainian

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi ( Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern ua, Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький; 6 August 1657) was a Ukrainian military commander and ...

himself led a campaign in Moldavia, whose result was an alliance between Khmelnytsky and its ''hospodar'' Vasile Lupu. Other prominent Ukrainian leaders fighting against the Turks in Moldovia were

Severyn Nalyvaiko Severyn (Semeriy) Nalyvaiko (, , in older historiography also ''Semen Nalewajko'', died 21 April 1597) was a leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks who became a hero of Ukrainian folklore. He led the failed Nalyvaiko Uprising for which he was tortured ...

and Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny. For short periods of time (during wars), the Polish Kingdom (to which Moldavians were hostile) again occupied parts of northern Moldavia. However, the old border was re-established each time, as for example on 14 October 1703 the Polish delegate Martin Chometowski said, according to the Polish protocol, "Between us and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

(i.e. the Moldavian region, vassal of the Turks) God himself set

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

as the border" (''Inter nos et Valachiam ipse Deus flumine Tyras dislimitavit''). According to the Turkish protocol the sentence reads, "God (may He be exhalted) has separated the lands of Moldavia ukovina, vassal of the Turksfrom our Polish lands by the river Dniester." Strikingly similar sentences were used in other sayings and folkloristic anecdotes, such as the phrase reportedly exclaimed by a member of the Aragonese Cortes in 1684. Monumentul lui Grigore Ghica III din Iaşi7

Monumentul lui Grigore Ghica III din Iaşi7

In the course of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, the Ottoman armies were defeated by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, which occupied the region from 15 December 1769 to September 1774, and previously during 14 September–October 1769. Bukovina was the reward the Habsburgs received for aiding the Russians in that war. Prince

Grigore III Ghica Grigore III Ghica (1724 – 12 October 1777) was twice the Prince of Moldavia between 29 March 1764 – 3 February 1767 and September 1774 – 10 October 1777 and of Wallachia: 28 October 1768 – November 1769. Biography He was the son of Alex ...

protested and was prepared to take action to recover the territory, but was assassinated, and a Greek-

Phanariot Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenic ...

foreigner was put on the throne of

by the Ottomans.

Austrian Empire

The

occupied Bukovina in October 1774. Following the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the Austrians claimed that they needed it for ''a road between Galicia and Transylvania''. Bukovina was formally annexed in January 1775. On 2 July 1776, at Palamutka, Austrians and Ottomans signed a border convention, Austria giving back 59 of the previously occupied villages, retaining 278 villages. Bukovina was a closed military district (1775–1786), then the largest district,

Bukovina District The Bukovina District (german: Kreis Bukowina), also known as the Chernivtsi District (german: Kreis Czernowitz, link=no), was an administrative-territorial unit of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria within the Habsburg monarchy in Bukovina ...

(first known as the Czernowitz District), of the Austrian constituent Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (1787–1849). On 4 March 1849, Bukovina became a separate Austrian Kronland 'crown land' under a '' Landespräsident'' (not a ''Statthalter'', as in other crown lands) and was declared the ''Herzogtum Bukowina'' (a nominal duchy, as part of the official full style of the Austrian Emperors). In 1860 it was again amalgamated with Galicia but reinstated as a separate province once again on 26 February 1861, a status that would last until 1918. In 1849 Bukovina got a representative assembly, the ''Landtag'' ( diet). The Moldavian nobility had traditionally formed the ruling class in that territory. In 1867, with the re-organization of the Austrian Empire as the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, it became part of the

Cisleithania Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...

n or Austrian territories of Austria-Hungary and remained so until 1918.

Late 19th to early 20th centuries

The 1871 and 1904 jubilees held at

Putna Monastery The Putna monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Putna) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia; as with many others, it was built and dedicated by Stephen the G ...

, near the tomb of

Ștefan cel Mare Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...

, have constituted tremendous moments for Romanian national identity in Bukovina. Since gaining its independence,

envisioned to incorporate this province, that Romanians likewise considered historic, which, as a core of the Moldavian Principality, was of a great historic significance to its

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and contained many prominent monuments of its

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and architecture. During the Habsburg period, the Ukrainians increased their numbers in the north of the region, while in the south the Romanian nationality kept its vast majority. The Austrians "managed to keep a balance between the various ethnic groups." In the 1880 census, there were 239,690 Ruthenians and

Hutzul The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). Th ...

s, or roughly 41.5% of the population of the region, while Romanians were second with 190,005 people or 33%, a ratio that remained more or less the same until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The percentage of Romanians fell from 85.3% in 1774 to 34.1% in 1910. Ruthenians is an archaic name for

, while the Hutsuls are a regional Ukrainian subgroup.

Ukrainian national sentiment

Ukrainian national sentiment re-ignited in the 1840s. Officially started in 1848, the nationalist movement gained strength in 1869, when the

Ruska Besida Society Ruska may refer to: Places Slovak villages *Ruská *Ruská Bystrá *Ruská Kajňa *Ruská Poruba *Ruská Voľa *Ruská Volová *Ruská Nová Ves Other *Rava-Ruska, a city in Ukraine *Ruska Bela, a city in Bulgaria *Ruska, a village in Seliatyn, ...

was founded in

. By the 1890s, Ukrainians were represented in the regional diet and Vienna parliament, being led by Stepan Smal-Stotsky. Beside Stotsky, other important Bukovinian leaders were Yerotei Pihuliak, Omelian Popovych,

Mykola Vasylko Mykola ( uk, Мико́ла, Mykóla, ) is a Slavic variant, more specifically a Ukrainian variant, of the masculine name "Nicholas", meaning "victory of the people". It may refer to: People *Mykola Arkas (1853–1909), Ukrainian composer, writ ...

, , , Sylvester Nikorovych, Ivan and Petro Hryhorovych, and Lubomyr Husar. The first periodical in the Ukrainian language, ''Bukovyna'' (published from 1885 until 1918) was published by the populists since the 1880s. The Ukrainian populists fought for their ethnocultural rights against the Austrians. Peasant revolts broke out in Hutsul in the 1840s, with the peasants demanding more rights, socially and politically. Likewise, nationalist sentiment spread among the Romanians. As a result, more rights were given to Ukrainians and Romanians, with five Ukrainians (including notably Lukian Kobylytsia), two Romanians and one German elected to represent the region. The Ukrainians won representation at the provincial diet as late as 1890, and fought for equality with the Romanians also in the religious sphere. This was partly achieved only as late as on the eve of World War I. However, their achievements were accompanied by friction with Romanians. Overpopulation in the countryside caused migration (especially to North America), also leading to peasant strikes. However, by 1914 Bukovina managed to get "the best Ukrainian schools and cultural-educational institutions of all the regions of Ukraine." Beside Ukrainians, also Bukovina's Germans and Jews, as well as a number of Romanians and Hungarians, emigrated in 19th and 20th century. Bukovina1910ethnic

Under Austrian rule, Bukovina remained ethnically mixed:

were predominant in the south,

(commonly referred to as

in the Empire) in the north, with small numbers of Hungarian

Székelys The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...

, Slovak, and

peasants, and

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in the towns. The 1910 census counted 800,198 people, of which:

38.88%,

34.38%,

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

21.24% (

12.86% included), Polish people 4.55%,

Hungarian people Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and Kingdom of Hungary, historical Hungarian lands who share a common Hungarian culture, culture, Hungarian history, history, Magyar tribe ...

1.31%,

Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...

0.08%,

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

0.02%,

Italian people , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

0.02%, and a few Croats,

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and

Turkish people The Turkish people, or simply the Turks ( tr, Türkler), are the world's largest Turkic ethnic group; they speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic ...

. While reading the statistics it should be mentioned that, due to "adverse economic conditions", some 50,000 Ukrainians left the region (mostly emigrating to North America) between 1891 and 1910, in the aforementioned migrations. Nonetheless, the percentage of Ukrainians has significantly grown since the end of the XVIII century. In 1783, by an

Imperial Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of Joseph II, local

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Eparchy of Bukovina (with its seat in Czernowitz) was placed under spiritual jurisdiction of the

Metropolitanate of Karlovci The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713 ...

. Some friction appeared in time between the church hierarchy and the Romanians, complaining that

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

was favored to

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, and that family names were being

slavicized Slavicisation or Slavicization, is the acculturation of something Slavic into a non-Slavic culture, cuisine, region, or nation. To a lesser degree, it also means acculturation or adoption of something non-Slavic into Slavic culture or terms. Th ...

. In spite of Romanian-Slavic speaking frictions over the influence in the local church hierarchy, there was no Romanian-Ukrainian inter-ethnic tension, and both cultures developed in educational and public life. After the rise of Ukrainian nationalism in 1848 and the following rise of Romanian nationalism, Habsburg authorities reportedly awarded additional rights to Ukrainians in an attempt to temper Romanian ambitions of independence. On the other hand, the Ukrainians had to struggle against the Austrians, with the Austrians rejecting both nationalist claims, favoring neither Romanians nor Ukrainians, while attempting to "keep a balance between the various ethnic groups." Indeed, a group of scholars surrounding the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand were planning on creating a Romanian state that would've included all of Bukovina, including Czernowitz. After they acquired Bukovina, the Austrians opened only one elementary school in Chernivsti, which taught exclusively in Romanian. They later did open German schools, but no Ukrainian ones. Ukrainian language would appear in Chernivsti's schools as late as 1851, but only as a subject, at the local university (in spite of this, the city attracted students from other parts of Bukovina and Galicia, who would study in the German language of instruction).

Lukjan Kobylytsia Lukjan Kobylyzja (also Lucian Kobylicza; Ukrainian: Лук'ян Кобилиця; Romanian: Luchian Cobiliță) (1812 – 1851) was a Ukrainian Bukovinian activist, political leader and farmer. He was the leader of the popular uprisings in Bukovin ...

, a Ukrainian Bukovinian farmer and activist, died of torture-related causes after attempting to ask for more rights for the Bukovinian Ukrainians to the Austrians. He died of the consequence of torture in 1851 in Romania. At the end of the 19th century, the development of

Ukrainian culture The culture of Ukraine is the composite of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. It is closely intertwined with ethnic studies about ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian historiog ...

in Bukovina surpassed Galicia and the rest of Ukraine with a network of Ukrainian educational facilities, while

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

formed an Archbishopric, later raised to the rank of ''Metropolitanate''. In 1873, the Eastern Orthodox Bishop of Czernowitz (who was since 1783 under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Karlovci) was elevated to the rank of Archbishop, when a new Metropolitanate of Bukovinian and Dalmatia was created. The new Archbishop of Czernowitz gained supreme jurisdiction over Serbian eparchies of

and Kotor, which were also (until then) under the spiritual jurisdiction of Karlovci. In the early 20th century, a group of scholars surrounding the Austrian

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

created a plan (that never came to pass) of

United States of Greater Austria The United States of Greater Austria (german: Vereinigte Staaten von Groß-Österreich) was an unrealized proposal made in 1906 to federalize Austria-Hungary to help resolve widespread ethnic and nationalist tensions. It was conceived by a group ...

. The specific proposal was published in Aurel C. Popovici's book "Die Vereinigten Staaten von Groß-Österreich"

he United States of Greater Austria He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

Leipzig, 1906. According to it, most of Bukovina (including Czernowitz) would form, with

, a Romanian state, while the north-western portion (Zastavna, Kozman, Waschkoutz, Wiznitz, Gura Putilei, and Seletin districts) would form with the bigger part of Galicia a Ukrainian state, both in a federation with 13 other states under the Austrian crown.

Kingdom of Romania

, several battles were fought in Bukovina between the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, and Russian armies, which resulted in the Russian army invading Chernivtsi for three times (30 August–21 October 1914, 26 November 1914–18 February 1915, 18 June 1916–2 August 1917). The regime that had occupied the city pursued a policy of persecution of "nationally conscious Ukrainians". The situation was not improved until the February Revolution of 1917. The Russian were driven out in 1917. Bukovina suffered great losses during the war. With the collapse of

in 1918, both the local

Romanian National Council Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and the Ukrainian National Council based in Galicia claimed the region. In the beginning, Bukovina joined the fledging

West Ukrainian National Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) or West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR), known for part of its existence as the Western Oblast of the Ukrainian People's Republic, was a short-lived polity that controlled most of Eastern Galic ...

(November 1918), but it was occupied by the Romanian army immediately thereafter. A Constituent Assembly on 14/27 October 1918 formed an executive committee, to whom the Austrian governor of the province handed power. After an official request by

Iancu Flondor Iancu Flondor (3 August 1865 – 19 October 1924) was a Romanian politician who advocated Bukovina's union with the Kingdom of Romania. He was born in the town of Storozhynets ( ro, Storojineṭ) in Northern Bukovina (now in Ukraine). His paren ...

, Romanian troops swiftly moved in to take over the territory, against Ukrainian protest. Although local Ukrainians attempted to incorporate parts of Northern Bukovina into the short-lived West Ukrainian People's Republic, this attempt was defeated by Polish and Romanian troops. The Ukrainian Regional Committee, led by Omelian Popovych, organized a rally in Chernivtsi on November 3, 1918, demanding Bukovina's annexation to Ukraine. The committee took power in the Ukrainian part of Bukovina, including its biggest center Chernivtsi. The Romanian moderates, who were led by

Aurel Onciul Aurel Onciul (29 February 1864 – 30 September 1921) was a Romanian pro-Austrian political leader in the Austrian Bukovina, prior to its union with the Kingdom of Romania. He was born in Vicovu de Sus, now in Suceava County, Romania, and gradu ...

, accepted the division. However, the Romanian conservatives, led by

, rejected the idea. In spite of Ukrainian resistance, the Romanian army occupied the northern Bukovina, including Chernivtsi, on November 11. Under the protection of Romanian troops, the Romanian Council summoned a

General Congress of Bukovina The General Congress of Bukovina ( ro, Congresul General al Bucovinei) was a self-proclaimed representative body created in the aftermath of the Romanian military intervention in Bukovina, which proclaimed the union of the region with the Kingdo ...

for 15/28 November 1918, where 74 Romanians, 13 Ruthenians, 7 Germans, and 6 Poles were represented (this is the linguistic composition, and Jews were not recorded as a separate group). According to Romanian historiography, popular enthusiasm swept the whole region, and a large number of people gathered in the city to wait for the resolution of the Congress. The council was quickly summoned by the Romanians upon their occupation of Bukovina. Interbelic Suceava County CoA

The Congress elected the Romanian Bukovinian politician Iancu Flondor as chairman, and voted for the union with the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

, with the support of the Romanian, German, and Polish representatives; the Ukrainians did not support this. The reasons stated were that, until its takeover by the Habsburg in 1775, Bukovina was the heart of the Principality of Moldavia, where the ''gropnițele domnești'' (voivods' burial sites) are located, and ''dreptul de liberă hotărâre de sine'' (right of self-determination).''"Congresul general al Bucovinei, întrupând suprema putere a țării și fiind învestiți cu puterea legiuitoare, în numele suveranității naționale, hotărâm: Unirea necondiționată și pe vecie a Bucovinei în vechile ei hotare până la Ceremuș, Colacin și Nistru cu Regatul României".'' The General Congress of Bukovina, embodying the supreme power of the country ukovina and invested with legislative power, in the name of national sovereignty, we decide: Unconditional and eternal union of Bukovina, in its old boundaries up to Ceremuș iver Colachin and Dniester iverwith the Kingdom of Romania. Romanian control of the province was recognized internationally in the Treaty of St. Germain in 1919. Bukovina's autonomy was undone during Romanian occupation, the region being reduced to an ordinary Romanian province. It was subject to martial law from 1918 to 1928, and again from 1937 to 1940. The Ukrainian language was suppressed, "educational and cultural institutions, newspapers and magazines were closed." Romanian authorities oversaw a renewed programme of

Romanianization Romanianization is the series of policies aimed toward ethnic assimilation implemented by the Romanian authorities during the 20th and 21st century. The most noteworthy policies were those aimed at the Hungarian minority in Romania, Jews and as ...

aiming its assimilationist policies at the Ukrainian population of the region. In addition to the suppression of the Ukrainian people, their language and culture, Ukrainian surnames were Rumanized, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was persecuted. In the 1930s an underground nationalist movement, which was led by Orest Zybachynsky and Denys Kvitkovsky, emerged in the region. The Romanian government suppressed it by staging two political trials in 1937. At the same time, Ukrainian enrollment at the

Cernăuți University Chernivtsi National University (full name Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, uk, Чернівецький національний університет імені Юрія Федьковича) is a public university in the City o ...

fell from 239 out of 1671, in 1914, to 155 out of 3,247, in 1933, while simultaneously Romanian enrollment there increased several times to 2,117 out of 3,247. In part this was due to attempts to switch to Romanian as the primary language of university instruction, but chiefly to the fact that the university was one of only five in Romania, and was considered prestigious. In the decade following 1928, as Romania tried to improve its relations with the

, Ukrainian culture was given some limited means to redevelop, though these gains were sharply reversed in 1938. According to the 1930 Romanian census,

made up 44.5% of the total population of Bukovina, and Ukrainians (including Hutsuls) 29.1%. In the northern part of the region, however, Romanians made up only 32.6% of the population, with Ukrainians significantly outnumbering Romanians. On August 14, 1938, Bukovina officially disappeared from the map, becoming a part of Ținutul Suceava, one of ten new administrative regions. At the same time, Cernăuți, the third most populous town in Romania (after

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

), which had been a mere county seat for the last 20 years, became again a (regional) capital. Also, Bukovinian regionalism continued under the new brand. During its first months of existence, Ținutul Suceava suffered far right (

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...

) uproars, to which the regional governor

Gheorghe Alexianu Gheorghe Alexianu (born January 1, 1897, Străoane, Putna County; died 1 June 1946, Jilava) was a lawyer, high school teacher and associate professor who served as governor of Transnistria between 1941 and 1944. In 1946, he was accused and co ...

(the future governor of the Transnistria Governorate) reacted with nationalist and anti-Semitic measures. Alexianu was replaced by Gheorghe Flondor on February 1, 1939.

Division of Bukovina

As a result of the

, the USSR demanded not only

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

but also the northern half of Bukovina and

Hertsa Hertsa or Hertza ( ; ro, Herța ) is a city located in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Hertsa urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine, and has a population of The town is locate ...

regions from Romania on June 26, 1940 (Bukovina bordered

Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia ( uk, Східна Галичина, Skhidna Galychyna, pl, Galicja Wschodnia, german: Ostgalizien) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil), having also essential h ...

, which the USSR had annexed during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

). Initially, the USSR wanted the whole of Bukovina.

, which was surprised by the Soviet claim to Bukovina, invoked the German ethnics living in the region. As a result, the USSR only demanded the northern, overwhelmingly Ukrainian part, arguing that it was a "reparation for the great loss produced to the Soviet Union and

Bassarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz language, Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east ...

's population by twenty-two years of Romanian domination of

". Following the Soviet ultimatum, Romania ceded Northern Bukovina, which included Cernăuți, to the USSR on June 28, 1940. The withdrawal of the Romanian Army, authorities, and civilians was disastrous. Mobs attacked retreating soldiers and civilians, whereas a retreating unit massacred Jewish soldiers and civilians in the town of Dorohoi. The Red Army occupied Cernăuți and

Storojineț Storozhynets ( uk, Сторожинець, ; ro, Storojineț; see #Other names, below for other names) is a small city located in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, north of the border with Romania. It hosts the administra ...

counties, as well as parts of

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; german: Radautz; hu, Radóc; pl, Radowce; uk, Радівці, ''Radivtsi''; yi, ראַדעװיץ ''Radevits''; tr, Radoviçe) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovi ...

and Dorohoi counties (the latter belonged to Ținutul Suceava, but not to Bukovina). The new Soviet-Romanian border was traced less than north of

. Until September 22, 1940, when Ținutul Suceava was abolished, the spa town

Vatra Dornei Vatra Dornei (; german: Dorna-Watra; hu, Dornavátra) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Vatra Dornei is the fifth largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of ...

served as the capital of Ținutul Suceava.

Second World War

In 1940, Chernivtsi Oblast ( of which is Northern Bukovina) had a population of circa 805,000, out of which 47.5% were Ukrainians and 28.3% were Romanians, with Germans, Jews, Poles, Hungarians, and Russians comprising the rest. The strong Ukrainian presence was the official motivation for the inclusion of the region into the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

and not into the newly formed

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

. Whether the region would have been included in the Moldavian SSR, if the commission presiding over the division had been led by someone other than the Ukrainian communist leader

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

, remains a matter of debate among scholars. In fact, some territories with a mostly Romanian population (e.g.,

Hertsa region The Hertsa region, also known as the Hertza region ( uk, Край Герца, Kraj Herca; ro, Ținutul Herța), is a region around the town of Hertsa within Chernivtsi Raion in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, ne ...

) were allotted to the Ukrainian SSR. GUVERNAMANTUL BUCOVINEI

After the instauration of Soviet rule, under

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

orders, thousands of local families were deported to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

during this period, with 12,191 people targeted for deportation in a document dated 2 August 1940 (from all formerly Romanian regions included in the Ukrainian SSR), while a December 1940 document listed 2,057 persons to be deported to Siberia. The largest action took place on 13 June 1941, when about 13,000 people were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan. The majority of those targeted were ethnic native

, but there were (to a lesser degree) representatives of other ethnicities, as well. Until the repatriation convention of 15 April 1941, NKVD troops killed hundreds of Romanian peasants of Northern Bukovina as they tried to cross the border into Romania in order to escape from Soviet authorities. This culminated on 7 February 1941 with the

Lunca massacre The Lunca massacre ( ro, Masacrul de la Lunca) took place on 7 February 1941, in Northern Bukovina when hundreds of civilians (mostly ethnic Romanians) were killed when Soviet Border troops opened fire on them while they were attempting to force ...

and on 1 April 1941 with the

Fântâna Albă massacre The Fântâna Albă massacre took place on 1 April 1941 in Northern Bukovina when up to 3,000 civilians were killed when their attempt to forcefully cross the border from the Soviet Union to Romania, near the village of Fântâna Albă, now in ...

. During Soviet Communist rule in Bukovina, "private property was nationalized; farms were partly collectivized; and education was Ukrainianized. At the same time all Ukrainian organizations were disbanded, and many publicly active Ukrainians were either killed or exiled." A significant part of Ukrainian intelligentsia fled to Romania and Germany in the beginning of the occupation. When the conflict between the Soviets and Nazi Germany broke out, and the Soviet troops began moving out of Bukovina, the Ukrainian locals attempted to established their own government, but they were not able to stop the advancing Romanian army. Almost the entire German population of Northern Bukovina was coerced to resettle in 1940–1941 to the parts of Poland then occupied by Nazi Germany, during 15 September 1940 – 15 November 1940, after this area was occupied by the Soviet Union. About 45,000 ethnic Germans had left Northern Bukovina by November 1940. In the course of the 1941 attack on the Soviet Union by the Axis forces, the Romanian Third Army led by General

Petre Dumitrescu Petre Dumitrescu (; 18 February 1882 – 15 January 1950) was a Romanian general during World War II who led the Romanian Third Army on its campaign against the Red Army in the Eastern Front. Early life and military career Dumitrescu was born i ...

(operating in the north), and the Fourth Romanian Army (operating in the south) regained Northern Bukovina, as well as

, and

, during June–July 1941. It was organized as part of the

Bukovina Governorate The Bukovina Governorate ( ro, Guvernământul Bucovinei) was an administrative unit of Romania during World War II. Background and history In 1775, the region of Bukovina, historically part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia, officially ...

. The Axis invasion of Northern Bukovina was catastrophic for its Jewish population, as conquering Romanian soldiers immediately began massacring its Jewish residents. Surviving Jews were forced into ghettoes to await deportation to work camps in Transnistria where 57,000 had arrived by 1941. One of the Romanian mayors of Cernăuți,

Traian Popovici Traian Popovici (October 17, 1892 – June 4, 1946) was a Romanian lawyer and mayor of Cernăuți during World War II, known for saving 20,000 Jews of Bukovina from deportation. Life Popovici was born in Rușii Mănăstioarei village of t ...

, managed to temporarily exempt from deportation 20,000 Jews living in the city between the fall of 1941 and the spring of 1942. Bukovina's remaining Jews were spared from certain death when it was retaken by Soviet forces in February 1944. In all, about half of Bukovina's entire Jewish population had perished. After the war and the return of the Soviets, most of the Jewish survivors from Northern Bukovina fled to Romania (and later settled in Israel).

After the war

In 1944 the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

drove the Axis forces out and re-established Soviet control over the territory. Romania was forced to formally cede the northern part of Bukovina to the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

by the 1947 Paris peace treaty. The territory became part of the

as Chernivtsi Oblast (

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

). While during the war the Soviet government killed or forced in exile a considerable number of

, after the war the same government deported or killed about 41,000

. As a result of killings and mass deportations, entire villages, mostly inhabited by Romanians, were abandoned (Albovat, Frunza, I.G.Duca, Buci—completely erased, Prisaca, Tanteni and Vicov—destroyed to a large extent).Țara fagilor: Almanah cultural-literar al românilor nord-bucovineni. Cernăuți-Târgu-Mureș, 1994, p. 160. Men of military age (and sometimes above), both Ukrainians and Romanians, were conscripted into the Soviet Army. That did not protect them, however, from being arrested and deported for being "anti-Soviet elements". As a reaction, partisan groups (composed of both Romanians and Ukrainians) began to operate against the Soviets in the woods around

, Crasna and

Codrii Cosminului Codru (plural form: ''codri''; en, forests or woods) is the name of the forests that grow in the hilly part of central Moldova. History During the Middle Ages most of the Principality of Moldavia's hills were forested, and the forested area in ...

. In Crasna (in the former

Storozhynets Storozhynets ( uk, Сторожинець, ; ro, Storojineț; see below for other names) is a small city located in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, north of the border with Romania. It hosts the administration of Sto ...

county) villagers attacked Soviet soldiers who were sent to "temporarily resettle" them, since they feared deportation. This resulted in dead and wounded among the villagers, who had no firearms. Spring 1945 saw the formation of transports of Polish repatriates who (voluntarily or by coercion) had decided to leave. Between March 1945 and July 1946, 10,490 inhabitants left Northern Bukovina for Poland, including 8,140 Poles, 2,041 Jews and 309 of other nationalities. Most of them settled in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, near the towns: Bolesławiec, Dzierżoniów, Gubin,

Lubań Śląski Lubań (german: Lauban; cz, Lubáň), sometimes called Lubań Śląski ( en, Silesian Lubań; hsb, Lubań Šlešćina); is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwest Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubań County and also of ...

Lwówek Śląski Lwówek Śląski (; german: Löwenberg in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnski Lwůwek) is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 9,000 i ...

, Nowa Sól,

Oława Oława (pronounced , , szl, Oława) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wrocław Voivodeship), within the Wrocław me ...

, Prudnik,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (2021). Zielona Góra has a favourable geographical position, being close to the Polish-German border and on several international road ...

Żagań Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielon ...

, Żary. Overall, between 1930 (last Romanian census) and 1959 (first Soviet census), the population of Northern Bukovina decreased by 31,521 people. According to official data from those two censuses, the Romanian population had decreased by 75,752 people, and the Jewish population by 46,632, while the Ukrainian and Russian populations increased by 135,161 and 4,322 people, respectively. After 1944, the human and economic connections between the northern (Soviet) and southern (Romanian) parts of Bukovina were severed. Today, the historically Ukrainian northern part is the nucleus of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast, while the southern part is part of Romania, though there are minorities of Ukrainians and Romanians in Romanian Bukovina and Ukrainian Bukovina respectively. Ukrainians are still a recognized minority in Romania, and have one seat reserved in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies. In Romania, 28 November is a holiday observed as the

Bukovina Day Bukovina Day ( ro, Ziua Bucovinei) is a public holiday of Romania celebrated every 28 November that commemorates the decision of the General Congress of Bukovina to unite the region of Bukovina with the Kingdom of Romania on 28 November 1918. ...

Geography

Bukovina proper has an area of . The territory of Romanian (or Southern) Bukovina is located in northeastern Romania and it is part of the

(plus three localities in

Botoșani County Botoșani County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani. De ...

), whereas Ukrainian (or Northern) Bukovina is located in

western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

and it is part of the Chernivtsi Oblast.

Population

Historical population

The region was occupied by several now extinct peoples. The people that have longest inhabited the region, whose language has survived to this day, are the Ruthenian-speakers. The Early Slavs/Slavic-speakers emerged as early as in the 4th century in this area, with the Antes controlling a large area that included Bukovina by the 6th century. Later, the region was part of Kievan Rus', and later still of the

Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia , conventional_long_name = Principality of Galicia–VolhyniaKingdom of Galicia–Volhynia , common_name = Galicia–Volhynia , status = Vassal state of the Golden Horde (from 1246) , era = Middle Ages , year_start = 1199 , year_end = 1349 , ...

. During this period it reinforced its ties to other Ukrainian lands, with many Bukovinian natives studying in Lviv and Kyiv, and the Orthodox Bukovinian Church flourishing in the region. After passing to Hungary in the 14th century, the Hungarian king appointed Dragoș as his deputy and facilitated the migration of Romanians from Maramureș and Transylvania into Bukovina. Then, a process of Rumanization was carried out in the area. In spite of this, the north of Bukovina managed to remain "solidly Ukrainian." While there exist different views on the ethnic composition of the south, it is accepted that the north of Bukovina remained largely, if not wholly, Ukrainian. The only data we have about the ethnic composition of Bukovina are the Austrian censuses starting from the 1770s. The Austrians hindered both Romanian and Ukrainian nationalisms. On the other hand, they favored the migration in Bukovina of Romanians from Transylvania and Maramureș, as well as Ukrainians from Galicia. According to the 1775 Austrian census, the province had a total population of 86,000 (this included 56 villages which were returned to Moldavia one year later). The census only recorded social status and some ethno-religious groups (

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, and

colonists). In 1919, the historian Ion Nistor stated that the

constituted an overwhelming majority in 1774, roughly 64,000 (85%) of the 75,000 total population. Meanwhile, always according to Nistor, about 8,000 (10%) were

, and 3,000 (4%) other ethnic groups.

Keith Hitchins Keith Arnold Hitchins (April 2, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was an American historian and a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Romania and its history. He was born in Schenect ...

. ''The Romanians 1774–1866.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press (1996), pp. 226 On the other hand, just four years before the same Nistor estimated that the 1774 population consisted of 52,750 Romanians (also called Moldavians) (73.5%), 15,000

and

Hutsuls The Hutsuls (sometimes the spelling variant: Gutsuls; uk, Гуцули, translit=Hutsuly; pl, Huculi, Hucułowie; ro, huțuli) are an ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). They ...

(20.9%) (of whom 6,000 were Hutsuls, and 9,000 were Ruthenian immigrants from Galicia and

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

settled in Moldavia around 1766), and 4,000 others who "use the Romanian language in conversation" (5.6%), consisting of Armenians, Jews and Roma. In 2011, an anthroponimical analysis of the Russian census of the population of Moldavia in 1774 asserted a population of 68,700 people in 1774, out of which 40,920 (59.6%) Romanians, 22,810 Ruthenians and Hutsuls (33.2%), and 7.2% Jews, Roma, and Armenians. Biserica Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Dornesti3

Biserica Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Dornesti3

Based on the above anthroponimical estimate for 1774 as well as subsequent official censuses, the ethnic composition of Bukovina changed in the years after 1775 when the Austrian Empire occupied the region. The population of Bukovina increased steadily, primarily through immigration, which Austrian authorities encouraged in order to develop the economy.Raimund Friedrich Kaindl. ''Das Ansiedlungswesen in der Bukowina seit der Besitzergreifung durch Österreich.'' Innsbruck (1902), pp. 1–71 Indeed, the migrants entering the region came from Romanian Transylvania and Moldavia, as well as from Ukrainian Galicia. As reported by Nistor, in 1781 the Austrian authorities had reported that Bukovina's rural population was composed mostly of immigrants, with only about 6,000 of the 23,000 recorded families being "truly Moldavian". In Nistor's view, this referred only to the Moldavian population native to the region, while the total population included a significant number of Romanian immigrants from

and

. Another Austrian official report from 1783, referring to the villages between the Dniester and the Prut, indicated Ruthenian-speaking immigrants from Poland constituting a majority, with only a quarter of the population speaking Moldavian. The same report indicated that Moldavians constituted the majority in the area of Suceava. H.F. Müller gives the 1840 population used for purposes of military conscription as 339,669. According to Alecu Hurmuzaki, by 1848, 55% of the population was Romanian. At the same time, the Ukrainian population rose to 108,907 and the Jewish population surged from 526 in 1774, to 11,600 in 1848. In 1843 the

Ruthenian language Ruthenian ( Belarusian: руская мова; Ukrainian: руська мова; Ruthenian: руска(ѧ) мова; also see other names) is an exonymic linguonym for a closely-related group of East Slavic linguistic varieties, particularly th ...

was recognized, along with the

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...

, as 'the language of the people and of the Church in Bukovina'. During the 19th century, as mentioned, the Austrian Empire policies encouraged the influx of migrants coming from Transylvania, Moldavia, Galicia and the heartland of Austria and Germany, with Germans, Poles, Jews, Hungarians, Romanians, and Ukrainians settling in the region.
Bukovina Handbook
', prepared under the Direction of the Historical Section of the British Foreign Office No.6. Published in London, Feb.1919. Official censuses in the

(later

) did not record ethnolinguistic data until 1850–1851. The 1857 and 1869 censuses omitted ethnic or language-related questions. 'Familiar language spoken' was not recorded again until 1880. The Austrian census of 1850–1851, which for the first time recorded data regarding languages spoken, shows 48.50%

and 38.07%

. Subsequent Austrian censuses between 1880 and 1910 reveal a Romanian population stabilizing around 33% and a Ukrainian population around 40%. From 1774 to 1910, the percentage of Ukrainians increased, meanwhile the one of Romanians decreased. According to the

1930 Romanian Census This article presents the demographic history of Romania through census results. See Demographics of Romania for a more detailed overview of the country's present-day demographics. The 1930 census was the only one to cover Greater Romania. Censuse ...

, Bukovina had a population of 853,009. Romanians made up 44.5% of the population, while 27.7% were Ukrainians/Ruthenians (plus 1.5% Hutsuls), 10.8% Jews, 8.9% Germans, 3.6% Poles, and 3.0% others or undeclared. According to estimates and censuses data, the population of Bukovina was: Note: e-estimate; c-census

Current population

The present demographic situation in Bukovina hardly resembles that of the

. The northern (Ukrainian) and southern (Romanian) parts became significantly dominated by their Ukrainian and Romanian majorities, respectively, with the representation of other ethnic groups being decreased significantly. According to the data of the

2001 Ukrainian census The Ukrainian Census of 2001 is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.

, the

represent about 75% (689,100) of the population of Chernivtsi Oblast, which is the closest, although not an exact, approximation of the territory of the historic Northern Bukovina. The census also identified a fall in the

and Moldovan populations to 12.5% (114,600) and 7.3% (67,200), respectively.

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

are the next largest ethnic group with 4.1%, while

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

, and

comprise the rest 1.2%. The languages of the population closely reflect the ethnic composition, with over 90% within each of the major ethnic groups declaring their national language as the mother tongue (

, and Russian, respectively). The fact that

and Moldovans, a

self-declared Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declari ...

majority in some regions, were presented as separate categories in the census results, has been criticized in Romania, where there are complains that this artificial

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-era practice results in the Romanian population being undercounted, as being divided between

and Moldovans. The Romanian minority of Ukraine also claims to represent a 500,000-strong community. The Romanians mostly inhabit the southern part of the Chernivtsi region, having been the majority in former

Hertsa Raion Hertsa Raion or Hertza Raion ( uk, Герцаївський район, translit.: ''Hertsaiivs'kyi raion''; ro, Raionul Herța ) was an administrative raion (district) in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine, on the Romani ...

and forming a plurality together with Moldovans in former Hlyboka Raion. Self-declared Moldovans were the majority in Novoselytsia Raion. In the other eight districts and the city of

were the majority. However, after the 2020 administrative reform in Ukraine, all these districts were abolished, and most of the areas merged into Chernivtsi Raion, where Romanians are not in majority anymore. The southern, or Romanian Bukovina reportedly has a significant Romanian majority (94.8%) according to Romanian sources, the largest minority group being the

(1.9%) according to Romanian sources and Ukrainians, who make up 0.9% of the population (2011 census). Other minor ethnic groups include

Lipovans , flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png , flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans , image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg , caption = Lipovans during a ceremony in front of the Lipovan church in the Romanian village of Slava Cercheză in 2004 ...

(in

Cacica Cacica ( pl, Kaczyka, german: Kaczika) is a commune located in Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania. The commune is located in the central part of the county, from the town of Gura Humorului, from the city ...

Mănăstirea Humorului Mănăstirea Humorului (german: Humora Kloster/Kloster Humora) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of three villages, namely: Mănăstirea Humorului, Pleșa, and Poiana Micului. The 16th-century ...

Mușenița Mușenița (german: Muszenitza) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of five villages, namely: Baineț (german: Baincze; the commune center), Climăuți, Mușenița, Vășcăuți, and Vicșani. ...

, Moara, and Păltinoasa), Zipser Germans (in Cârlibaba and Iacobeni) and

Bukovina Germans ''Buchelanddeutsche'' , native_name_lang = , image = , image_caption = , image_alt = , image_upright = , total = , total_year = , total_source = , total_ref = , genealogy ...

in Suceava and

, as well as

and

(almost exclusively in Suceava,

and Siret). Concerns have been raised about the way census are handled in Romania. For example, according to the 2011 Romanian census,

Ukrainians of Romania The Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, ro, Ucraineni) are the third-largest ethnic minority in Romania. According to the 2011 Romanian census they number 51,703 people, making up 0.3% of the total population. Ukrainians claim that the number ...

number 51,703 people, making up 0.3% of the total population."Comunicat de presă privind rezultatele provizorii ale Recensământului Populației și Locuințelor – 2011"
, at the 2011 census site; accessed February 2, 2012. However, Ukrainian nationalists of the 1990s claimed the region had 110,000 Ukrainians."The Ukrainians: Engaging the 'Eastern Diaspora'". By Andrew Wilson. (1999). In Charles King, Neil Melvin (Eds.) ''Nations Abroad''. Wesview Press, p. 119. The Ukrainian descendants of the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...

who fled Russian rule in the 18th century, living in the

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

region of the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...

, also complained similar practices. In 1992, their descendants numbered four thousand people according to official Romanian statistics.Calculated from statistics for the counties of Tulcea and Constanța from However, the local community claims to number 20,000, five times the number stated by Romanian authorities. Rumanization, with the closure of schools and suppression of the language, happened in all areas in present-day Romania where the Ukrainians live or lived. The very term "Ukrainians" was prohibited from the official usage and some Romanians of disputable Ukrainian ethnicity were rather called the "citizens of Romania who forgot their native language" and were forced to change their last names to Romanian-sounding ones.Oleksandr Derhachov (editor), "Ukrainian Statehood in the Twentieth Century: Historical and Political Analysis", Chapter: "Ukraine in Romanian concepts of the foreign policy", 1996, Kiev In Bukovina, the practice of Rumanization dates to much earlier than the 20th century. Since Louis of Hungary appointed Dragoș, Voivode of Moldavia as his deputy, there was an introduction of Romanians in Bukovina, and a process of Rumanization that intensified in the 1560s. Places such as the etymologically Ukrainian Breaza and

(whose name in

is ''Russ Moldawitza'', and used to be ''Ruska Moldavyda'' in Ukrainian),

Șerbăuți Șerbăuți ( uk, Шербеуць, german: Scherboutz) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Euro ...

and Siret used to have an overwhelming Ukrainian majority. In some places in southern Bukovina, such as Balkivtsi (Romanian: ''Bălcăuți''),

Izvoarele Sucevei Izvoarele Sucevei ( uk, Ізвори, ''Izvory'', german: Iswor) is a Commune in Romania, commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of three villages: namely Bobeica, Brodina (also called ''Brodina de Sus'') ...

, Ulma and Negostina, Ukrainian majority is still reported in Romanian census. On other hand in North Bukovina the Romanians used to be the biggest ethnic group in the city of

, as well as in the towns of

Hlyboka Hlyboka ( uk, Глибока; German and pl, Hliboka; ro, Adâncata) is an urban-type settlement in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Hlyboka settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukrain ...

and

, and still are in

Boiany Boiany ( uk, Бояни; ro, Boian; yi, באיאן ''Boyan'') is a village in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located close to Sadagura in the historic region of Bukovina. It hosts the administration of ...

and

Krasnoilsk Krasnoilsk ( uk, Красноїльськ; ro, Crasna or ) is an urban-type settlement in Chernivtsi Raion (district) of Chernivtsi Oblast in the west of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Krasnoilsk settlement hromada, one of the hromada ...

Urban settlements

Southern Bukovina

Northern Bukovina

Gallery

File:View on Suceava (Romania) from Fortess.jpg, The town of Suceava (

and

: ''Suczawa''), the largest in southern Bukovina File:Palatul Administrativ din Suceava12.jpg, The Administrative Palace in Suceava (

and

: ''Suczawa'') File:Fosta prefectură și hotel, Rădăuți (2).JPG,

(german: Radautz) File:Obcina Feredeului.JPG,

Câmpulung Moldovenesc Câmpulung Moldovenesc (; formerly spelled ''Cîmpulung Moldovenesc'') is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Câmpulung Moldovenesc is the fourth largest urban settlement in the c ...

(german: Kimpolung) File:RO SV Vatra Dornei street 1.jpg,

(german: Dorna-Watra) File:Gura Humorului - panoramio (3).jpg,

Gura Humorului Gura Humorului (; Hebrew and Yiddish: גורה חומורולוי - ''Gure Humuruluei'' or גורא הומאָרא - ''Gura Humora''; German and Polish: ''Gura Humora'') is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the his ...

(german: Gura Humora) File:Centrul orașului Frasin (4).jpg,

Frasin Frasin (german: Frassin or Fraßin) is a town in Suceava County, mountainous northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Frasin is the thirteenth-largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 5,702 ...

(german: Frassin/Fraßin) File:Biserica Nasterea Sf. Fecioare Maria din Siret16.jpg, Siret (german: Sereth) File:Solca vue generale.jpg,

Solca Solca (german: Solka; pl, Solka; hu, Szolka) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Solca is the smallest town in the county and the third smallest town in Romania, with a populat ...

((

and

: ''Solka'') File:Bukovina.JPG, The Carpathian Mountains in Bukovina File:Karpatenlandschaft bei Slatioara.JPG, Slătioara secular forest,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

File:Voronet Intrare.JPG,

Voroneț Monastery The Voroneț Monastery is a medieval monastery in the Romanian village of Voroneț, now a part of the town Gura Humorului. It is one of the famous painted monasteries from southern Bukovina, in Suceava County. The monastery was constructed by ...

World Heritage site File:Manastirea putna1.jpg, Medieval

in Putna,

File:HerrenGasse 830.jpg, The German House in

( ro, Cernăuți, german: Czernowitz) File:Chernivtsi_University.jpg,

Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Chernivtsi, Ukraine was built for the Eastern Orthodox metropolitan bishop between 1864 and 1882 to the designs of the Czech architect Josef Hlávka from Austria-Hungary. The Residence, w ...

World Heritage site File:Kirlibaba.jpg, Cârlibaba (german: Mariensee/Ludwigsdorf) File:Rumunia, Kaczyka, kościół rzymskokatolicki DSCF7626.jpg, The Polish basilica in Cacica ( pl, Kaczyka) File:Romania Putna Biserica Coborârea Duhului Sfânt din Putna.jpg, The Roman Catholic church of the

Bukovina Germans ''Buchelanddeutsche'' , native_name_lang = , image = , image_caption = , image_alt = , image_upright = , total = , total_year = , total_source = , total_ref = , genealogy ...

in Putna File:Fundu Moldovei town hall.jpg,

Fundu Moldovei Fundu Moldovei (german: Luisenthal/Louisenthal or Fundul Moldawi/Fundu-Moldowi) is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of ten villages, namely: Botuș, Botușel, Braniștea, Colacu, Delnița, Delu� ...

(german: Luisenthal) File:RO SV Iacobeni (46).JPG, Iacobeni (german: Jakobeny) File:SolonetuNou.jpg,

Solonețu Nou Cacica ( pl, Kaczyka, german: Kaczika) is a commune located in Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania. The commune is located in the central part of the county, from the town of Gura Humorului, from the cit ...

( pl, Nowy Sołoniec) village File:Biserica Sf. Mihail si Gavriil din Maneuti.jpg, Măneuți ( hu, Andrásfalva) File:Humor monastery5.jpg,

(german: Humora Kloster) File:Moldovita forest railway 2013-07-12 03.jpg, Mocănița-Huțulca-Moldovița narrow-gauge steam train in Suceava County

Notes

References

External links

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City of Chernivtsy

The Metropolitanate of Moldavia and Bucovina (Romanian Orthodox Church)
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JEWISH GALICIA & BUKOVINAThings to do when visiting Bucovina
{{Authority control Historical regions in Romania Historical regions in Ukraine Historical regions Moldavia Divided regions Rusyn communities

Name

History

Background

Early settlement

Kievan Rus

Principality of Galicia-Volhynia

Polish and Moldavian period

Austrian Empire

Late 19th to early 20th centuries

Ukrainian national sentiment

Kingdom of Romania

Division of Bukovina

Second World War

After the war

Geography

Population

Historical population

Current population

Urban settlements

Southern Bukovina

Northern Bukovina

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links