Figure 1.-- Here we have a Ukrainian school class (1936). The writing on the back reads "IIb 1936. Mykhailo Zayats. In Uzhhorod. In Uzh. p. 1936-36." "II" we think means The second year in a secondary school. "b" probably means the second class form/grade. 1936 is when the photograph was taken. "Mykhailo Zayats" is the name of the boys whose parents saved the photo, perhaps the boy marked "toit" on the photograph. "Uzhhorod" is a town in far western Ukraine. It is a historic city in western Ukraine, located on the Uzh River near the Slovak and Hungarian borders. Uzh is the river running through the city. p. 1936-37" is the school year. It looks like the boys have individually signed the back of the photograph. As was common throughout Europe at the time, secondary schools were mostly single gender schools. Click on the image to see the rest of the class .

The Soviet Ukrainization policies of the 1920s had led to the expansion of Ukrainian-language education, cultural institutions, and teacher training programs, which significantly promoted the Ukrainian language and some aspects of national culture. The early 30s priced to be the peak of Ukranization. Resistance to the Communists, especially the collectivization of land led Stalin to adopt genocidal measures to enforce compliance. Stalin was shocked by the level of resistance to his policies in Ukraine. He seems to have blamed in in part on the Ukranzation policies of the 1920s. Stalin issued the the infamous resolution "On grain procurement in Ukraine, the North Caucasus and the Western region" (December 14, 1932). It marked the end of Ukrainization. The NKVD began 'subduing by hunger', exporting grain and food from Ukraine, looting and destroying elevators and agricultural machinery. Stalin engineering a genocidal famine to destroy the Ukrainian peasantry (1932-33). At the same time, the Russification of the population was resumed,in particular: schools began to be taught in Russian again and Ukrainian books were being confiscated from libraries. 【Holodomor Museum】 Many Ukrainian schools were closed or converted to Russian instruction, especially in regions with smaller Ukrainian populations Ukrainian-language books and teaching materials were confiscated, and Ukrainian-language education was restricted, Soviet authorities used education to promote Soviet ideology and loyalty, replacing national cultural content with pro-Soviet curricula. . In some areas, especially in the Ukrainian SSR, Ukrainian-language schools persisted to ban extent, but their numbers and influence declined sharply after 1932. Here we see younger secondary school students in 1936 (figure 1). These boys probably attended primary schools being taught in Urania, but in schools, especially secondary schools, by 1936, he language of instruction was Russian. You can see their teacher in the center. This was a dangerous time for teachers. Fortunately for many, the Russian and Ukrainian languages are similar Slavic languages, but there are differences and more importantly at he time wider political considerations. There are many similarities between the Ukrainian and Russian languages, as the two nations have been connected politically and geographically for centuries with Russians being the governing nation. In some aspects, however, Ukrainian is more similar to Slovak or Polish than to the Russian language. The Ukrainian intelligentsia, including most writers and a third of its teachers, were targeted as part of the Holodomor. 【Malko】 The NKVD saw supporters of Ukrainian cultural and educational initiatives as threats to Soviet authority. Those who resisted or just perceived as loyal to Ukrainian national aspirations were arrested, sent to labor camps, or executed. This meant that many Ukrainian-speaking teachers, especially those active in the 1920s–early 1930s, faced dismissal, imprisonment, or death, especially if they were politically active or openly critical of Soviet control.

Sources

Bondarchuk, Petro, Andriyovych Mykolayovych, and Viktor Mykhailovych Danylenko. "Українізації політика" [Ukrainisation policy]. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). (Kyiv: Institute of History of Ukraine, (2026).

Holodomor Museum. "Національний музей Голодомору-геноциду" (2022).

Malko, Victoria. The Ukrainian Intelligentsia and Genocide - The Struggle for History, Language, and Culture in the 1920s and 1930s (2024).

Nahrybelniy, Ya. "Formation an Development in Ukrainian Lands in 19th-20th centuries in he context of modern historical and pedagogical researches," Innovative Solution in Modern Science (2020) Vol. 2, No. 38.

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Created: 5:46 AM 6/15/2026
Last updated: 5:46 AM 6/15/2026