CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html lang="en"> <head>  <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-KGJZMMX');</script>  <script type="text/javascript"> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-29277122-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <META content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <META http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css"> <META http-equiv="Content-Script-Type" content="text/javascript"> <meta name="norton-safeweb-site-verification" content="jazg3njqarvwzb6hugexme0l9n56sj3bz6oz2jbv9whid98y65iude81ix7gopuf3i6gdfaikvo35e58tlb6-oumux22ocwohj3owmvvszf3kx8d-oordn0c6w3x41wj"> <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="INDEX, FOLLOW"> <META name="keywords" content="Merchants, купці; kuptsi, reference work, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Інтернетова Енциклопедія України (ІЕУ), Ukraine, Ukraina, Україна"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="57x57" href="/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="60x60" href="/apple-touch-icon-60x60.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="72x72" href="/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="114x114" href="/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="120x120" href="/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="144x144" href="/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/favicon-16x16.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <link rel="mask-icon" href="/safari-pinned-tab.svg?v=Km2wkp7okQ" color="#5bbad5"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#ffc40d"> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="/mstile-144x144.png?v=Km2wkp7okQ"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/allMD.css" type="text/css" media="screen, projection">  <title>Merchants</title> </head> <body>  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-KGJZMMX" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <div id="main" class="main marginZero" role="main"> <div class="hp bg8 tc " > <div > <div class="clear"></div> <div class=" bannerBack marginZero" > <div id="MobileOneLineMenu1" class="Link_Buttons"> <a href="#" type="button" onclick="document.getElementById('MobileOneLineMenu1').style.cssText = ' font-size: 0; height: 0;'; document.getElementById('MobileOneLineMenu2').style.cssText = ' font-size: 1.8em; height: 2.6em;';showMe()">Menu</a> </div> <div id="MobileOneLineMenu2" class="Link_Buttons"> <a href="#" type="button" onclick="document.getElementById('MobileOneLineMenu2').style.cssText = 'font-size: 0; height: 0;'; document.getElementById('MobileOneLineMenu1').style.cssText = ' font-size: 1.8em; height: 2.6em; margin-right: .74em;';notDisplay()">Menu</a> </div> <div class="lower "> <a href="#main"> <img src="images/DBHFill.gif" width="1" height="1" alt="Skip Navigation"></a> <div id="MobileFullMenu" class="mattblacktabs marginZero"> <ul> <li><a href="default.asp" class="buttonHeight buttonWidth marginZero" title=" Go to Home Page ">Home</a></li> <li><a href="info.asp" class="buttonHeight buttonWidth marginZero" title=" View information about IEU ">About IEU</a></li> <li><a href="help.asp" class=" buttonHeight buttonWidth marginZero" title=" View user's instructions, tips and editorial information ">User Info</a></li> <li><a href="contact.asp" class=" buttonHeight buttonWidth marginZero" title=" Contact IEU staff ">Contact Address</a></li> <li><a href="donor.asp" class=" buttonHeight buttonWidth marginZero" title="Donate to Encyclopedia">Donate to IEU</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="largeMenu" class="mattblacktabs marginZero"> <ul role="navigaton"> <li ><a href="default.asp" title=" Go to Home Page " >Home</a></li> <li><a href="info.asp" title=" View information about IEU ">About IEU</a></li> <li><a href="help.asp" title=" View user's instructions, tips and editorial information ">User Info</a></li> <li><a href="main-index.asp" title=" Use IEU Index to search for entry titles ">Index Search</a></li> <li><a href="contact.asp" title=" Contact IEU staff ">Contact Address</a></li> <li><a href="donor.asp" title="Donate to Encyclopedia">Donate to IEU</a></li> </ul> </div> <form name="FormMain" id="Blockkk" method="post" action="alphasearch.asp" class="SearchFloat SearchPosition"> <input id="submit1" type="submit" class="inputButton buttonHeightSub" title=" Search Titles in Encyclopedia " value=" Title " onClick="document.FormMain.action='alphasearch.asp' + '?q=' + document.getElementById('email').value;"> <input id="submit2" type="submit" class="inputButton buttonHeightSub" title=" Full Text Search " value="Text " onClick="document.FormMain.action='query.asp' +'?q=' + document.getElementById('email').value; method='post'" > <input id="submit3" type="submit" class="inputButton buttonHeightSub" title=" Use advanced search functions to search IEU database " value="ADV " onClick="document.FormMain.action='advanced.asp' + '?q=' + document.getElementById('email').value;" > <div id="SearchFieldMobile" class="mattblacktabs" > <label for="email" class="visuallyhidden">Search: </label> <input id="email" type="text" name="Textalpha" value="Search" onfocus="this.value=''"> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="bg9 tc float90 marginZero" > <div class="clear"></div> <BR> <H1>Merchants</H1>   <div> <div class="marginZero"> <ul class="fl NoListStyle"> <li class="NoListStyle"> <form name="MyFormPrevious" method="post" Action="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/previous.asp?bottomMenuDisplay=pages%5CM%5CE%5CMerchants.htm&KidNumer=8803"> <input type="hidden" name="Previous entry" value="pages\M\E\Merchants.htm"> <a href="javascript:document.MyFormPrevious.submit()" TITLE="Previous Entry" class="inlineBlockDisplay"><Strong><<<</Strong></a> </form> </li> </ul> <ul class=" fr NoListStyle" role="navigaton"> <li > <form name="MyFormNext" method="post" Action="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/next.asp?bottomMenuDisplay=pages%5CM%5CE%5CMerchants.htm&KidNumer=8803"> <input type="hidden" name="Next entry" value="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages\M\E\Merchants.htm"> <a href="javascript:document.MyFormNext.submit()" TITLE="Next Entry" class="inlineBlockDisplay"><Strong>>>></Strong></a> </form> </li> </ul> <ul class="NoListStyle" role="navigaton"> <li class="NoListStyle" > <A href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages%5CM%5CE%5CMerchants.htm" title="View black-on-white text, print, copy-and-paste" class="NoListStyle" rel="nofollow">print</A> </li> </ul> <div class="clear"></div> </div>   <div class="clear"></div> <div id="picturesColumnRight">   </div> <div class="bg9 tc marginZero">  <div class="fl"> <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/picturedisplay.asp?linkpath=pic%5CB%5CR%5CBrandt%20Jozef%20Fair%20in%20Balta.jpg&page=pages%5CM%5CE%5CMerchants.htm&id=8803&pid=7156&tyt=Merchants&key=Merchants%2C+%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%86%D1%96%3B+kuptsi"><img class="thumbnailWW" src="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pic%5CB%5CR%5CBrandt%20Jozef%20Fair%20in%20Balta.jpg" title="Jozef Brandt: A fair in Balta." alt="Image - Jozef Brandt: A fair in Balta."> </a>  </div> <A name="TopPosition"> </A> <a name="main"></a> <P class="padingHistoryLand"><STRONG>Merchants</STRONG> [купці; kuptsi]. A social <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a> in precapitalist societies, involved in trade. Under conditions of modern capitalism merchants are part of the capitalist or entrepreneurial classes. </P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">Ukraine’s merchant <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a> first appeared in <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CY%5CKyivanRushDA.htm">Kyivan Rus’</a>, where domestic trade played an important part in economic life. Merchants sold <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CA%5CR%5CArms.htm">arms</a>, jewelry, and other items of artisan production made in Kyiv, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CN%5CO%5CNovgorodtheGreat.htm">Novgorod the Great</a>, and <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CH%5CChernihiv.htm">Chernihiv</a> to all parts of the realm. The southern regions of Kyivan Rus’ supplied the northern parts with <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CR%5CGrain.htm">grain</a>. Salt mined in <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CA%5CGalicia.htm">Galicia</a> was also a significant commodity of trade in the period. <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CF%5CA%5CFairs.htm">Fairs</a>, which existed in most of the larger towns of Kyivan Rus’, played an important role in the development of trade. <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CY%5CKyiv.htm">Kyiv</a> was the most important center of trade, with (according to eyewitness accounts) eight fairs at the beginning of the 11th century. <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRushDA.htm">Rus’</a> was also active in foreign trade with <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CY%5CByzantium.htm">Byzantium</a>, Central Europe, Central Asia, and the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CF%5CA%5CFarEast.htm">Far East</a>. Merchants from Armenia, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CO%5CPoland.htm">Poland</a>, Moravia and <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CO%5CBohemia.htm">Bohemia</a>, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CE%5CGermany.htm">Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CI%5CT%5CItaly.htm">Italy</a>, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CF%5CR%5CFrance.htm">France</a>, and <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CA%5CR%5CArab.htm">Arab</a> lands established a presence in Kyiv, and some settled there permanently. In the early 11th century <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CY%5CKyiv.htm">Kyiv</a> had colonies of Venetian, German, and Far Eastern merchants.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">Until the mid-11th century the Kyivan <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CR%5CPrinces.htm">princes</a> and their retainers dominated foreign trade and often combined trade activity with plunder. From the second half of the 11th century, as Kyivan society became more developed, professional merchants emerged whose services the princes would use. The largest contingent of merchants in <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CY%5CKyivanRushDA.htm">Kyivan Rus’</a> in the period, however, consisted of townsmen involved in trade, primarily for the domestic market. Merchants, together with the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CN%5CO%5CNobility.htm">nobility</a>, dominated <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRushDA.htm">Rus’</a> towns. Merchants were often unpopular with <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CU%5CBurghers.htm">burghers</a> and urban dwellers since they used their <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CM%5CO%5CMonopoly.htm">monopoly</a> control of certain commodities to increase prices. In 1113, for example, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CY%5CKyiv.htm">Kyiv</a>’s population revolted against the merchants to protest their unfair trade practices (see <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CY%5CKyivUprisingof1113.htm">Kyiv Uprising of 1113</a>).</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">The <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CT%5CA%5CTatar.htm">Tatar</a>-<a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CM%5CO%5CMongol.htm">Mongol</a> invasions in the mid-13th century dealt a serious blow to trade and to the development of Ukraine’s merchant class. For a period of time most trade with the East ceased. The subsequent incursion of Ottoman forces and of the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CR%5CCrimeanTatars.htm">Crimean Tatars</a> in the 14th and 15th centuries also served to limit trade. In the 15th and 16th centuries, under Lithuanian and Polish rule, the further development of distinctive social groups and the growth of the urban population (which expanded the domestic market) promoted the development of Ukraine’s merchant class. The fact that Ukrainian cities and towns served as intermediaries in trade between Western Europe and the East was also of great significance for the growth of the country’s merchant class. Under Polish rule, however, Orthodox (Ukrainian) merchants were the objects of discriminatory policies that strengthened the position of Polish and German merchants in Ukrainian towns. Ukrainian merchants remained a significant force in Western Ukrainian towns, where they were closely interrelated with the region’s <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CN%5CO%5CNobility.htm">nobility</a>. The rise of the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CO%5CCossacks.htm">Cossacks</a> as a social force in the early 16th century served to strengthen the Ukrainian merchant <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a> since many <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CO%5CCossacks.htm">Cossacks</a> were involved in trade.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">The last decades of the 17th and first decades of the 18th century were characterized by a large and intensive expansion of trade and Ukrainian merchant prosperity in <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CL%5CE%5CLeft6BankUkraine.htm">Left-Bank Ukraine</a> under the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetmanstate.htm">Hetman state</a>, an expansion owing to a number of factors. First, Western Europe had been starved of Ukrainian raw materials because of the disruption of commercial relations during the period of the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRuin.htm">Ruin</a> and was eager to resume trade. The Ukrainian market, hitherto denied access to Western European manufactured goods for similar reasons, showed a high demand for imports. Second, because Russian merchants had not been granted a privileged position, Ukrainian merchants were the most active participants in the burgeoning trade with Western Europe. Finally, the development of a money economy, the accumulation of merchant capital, and the increase in the size of landholdings in Left-Bank Ukraine contributed to a growth in production which necessitated the search for new Western markets. Trade involved a significant portion of the population, as is indicated by the fact that approximately 46 percent of the Left-Bank population, that is, roughly 450,000 people, lived in towns. Almost one-third of the urban population was engaged in commerce, approximately 10 percent as merchants. Initially the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CO%5CCossacks.htm">Cossacks</a>, particularly the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CO%5CCossackstarshynaIT.htm">Cossack <I>starshyna</I></a>, were the most important merchants, but as trade developed, merchants arose from among the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CU%5CBurghers.htm">burghers</a> of Ukrainian towns to play a dominant role.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">Because Ukrainian trade was relatively lucrative, it came to the attention of Russian officials, especially when Russian state finances reached a state of crisis as a consequence of <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CE%5CPeterI.htm">Peter I</a>’s reforms and wars. Although the tsar attempted to interfere with Ukrainian commerce before the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CO%5CPoltavaBattleof.htm">Battle of Poltava</a> (1709), his efforts were largely unsuccessful because of the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetmanate.htm">Hetmanate</a>’s <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CA%5CU%5CAutonomy.htm">autonomy</a>. After the defeat of <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetman.htm">Hetman</a> <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CM%5CA%5CMazepaIvan.htm">Ivan Mazepa</a> at <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CO%5CPoltava.htm">Poltava</a> Ukraine's trade and its merchants came under the control of the Russian state and of a few Russian merchant houses which had a privileged relationship to that state. Ukrainian trade routes were ordered redirected to Russian ports; trade in a wide range of commodities was disallowed; and high export <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CU%5CDuties.htm">duties</a> and new taxes were imposed. Russian commercial institutions and practices were extended into the territory of the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetmanstate.htm">Hetman state</a>, notably the Russian treasury’s <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CM%5CO%5CMonopoly.htm">monopoly</a> of trade in a series of goods and commodities, and the <I>gosti</I> (‘guests’)—privileged Russian merchants who acted as the state’s agents in collecting state revenues (<a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CU%5CCustomsduties.htm">customs duties</a> and excises), and through whom the treasury traded in prohibited goods. Those measures sounded the death knell for Ukrainian merchants. The number of merchant bankruptcies increased dramatically in the 1710s and 1720s. Equally fatal for Ukrainian merchants were the bans on imports imposed by <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRussia.htm">Russia</a>.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">The new conditions resulted in a penetration of the Ukrainian market by Russians. To avoid paying double <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CU%5CDuties.htm">duties</a> Ukrainian merchants started hiring <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRussians.htm">Russians</a> to transport their goods and also engaged Russian partners. Since Russian traders were not subjected to the same tax burdens and duties as Ukrainians, many Russian merchants migrated to Ukraine and started competing directly with the local population. Although Ukrainian merchants and hetmans protested against those conditions, they were unable to stop them or their consequences. By the end of the 18th century Russian merchants had conquered the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetmanstate.htm">Hetman state</a>. They also dominated the growing merchant <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a> in <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CS%5CO%5CSouthernUkraine.htm">Southern Ukraine</a>. The 1832 census showed that of the 32,000 merchants who belonged to the merchants’ guild, 22.2 percent were Ukrainians, 52.6 percent were Russians, and 20.9 percent were <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CJ%5CE%5CJews.htm">Jews</a>. There were no <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5CK%5CUkrainians.htm">Ukrainians</a> in the upper or first <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CU%5CGuild.htm">guild</a> (involved in foreign trade), only 15 percent in the second, and 26 percent in the third. The third guild largely operated locally, an indication of the thoroughness with which the internal Ukrainian market had been conquered.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">In Right-Bank Ukraine, under Polish rule until the end of the 18th century, Ukrainian merchants suffered rapid decline because of Polish policies. The abolition of <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CO%5CCossackdom.htm">Cossackdom</a> permanently undermined the juridical and economic position of an important sector of Ukraine’s merchant group. The old <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CF%5CE%5CFeudal.htm">feudal</a> order was reimposed in <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CI%5CRight6BankUkraine.htm">Right-Bank Ukraine</a> by Polish <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CN%5CO%5CNobles.htm">nobles</a>, who began to take private ownership of towns and direct control of the most lucrative branches of trade. Discrimination against Orthodox Ukrainian <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CU%5CBurghers.htm">burghers</a> further undermined the indigenous merchant <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a>. Ukrainian merchants went bankrupt, some escaped to <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CL%5CE%5CLeft6BankUkraine.htm">Left-Bank Ukraine</a>, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CM%5CO%5CMoldavia.htm">Moldavia</a>, or the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CZ%5CA%5CZaporozhianSich.htm">Zaporozhian Sich</a>, and many slipped back into the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CE%5CPeasantry.htm">peasantry</a>.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">In Russian-ruled Ukraine merchants were formed into a separate estate and granted their own guild structure by tsarist decrees of 1775 and 1785. The 1897 general population census noted 30,456 members of the merchant estate in Ukraine, of whom only 11.7 percent were <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5CK%5CUkrainians.htm">Ukrainians</a>. <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CJ%5CE%5CJews.htm">Jews</a> and <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRussians.htm">Russians</a> formed the majority among the merchants. After the abolition of <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CS%5CE%5CSerfdom.htm">serfdom</a> in 1861 and with the growth of <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CI%5CN%5CIndustry.htm">industry</a>, some merchants transformed themselves into manufacturers and became part of the capitalist <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a>. The economic backwardness of the <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CU%5CRussianEmpire.htm">Russian Empire</a> was such, however, that merchant capital never played the leading role in industrialization there that it did in Western Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century merchants continued to dominate foreign trade, but their role in internal trade declined. In 1917, merchant <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CU%5CGuilds.htm">guilds</a> and estates were abolished.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">In <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CW%5CE%5CWesternUkraine.htm">Western Ukraine</a> under Austrian rule, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5CK%5CUkrainians.htm">Ukrainians</a> played an insignificant role in the merchant class. That <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CL%5CClass.htm">class</a> was dominated by <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CJ%5CE%5CJews.htm">Jews</a>, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CP%5CO%5CPoles.htm">Poles</a>, <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CE%5CGermans.htm">Germans</a>, Hungarians, and <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CR%5CO%5CRomanians.htm">Romanians</a>. In the 1920s and 1930s in Western Ukraine under Polish rule, there developed a small Ukrainian merchant class which had to face many discriminatory economic policies.</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand">BIBLIOGRAPHY<BR> Ohloblyn, O. <I>A History of Ukrainian Industry</I> (Munich 1971)<BR> Nestorovych, V. <I>Ukraïns'ki kuptsi i promyslovtsi v Zakhidnii Ukraïni, 1920–1945</I> (Toronto–Chicago, 1977)<BR> <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CO%5CKoropeckyjIwan.htm">Koropeckyj, Iwan</a> S. (ed). <I>Ukrainian Economic History: Interpretive Essays</I> (Cambridge, Mass 1990)<BR> Kotliar, M.; et al (eds). <I>Torhivlia na Ukraïni XIV–seredyna XVII stolittia: Volyn' i Naddniprianshchyna</I> (Kyiv 1990)<BR> Hurzhii, I., Hurzhii, O. <I>Kuptstvo Kyieva ta Kyivshchyny XVII–XIX stolit'</I> (Kyiv 2013)</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand" style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">Bohdan Krawchenko</P> <P class="padingHistoryLand" style="TEXT-ALIGN: right">[This article originally appeared in the <I>Encyclopedia of Ukraine</I>, vol. 5 (1993).]</P> <BR> <CENTER> <P class="padingHistoryLand"></P> </CENTER> </div> <div class="clear"></div>  <div class="bg9 marginbottom tc">    <div class="dr20 tc marginZero TotalWidth"> <A name="linksaddress"> </A> <BR> <HR class="marginZero"> <H2 class="tc mb b rozmiar50">List of related links from Encyclopedia of Ukraine pointing to <span class="FontDarkBlue b "> Merchants</span> entry: <BR> </H2> <Div> <label for="groovybtn1" class="visuallyhidden">1 Apostol, Danylo</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn1" name="groovybtn1" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 1 Apostol, Danylo " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CA%5CP%5CApostolDanylo.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn2" class="visuallyhidden">2 Arabs</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn2" name="groovybtn2" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 2 Arabs " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CA%5CR%5CArabs.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn3" class="visuallyhidden">3 Armenians</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn3" name="groovybtn3" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 3 Armenians " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CA%5CR%5CArmenians.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn4" class="visuallyhidden">4 Bakhchysarai</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn4" name="groovybtn4" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 4 Bakhchysarai " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CA%5CBakhchysarai.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn5" class="visuallyhidden">5 Baturyn</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn5" name="groovybtn5" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 5 Baturyn " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CA%5CBaturyn.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn6" class="visuallyhidden">6 Baturyn Articles</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn6" name="groovybtn6" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 6 Baturyn Articles " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CA%5CBaturynArticles.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn7" class="visuallyhidden">7 Belgium</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn7" name="groovybtn7" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 7 Belgium " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CE%5CBelgium.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn8" class="visuallyhidden">8 Berladnyk, Ivan Rostyslavych</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn8" name="groovybtn8" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 8 Berladnyk, Ivan Rostyslavych " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CE%5CBerladnykIvanRostyslavych.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn9" class="visuallyhidden">9 Bila Tserkva</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn9" name="groovybtn9" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 9 Bila Tserkva " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CI%5CBilaTserkva.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn10" class="visuallyhidden">10 Bohuslav</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn10" name="groovybtn10" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 10 Bohuslav " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CO%5CBohuslav.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn11" class="visuallyhidden">11 Boikos</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn11" name="groovybtn11" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 11 Boikos " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CO%5CBoikos.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn12" class="visuallyhidden">12 Brotherhoods</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn12" name="groovybtn12" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 12 Brotherhoods " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CR%5CBrotherhoods.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn13" class="visuallyhidden">13 Bulgaria</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn13" name="groovybtn13" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 13 Bulgaria " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CU%5CBulgaria.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn14" class="visuallyhidden">14 Burghers</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn14" name="groovybtn14" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 14 Burghers " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CU%5CBurghers.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn15" class="visuallyhidden">15 Byzantine Empire</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn15" name="groovybtn15" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 15 Byzantine Empire " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CB%5CY%5CByzantineEmpire.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn16" class="visuallyhidden">16 Casimir III the Great</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn16" name="groovybtn16" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 16 Casimir III the Great " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CA%5CCasimirIIItheGreat.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn17" class="visuallyhidden">17 Chernihiv</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn17" name="groovybtn17" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 17 Chernihiv " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CH%5CChernihiv.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn18" class="visuallyhidden">18 Chernihiv region</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn18" name="groovybtn18" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 18 Chernihiv region " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CH%5CChernihivregion.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn19" class="visuallyhidden">19 Chernivtsi</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn19" name="groovybtn19" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 19 Chernivtsi " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CH%5CChernivtsi.htm'"> <label for="groovybtn20" class="visuallyhidden">20 Church people</label> <INPUT id="groovybtn20" name="groovybtn20" class="groovybutton" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE=" 20 Church people " ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CH%5CChurchpeople.htm'"> </Div> <BR> <P class="tc"> <form name="bbback" action="self"> <label for="groovybtnN" class="visuallyhidden">Next 20 records</label> <INPUT id="groovybtnN" name="groovybtnN" class="groovybutton marginTenPix" TYPE=BUTTON VALUE="+ 20 Records >>" ONCLICK="document.location.href='https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?page=2&ffpath=pages%5CM%5CE%5CMerchants.htm#linksaddress'"> </form> <p class="tc b">A referral to this page is found in 120 entries.</p> <BR> </DIV> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=" bg8 tc marginZero FontWhite FontVerdana" aria-label="local"> <br> Click Home to get to the IEU Home page; to contact the IEU editors click Contact.<br> To learn more about IEU click About IEU and to view the list of donors and to become an IEU supporter click Donors.  <br>  <br> <ul class="marginZero" role="navigaton"> <li class="queryFontInline"><a class="buttonZ" href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com" title="IEU Home Web Page" target="_blank">Home</a></li> <li class="queryFontInline"><a class="buttonZ" href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/contact.asp" title="Contact IEU Staff" target="_blank">Contact</a></li> <li class="queryFontInline"><a class="buttonZ" href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/info.asp" title="Information about IEU" target="_blank">About IEU</a></li> <li class="queryFontInline"><a class="buttonZ" href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/donor.asp" title="Donors web page" target="_blank">Donors</a></li> <li class="queryFontInline"><a class="buttonZ" href="https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/donate.asp" title="Donors Web page">Donate to IEU</a></li> </ul>  <br> <span class="FontSizeSmall" > ©2001 All Rights Reserved. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. </span>  <br>  <br> </div> <script type="text/javascript">  </script> </body> </html>