1939: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Ukrainians (Little Russians) were the first Russians and Kiev, the first capital, was the center of a thriving Russian commerce between the Dnieper River system and Constantinople during almost three centuries before the depredations of the Mongols. Today the Ukrainian Republic is an extremely important part of the Soviet Union (172,000 sq. mi.): it is about 1/20 of the territory, but has 1/5 of the population (30,000,000), produces 1/4 of the grain, 1/2 the pig iron and coal of the Union.

Under the last Tsars, Ukraina was the granary of the Empire and the Donetz mines were its coal pit. Such initial development has been enormously extended under Communist leadership. A remarkable project of the Soviet Union has been Dnieproges (the Dnieper Hydro-Electric Station). This immense dam raises the water 125 ft. and covers the rapids above it, thus connecting the navigation of the long upper Dnieper with that of the long lower reaches; its power has stimulated the metallurgy and metal works of Dniepropetrovsk, above the former rapids; it furnishes very cheap electricity to the whole district; provides a lake with great factories and new cities on its shore; and irrigates many thousands of acres of rice plantations. Over a hundred miles to the east there is a great development of mines and metal works from Voroshilovgrad southward to Stalino, a region well connected by rail with the Dnieproges region.

Kiev, the ancient capital, and Kharkov, a northern railroad point are important manufacturing cities, each having more than 800,000 inhabitants. Indeed every city seems to have its factories. From 1913 to 1937 the output of coal and pig iron trebled but the output of large industry altogether reached 7 times the figures of 1913. Whereas under the Tsars Ukrainian industry had a large development only in mining, its industry is now varied and balanced in the life and work of the Republic. Its outlets oversea are the ports of Odessa and Marupol.

Agriculture has advanced rapidly and 96 per cent of the peasants are now on collective farms. Sugar beets are raised in vast quantities in the northern zone and, in the southern zone, a great deal of cotton without irrigation. In fourteen years (1924-38) the incomes of collective farms are said to have increased by 250 per cent, some of them, such as the Stalin Farm, being famous through the Union for production of grain and cattle. The Stalin Farm also operates a power plant, a radio station, and the farm library has 5,000 volumes and a large number of newspapers and magazines.

The Little Russian language, much restricted by the Tsars, is the medium of a thriving culture. There are 117 colleges and universities, 1,830 newspapers and 53 state theatres using the Little Russian language. Culturally Ukraina seems the most advanced of all the Soviet Republics.