The Ems Ukaz and Total Censorship (1876–1887)
The complete displacement of the language from the cultural and literary sphere. The Ems ukase prescribed: "Not to permit the import into the empire… of any books whatsoever published abroad in the Little Russian dialect," "To forbid in the empire the printing, in the same dialect, of any original works or translations whatsoever," and "To forbid likewise any stage performances, texts to musical scores, and public readings in the same dialect"[1]. The permitted dictionaries were allowed only "on condition of their being printed in conformity with all-Russian orthography"[2].
Five years later the rules were revised by a Special Conference - it included Solsky, Ostrovsky, the chief procurator of the Synod Pobedonostsev, and Viazemsky, - and the minister of internal affairs Ignatiev reported the result to the emperor on 3 October 1881; assent followed on 8 October[3]. There were no plans to publish the revision, and Ignatiev explained why: "the rules on the use of the Little Russian dialect established in 1876 were not promulgated, and therefore it is not intended to make the projected clarifications known to the general public"[3]. The circular went out to governor-general Drenteln on 16 October stamped "Confidential"[3] - that is, people were judged by rules they were never shown.
Actors
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| G0009 | Russian Empire | 5 |
Instruments Applied
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| S0008 | Government | 5 |
Procedures Carried Out
A total legislative ban on the language: "Not to permit the import into the empire… of any books whatsoever published abroad in the Little Russian dialect"; "To forbid likewise any stage performances, texts to musical scores, and public readings in the same dialect"[1].
A concession that was in fact a choice between two alien orthographies: the 1881 revision allowed dictionaries to be printed, but "on condition of their being printed in conformity with all-Russian orthography, or with the orthography used in Little Russia no later than the 18th century"[3]. That is, either the metropole's orthography or an archaic one was admissible - contemporary Ukrainian orthography was not allowed in any form. The same document permitted stage texts to musical scores to be printed only "on condition of generally accepted Russian orthography," and made Ukrainian-language performances dependent on administrative permission: "dramatic plays, scenes and couplets in the Little Russian dialect... may be performed on stage, each time, however, with the special permission of the governors-general, and in localities not subordinate to governors-general - with the permission of the governors"[3].
The censor's refusal to consider national manuscripts: "On a Ukrainian grammar prepared in Russian, the censor wrote the resolution: 'It would be naive to hope for permission to print the grammar of a language that must not exist'"[2].
The ideological justification of the censorship refusal – the language was declared nonexistent by definition: the censor's resolution about "the grammar of a language that must not exist"[2].
The theater was banned not as repertoire but as an institution: the third point of the 1881 revision prescribed "to completely forbid the establishment of a specifically Little Russian theater and the formation of troupes for performing plays and scenes exclusively in the Little Russian dialect"[3]. Individual plays remained permissible - with administrative permission for each staging. The ban struck not at the text but at the very possibility of a permanent company existing: performing occasionally was allowed, being a Ukrainian theater was not. The report with this point was submitted by the minister of internal affairs Ignatiev; the emperor's assent followed on 8 October 1881[3].