IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ

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1 Περίληψη : Mykolaiv (Nikolayev) was an important port of southern Russia on the Rivers Boug and Ingul with accessibility to the Black Sea. The advantageous location of Mykolaiv attracted numerous merchants, businessmen and shipowners who undertook the exportation of the Russian wheat which was produced in the hinterland. Because of its proximity to Odessa, a part of its exports was conducted through that port. The course of Mykolaiv was similar to that of Odessa, as from the middle of the 19 th century it went into decline, resulting in the decrease of the Greek population, which emigrated either to the ports of the Azov Sea or to those of the Danube. Today it belongs to Ukraine. Άλλες Ονομασίες Nikolaiev Γεωγραφική Θέση Black Sea, Ukraine Ιστορική Περιοχή Black Sea, Southern Russia 1. Establishment Mykolaiv (Nikolayev or Nikolaiev) is a town in Ukraine. It was established in 1788 as a shipyard at the point where the Bug (ancient Greek: Hypanis) and Ingul rivers converge, at a distance of 65 km from the Black Sea. The aim was for it to comprise a mooring point for the Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea. The city was named after Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of seamen. Over the years, the dockyard centre of the city evolved into the largest one in southern Russia and, in 1828, the first Russian steamship was built there. At the level of the city, the Bug River has a width of 3 km and at the point where it flows into the salt-marsh of Dnieper it reaches a width of 8-9 km. 1 Mykolaiv evolved into a major naval and trade centre of southern Russia, being second in the volume of traffic only to Odessa during the 19 th century. 2. Population Mykolaiv attracted a considerable number of immigrants from the Russian hinterland, but mainly from the southern Balkans, Greece and Europe, due to the increase in its commercial activity. The majority of the Greek settlements in New Russia was recorded after the Russo-Turkish War ( ), during the Greek War of Independence ( ) and every time a military operation was conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean, which forced the population to abandon their homes. The Russian settlement policy itself encouraged the establishment of Christian populations in the new settlements since they were accompanied by pledges advantageous to life conditions and employment. Many of the Greeks were from Macedonia, Epirus, Asia Minor and from the Aegean islands. These people formed a network of commercial correspondents, associates and shipowners. On this base they built up their operations concerning the purchase, transport and sale of wheat. 3. Demographic Features Mykolaiv belonged to the extensive region of New Russia which comprised an area whereby the Russian government applied a successful and intensive settlement programme. In 1819, Mykolaiv had a population of 7,000-8,000 and a small shipyard. 2 The growth of the city was rapid owing to the activities of the shipyard and exports of wheat. In 1863, 65,000 residents were recorded; in 1897, the number reached 92,000 and in 1914, 103,000, 40,000 of which were Jewish and only 100 were Greek The Port The port of Mykolaiv, in the interior of the river Bug, was difficult for ships to reach as it was intercepted by a salt-marsh, the mouth Δημιουργήθηκε στις 14/6/2017 Σελίδα 1/5

2 of which did not exceed a depth of 1.5 metres. Thus, the wheat was loaded onto barges and conveyed to Odessa where it was transferred onto ships lying in the anchorage. From 1821 a steam-dredger was placed on the river Ingul in order to deepen the river floor and thus facilitate the movement of the barges. These efforts, however, were not always successful. This resulted in Odessa gaining from the trade activities of Mykolaiv. 5. The Economy The soil of the hinterland was exceptionally fertile. From the ports of Mykolaiv and Odessa large quantities of wheat, which had been produced in the hinterland, were exported to the ports of the Western Mediterranean and to those of Northern Europe. The increase in the importance of these two ports is connected to the Industrial Revolution in Western Europe and the continuous demand for wheat. The great boost in the export of the wheat was given by the disastrous potato harvest in Ireland, in 1845 ( Irish Famine ) and the failure of the wheat harvest in England, both occurring at approximately the same time. In order to facilitate exports, the British government took steps to abolish the Corn Laws which placed restrictions on the import of the wheat. In addition, in 1849, the Navigation Acts, which restricted the transport of goods into Britain under a foreign flag, were abolished. These developments resulted in the enhancing of the role of southern Russian wheat in the trade of Great Britain. British, Jewish and Greek merchants were dynamically involved in the export activities of wheat from the port of Mykolaiv. The multi-etnic profile of the city was assisted by a series of internal changes which occurred in Russia and had an adverse effect on the commercial importance of Odessa. More specifically, in 1861 serfdom was abolished in Russia; as a consequence, owners of small properties who were unable to survive on their meagre holdings were obliged to sell it. This development led to a rise in the price of wheat. The local merchants of the south gained the same rights with the foreigners and, in 1871, the port of Odessa ceased to be free, resulting in a recession in its commercial activity and the subsequent expansion not only of the neighbouring Mykolaiv, but also other cities of the Azov Sea, such as Rostov on the Don. The relative decline of Odessa after the Crimean War ( ) allowed Mykolaiv to become the fastest growing port in the region. As a result, Greek families settled there and later distinguished themselves in the wheat trade. Among those mentioned are the Rodokonakis and Sevastopoulos families from Chios, the Lykiardopoulos, Karidias, Dendrias families from Kefalonia, and the Mavros family from the Cyclades. In 1882, these families distributed half the exports of the city. 4 The trade of trade, colonial products, alcohol and other food products, in combination with banking activities, comprised the main occupations of the Greek merchants. The merchants of Mykolaiv organised a local network of agents who undertook the responsibility of purchasing or pre-purchasing the produce of the hinterland villagers at a low price. The transport of the cargo was conducted via sailboats, the captains of which belonged to the extensive network of relatives. The captains conveyed the goods to their final destination which might well be Livorno, Genoa, Marseilles or London. In the middle of the 19 th century, since sailboats were slow and stopped at particular ports, the captains received their instructions as to the final destination of the cargo via telegraph. A sample of the cargo was sent before or together with the sail-boat to a representative in London who then presented it to potential buyers, usually at the Baltic Centre, where the sale was made. Therefore, as the captain approached certain ports along the route towards Northern Europe, he was informed, during the voyage, as to the final buyer of the cargo and the final destination of the ship, where he was to make the delivery. In the last third of the 19 th century, sailboats were gradually replaced by steamships which were often owned by the merchants who distributed the cargo of wheat from Mykolaiv to Western and Northern Europe. The decline of the Greek enterprises in the large commercial centres, among them Mykolaiv, began in the second half of the 19 th century. There are numerous internal and external reasons for this: the competition between ethnic-religious groups, for example the British and the Jews; the centralized economic policy of the tsarist regime and the movement of the population to other areas within and out of Russian territory; the shift in the direction of international demand in the trade of wheat; changes in navigation. In 1863, the Jewish exporters of Odessa and other exporting centres of Southern Russia, among them Mykolaiv, had surpassed the Greeks and the Italians with regards to business activities, obliging them to change their professional course or transfer the base of their activities. At the end of the century, the commercial activities of the Jews in Mykolaiv (who accounted for 1/3 of the city s Δημιουργήθηκε στις 14/6/2017 Σελίδα 2/5

3 population) led to the closure of 19 of the 20 general stores owned by the Greeks. 5 A substantial number moved to Taganrog and to Rostov on the Don. From the 1880 s a new protectionist policy was introduced by the Russian government, which was accompanied by isolationist tendencies. This situation, together with a series of bankruptcies of Greek and Italian firms in Odessa, led foreign merchants in urban centres to seek other markets and, in so doing, to leave Russia. Those who left were the richest and the most powerful, while the poorer strata of the Greek population remained in the city and were reinforced by the influx of new workers and seamen from Greece. At the beginning of the 20 th century, the Greek presence in Mykolaiv had decreased dramatically, as its members had been reduced to 100, while the Greek church of Saint Nicholas, which had been built in 1819, was in the hands of the Russians Community Organisation In Mykolaiv the Greek merchants organized themselves into a community relatively late, at the end of the 19 th century. In 1898, the journalist G. P. Paraskevopoulos delivered a speech on the decline of the Greek community of Mykolaiv. Among others he stated: the Greek community flourished in the past; there were 15 merchant houses once. Today, only five or six have survived. Ah, those happy years! Lastly, especially the monopoly of vodka, the trade from which thousands of Greeks became rich in the past, has made the industrious Greeks suffer. Moreover, since not many steamships are available, the lower working classes become deprived. The few offices of Al. Inglesis, Kalogeras, the Ortentzatos brothers, Zygomalas, Koupas and others assist their fellow-countrymen and provide them with work; but they cannot meet the necessities of the hungry and deprived population. And here s how the Greek community is reduced and diluted in Russia. You ll find, of course 200 Greeks in Nikolayev; however, 9 out of 10 are striving to survive. 7 Two years later, D. Metaxas Laskaratos wrote: There were many Greeks here once and over 20 first-class general stores. Today, however, they have decreased significantly and of the old stores only one has remained, that of Epam. Koupas. [ ] The Greeks do not exceed 100 souls and therefore are not strong enough to form a community as in the other cities. There is a Greek church (in name only), in honour of Saint Nicholas, which was built in 1819 with the permission of the empress Catherine the Great and under the care of Greek officers serving in the Russian navy. Today, this church is in the possession of the Russians and this came about because the offsprings of its Greek founders were Russicized. [ ] The absence of an organized Greek community has as an effect the non-existence of a Greek school and, such being the case, the Greek children are being educated at the local schools Καρδάσης, Β., Έλληνες ομογενείς στη νότια Ρωσία, (Athens 1998), p Καρδάσης, Β. Έλληνες ομογενείς στη νότια Ρωσία, (Athens 1998), p. 73, Καρδάσης, Β., Έλληνες ομογενείς στη νότια Ρωσία, (Athens 1998), p. 75 and Χασιώτης, Ι.-Ξανθοπούλου-Κυριακού, Α., «Δημογραφικές εξελίξεις στο ελληνικό στοιχείο των ρωσικών χωρών από τα τέλη του 19 ου αι. ως τον Α Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο» in Χασιώτης, Ι. - Ξανθοπούλου-Κυριακού, Α. - Αγτζίδης, Βλ. (eds.), Οι Έλληνες της Ρωσίας και της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Μετοικεσίες και εκτοπισμοί. Οργάνωση και ιδεολογία (Thessaloniki 1997), pp. 130, Χαρλαύτη, Τ., Ιστορία της Ελληνόκτητης Ναυτιλίας, 19 ος 20 ος αιώνας (Athens 2001), p Χασιώτης, Ι. Ξανθοπούλου Κυριακού, Α., «Δημογραφικές εξελίξεις στο ελληνικό στοιχείο των ρωσικών χωρών από τα τέλη του 19 ου αι. ως τον Α Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο» in Χασιώτης, Ι. Ξανθοπούλου Κυριακού, Α. Αγτζίδης, Βλ. (eds.), Οι Έλληνες της Ρωσίας και της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Μετοικεσίες και εκτοπισμοί. Οργάνωση και ιδεολογία (Thessaloniki 1997), p Δημιουργήθηκε στις 14/6/2017 Σελίδα 3/5

4 6. Χασιώτης, Ι. Ξανθοπούλου Κυριακού, Α., «Δημογραφικές εξελίξεις στο ελληνικό στοιχείο των ρωσικών χωρών από τα τέλη του 19 ου αι. ως τον Α Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο» in Χασιώτης, Ι. Ξανθοπούλου Κυριακού, Α. Αγτζίδης, Βλ. (eds.), Οι Έλληνες της Ρωσίας και της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Μετοικεσίες και εκτοπισμοί. Οργάνωση και ιδεολογία (Thessaloniki 1997), p Παρασκευόπουλος, Γ. Π., Η Μεγάλη Ελλάς ανά την Ρωσσίαν, Ρουμανίαν, Βουλγαρίαν, Σερβίαν, Μαυροβούνιον, Τουρκίαν, Σάμον, Κρήτην, Κύπρον, Αίγυπτον και Παλαιστίνην (Athens 1898), p Μεταξάς-Λασκαράτος, Δ., Ελληνικαί Παροικίαι Ρωσσίας και Ρωμουνίας μετά γεωγραφικών και ιστορικών σημειώσεων προς δε και εικονογραφιών (Brăila 1900), pp Βιβλιογραφία : Κορομηλά Μ., Οι Έλληνες στη Μαύρη Θάλασσα. Από την εποχή του Χαλκού ως τις αρχές του 20ού αιώνα, Αθήνα 1991 Χαρλαύτη Τ., Ιστορία της ελληνόκτητης ναυτιλίας, 19ος-20ός αιώνας, Νεφέλη, Αθήνα 2001 Χασιώτης, Ι. Ξανθοπούλου-Κυριακού, Α. Αγτζίδης, Β. (επιμ.), Οι Έλληνες της Ρωσίας και της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Μετοικεσίες και εκτοπισμοί, οργάνωση και ιδεολογία, Θεσσαλονίκη 1997 Καρδάσης Β., Έλληνες ομογενείς στη νότια Ρωσία , Αλεξάνδρεια, Αθήνα 1998 Σελέκου Ο., Η καθημερινή ζωή των Ελλήνων της διασποράς. Δημόσιος και ιδιωτικός βίος (19ος - αρχές του 20ού αιώνα), Εθνικό Κέντρο Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, Αθήνα 2004 Χασιώτης Ι., Γιαννίτση Θ., Διάλλα Ά., "Ουκρανία, Λευκορωσία, Ρωσική Ομοσπονδία, Κεντροασιατικές Δημοκρατίες", Χασιώτης, Ι. Κ. Κατσιαρδή-Hering, Ό. Αμπατζή, Ε., Οι Έλληνες στη Διασπορά, 15ος - 21ος αιώνας, Αθήνα 2006, Παρασκευόπουλος Γ.Π., Η Μεγάλη Ελλάς ανά την Ρωσσίαν, Ρουμανίαν, Βουλγαρίαν, Σερβίαν, Μαυροβούνιον, Τουρκίαν, Σάμον, Κρήτην, Κύπρον, Αίγυπτον και Παλαιστίνην, Αθήνα 1898 Δικτυογραφία : Οι Έλληνες στη Διασπορά 15ος - 21ος αιώνας Γλωσσάριo : Baltic Exchange House The Baltic Exchange House was founded in 1823 as ʺBaltic Coffee Houseʺ and soon became the most important market for the purchase of cargoes in London. Its aim was to restrict the number of the traders and protect its 300 members from speculators. A significant number of its members were Greek. Corn Laws The end of the Napoleonic Wars liberated the commercial activity, leading to a steep fall of the prices of cereals in Britain. Representatives of the interests of the agricultural economy, with the land aristocracy at their head, managed in 1815 to persuade the Parliament to pass a legislation, according to which wheat was forbidden to be imported as long as its price was under 80 shillings per quarter (measurement unit for wheat and equals, equal to 64 gallons or 291,2 liters). Over this price imports were free. Respective measures were taken for other cereal products. However, the Δημιουργήθηκε στις 14/6/2017 Σελίδα 4/5

5 fact that this measure proved to be a failure in many respects led in 1828 in the adoption of a taxation based on a sliding scale of prices. Pressure against the law from a large part of British society, most notable from the group of industrialists of northern England, was expressed through the organization "Anti-Corn Law League". This pressure, combined with the Great Famine in Ireland ( ), forced the Peel administration in 1846 to abolish the Corn Law, liberating in this way the imports of cereals. emancipation of the serfs in Russia in 1861 Sefdom was established In Russia from the 17th century. It constituted a legal, economic and social network of dependence of a large part of the agricultural population that cultivated areas of the Russian nobility. The feudal obligations of the Russian serfs towards the landowners can be limited to two basic categories: provision of work (barschina) and paying taxes (obrok). In 1861, the tzarist regime, as part of the attempt to modernize the state after the Crimean War, abolished serfdom, liberating 23,000,000 serfs. The now free peasants were obliged to financially compensate the landowners for a part of the land they bought off. free port (porto franco) Ιn international terms free ports or porti franchi were commercial ports where the payment of customs duties, mainly for transit trade's products or for cargo temporarily stored there, was abolished. Well-known free ports in the Mediterranean Sea were those of Trieste and Livorno and in Romania the ports of Galaţi, Sulina, Brăila and Costanţa. Irish Famine The horrible potato harvests in Ireland in the period led the agricultural population to a devastating famine (Irish Famine), since they based their diet on the low cost potato monoculture. The dead are estimated from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000, most from diseases. In the same period, approximately the same number of Irish people immigrated either to England, to the British colonies, or (mostly) to the USA. Navigation Acts The Navigation Acts were applied in England for the first time in They provided that all the products from Asia, Africa and America that would be imported to England or to its colonies should be transported with English ships, whose owner and the majority of the crew should be English citizens. The products from Europe should be imported either by English ships or by ships from the country where these products were produced. Since 1822, these restrictive laws were modified and prohibitions were gradually limited, while their complete abolition took place in 1849, as part of the further liberalization of British economy. Πηγές Παρασκευόπουλος, Γ. Π., Η Μεγάλη Ελλάς ανά την Ρωσσίαν, Ρουμανίαν, Βουλγαρίαν, Σερβίαν, Μαυροβούνιον, Τουρκίαν, Σάμον, Κρήτην, Κύπρον, Αίγυπτον και Παλαιστίνη (Athens 1898). Δημιουργήθηκε στις 14/6/2017 Σελίδα 5/5