Ukrainian-norwegian Relations Through the 9th Up to the 20th Century

Background				reason for such an assertion is verses
In this article I present a revised text				of Scalds, laconic in content yet
from the Institute of Ukrainian History				offering reliable factual information.
at the National Academy of Sciences of				The relations between Kievan Rus and
Ukraine research performed. This				Scandinavia were particularly strong
research elaborates on the Norwegians				during the grand duchy of Mstislav
relations with Ukraine through a decade				Vladimirovich (1125 - 1132). By his
of centuries.				mother he was a descendant of a famous
Several facts are presented, but also				English royal family. His first wife
there are several sagas or myths that				Christina was the daughter of the
contribute to stories of the				Swedish king Ingi Steinkelsson.
communication and the relationship				Mstislav's daughters were married to
between the two countries. We have to be				Sigurd Norwegian (Sigurd Jordsalsfare),
aware of the fact that some of the sagas				Erik the Dane, and Knut Obodritsky
or legends are not supported by written				respectively. Malmfrid was probably no
documentation found within Ukraine, so				more than 15 years old when she came to
we have to be cautious to how strong the				Norway with Sigurd. After Sigurds death
relationship has been through time. But				she married the Danish prince Erik
the fact remains, the Ukrainians and				Ermune and thus later also became the
Norwegians have enjoyed a close				queen of Denmark.
relationship and the mix of the two				When describing Ukrainian-Norwegian ties
countries people is clearly documented				during late Medieval Ages, one must take
and is still ongoing.				into consideration that after the Kalmar
My interest for this country began first				union of 1397 Denmark, Sweden and Norway
in a strict business sense, and later				formed a triunion state, ruled by the
evolved to involve me on a personal				Danish kings. In 1523 Sweden withdrew
level as I found my present wife in				from the union, after witch the union
Ukraine. Her spirit has guided me in				consisted of Denmark and Norway.
writing these words and to find as much				Moreover, in 1536 Norway lost its
information as possible about the				internal autonomy and turned into a
relationship between the two countries,				powerless part of the Danish kingdom.
since I am a Norwegian myself.				Yet, despite its political subordination
The increasing globalization taking part				to Denmark, in the XV-XVII centuries
in the world today and possible in the				Norway continued to be in fact a
future, makes this mix between countries				separate state with its own economy and
increase as well, both on private as				merchant class which pursued their own
well as in commercial levels. Ukraine				interests. At the same time, it should
rapidly develops to be provider of				be noted that over the mentioned period
high-tech as well as agricultural				of time there were practically no
products to the world. In addition				relations between the Ukrainian and
foreign investors find this country of				Norwegian lands.
interest as it blossoms in its market				Social-political relations during
economy.				1762-1917
Introduction				In this period the situation in both
It is possible to trace the relations				regions was much alike: the area with
between the Ukrainian and Norwegian				the centre in Kristiania (future Oslo)
lands more than a thousand years back in				was part of the Swedish-Danish kingdom,
time. We will try to give some insight				while the lands along the upper part of
into these relations from the foundation				the Dnieper basin belonged to the
of the Kievan Rus up till the				Austrian (later Austro-Hungarian) and
establishment of the independent Ukraine				Russian Empire. Only in 1905 the Danish
in 1991.				Prince Carl, guided by the provisions of
Varangians in Kievan Rus.				the Karlstad treaty ascended the
Norsemen played an essential part in				Norwegian throne under the name of
formation of the first Kievan state. In				Haakon VII, and some 10-15 years later
8th to 14th centuries the Scandinavian				state-formation processes began around
population were called the Norsemen. The				"the Mother of the Russian cities".
famous chronicle "The Tale of Bygone				The above processes had a definite
Years" contains a legend about the				impact on the overall status of the
elders of the Slavic tribes inviting the				relations between the two countries.
Varangians to come to Rus and become its				Until the end of the 14th century ethnic
rulers. The Varangians or Varyags				Norwegians placed their primary interest
sometimes referred to as Variagians were				in the water area of the White and Kara
Scandinavians, who migrated eastwards				Seas, the then Russian subject Grand
and southwards through what is now				Duchy of Finland and Arkhangelsk
Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The legend				province.
then tells about the three brothers -				Norwegians in Ukraine
Rurik, Sineus and Truvar who came to Rus				Christian Steven (1781-1863), a
and began reigning in the Slavic cities				prominent botanist, a Swede with
of Novgorod, Bilozer and Izborsk. The				Norwegian background. He was born in
younger brother died, and all the power				Finland, studied in St Petersburg. His
over the Northern Eastern Slavic tribes				first important assignment was the
of Slavs and Kriviches was transferred				position of the director of the newly
to Rurik. There is no doubt about the				founded Nikita botanical garden near
historical existence of Rurik, and, as				Yalta. He also contributed greatly to
the Tale says, he came to Rus with his				creation of the Magarach School of
relatives and wife. Rurik is therefore				Winemaking (1828); after death of
seen as the founder of the princely				Marshall von Biberstein in 1826 he was
dynasty in Rus. Rurik's establishment in				in charge of the region's sericulture.
the northern Rus resulted from an				In 1841 Steven became a chief
agreement concluded with the tribes of				agricultural surveyor in the region.
the Novgorod confederation..				In 1853 a Ukrainian town of Izmail was
It is known that the Varangian used to				visited by the director of the Norwegian
be summoned to the southern Rus for				Geographical Department, Professor
participation in military campaigns. The				Hansten, who was at that time working on
military assistance was needed mainly				the measurement of the Earth meridian
for external military actions of the				arc.
Kievan Rus. Some of these campaigns				It is also necessary to mention the
would be the ones of Oleg, Igor and				Norwegian cultural influence in the
Vladimir to Bysantium; the war of				region. In particular, in 1874 the
Yaroslav the Wise with the Pechenegs.				audience in Odessa and Yalta had an
The summoning was also used for sorting				opportunity to enjoy Johan Svensen's
out relations between the princes. The				(1840-1911) opera "Carnival in Paris"
texts of the 907, 911 and 944 treaties				and the symphonic legend "Zorahaida".
between Rus and Bysantium bear witness				Twenty-five years later the southern
that among the Rusian envoys were people				provinces were visited by the future
with Scandinavian names. The				Nobel prize winner and author of the
Scandinavians in Rus were not only				book "In Fairyland" Knut Hamsun during
employed as hired warriors but also as				his trip to the Caucasus.
diplomats.				In 1910 Christian Sinding arrived in
Several versions exist in the historical				Odessa, in which connection the Russian
science regarding considerable				Musical Paper wrote the following in its
involvement of Danes and Swedes in the				issue no.12: "On 29 January the Imperial
Rus-Scandinavian medieval ties. There				Russian Musical Society held the VII
are also some, less numerous, facts of				symphonic gathering led by the
the relations between Kievan Rus and				outstanding Norwegian composer and
Norway. An example of this is				conductor Christian Sinding with the
archaeological finds, such as silver				participation of the pianist Karl
coins found in Nesbu, Norway, which were				Nissen. The program consisted solely of
minted in the Kievan Rus in the times of				the music written by the famous guest,
Vladimir and Yaroslav.				namely symphony de-bemoll #1, the piano
Trading				concert D-major with the orchestra,
Trading between Rus and Norway were of				variations of "Fatum" and "Rondo
less extended than those with Denmark				infinito" for a grand orchestra. Sinding
and Sweden, and are poorly reflected in				was warmly received by the audience, and
written sources. The Icelandic sagas				was given a long standing ovation."
contain only two direct records of				Norwegian Colonel Petersen, a
commercial voyages of Norwegians to Rus.				participant of the Russian-Turkish wars
One of them mentions a Norwegian				of the end of 18th century, as well as
merchant sailor Gudleik of Agda, who				a witness and historiographer of signing
often traveled to Rus and was therefore				the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty that
called Gudleik Rusian". The saga about				initiated inclusion of Crimea to the
Olav Tryggvason tells about a large				territorial possessions of St Petersburg
cargo of silk that he probably bought in				of that time.
the Rusian lands and brought on his ship				Joseph Igelstrom, a Swedish-Norwegian by
to Norway. Kievan Rus was mainly used by				background, was in charge of the Tavria
the medieval Norway as a transit				province. During his trips along the
territory for goods from the Middle				Black Sea coast he attracted the major
East.				part of the local magnates to the side
There are reasons to believe that the				of Ekaterina II. Igelstrom collected,
Baltic voyages of Norwegians to Rus				catalogued and described a huge
continued in the 7th and 13th centuries.				collection of Tatar-Arabic charts, and
A law issued by the Norwegian King				was the author of comprehensive letters
Magnus in 1276 says that at the time of				to Count Grigoriy Potemkin regarding
creating the law, Norwegians continued				living conditions of the population and
commercial voyages to the countries				the climate of Crimea.
situated along the Baltic seashore,				The members of the Baggovut noble
including Gardarike which is the same as				family, a family of Norwegian descent,
Rus.				beside being the owners of breweries and
Another evidence of existence of certain				estates in Eastland and having relation
trading between Rus and Norway is that,				to the descendants of the chancellor of
of the nineteen Norwegian small coins				the Uppsala University Svebelius (Julia
found in ten sites located in the				Fedorovna Baggovut), also took part in
Eastern Europe, fifteen coins were found				the Ackendorf battle in May 1807 against
in seven sites on the territory of				the Napoleon army. One of the streets in
Kievan Rus. Ten coins belong to the				Kiev was named Baggovutivska.
times of Harald the 3rd (years				The famous Norwegian author
1047-1066), another two were minted				Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson had extensive
during the reign of Olav Kyrre (years				contacts with Ukrainian writers and
1066-1093), the rest are undated (9th				journalists for instance Roman
century)				Sembratovich, Yaroslav Fedorchuk and
Political relations.				Volodymyr Kushnir. In Taras Shevchenko
Of a considerable interest is the				Academy of Sciences in Lviv there was a
history of relations between the Kievan				large collection of Bjørnson's writing
prince Vladimir the Great (980-1015) and				in Russian, German and Czech. But famous
Norway. According to existing data, he				writers like Ivano Franko and Mykhailo
may have fought the Norwegian prince				Pavlyk also translated his writings into
Erik. The juvenile prince Olav				Ukrainian language. Bjørnson wrote a
Tryggvason, the nephew of Vladimir's				number of articles in the European press
grandee Sigurd, and his mother were				where he spoke for the sake of Ukraine.
given refuge in Kiev. Sigurd rescued the				He strongly condemned a decree issued by
9-year old Olav, who was held captive in				Tsar Aleksandr II, which introduced a
the Baltic land, and brought him to the				ban on the use of Ukrainian language in
court of Grand Prince Vladimir. Prince				literature, in translations and in
Olav was a loyal servant to Vladimir,				theatre.
but fell a victim to slander and was				The 20th Century
forced to resign. A few years later,				In the first days of the First World War
possibly with Prince Vladimir's help, he				(1914-1918) in the Galician city of
dethroned Erik, making him flee to				Lviv, which was at that time part of the
Sweden, to become the king of Norway.				Austrian-Hungarian empire, a group of
Later on he began fighting with Prince				emigrants from the upper regions of the
Vladimir over the North-Western lands of				Dnieper basin formed a non-party
Rus. The war lasted four years and				political organisation "Union for the
resulted in him being driven away.				Liberation of Ukraine". The
The maintenance by Prince Vladimir of				national-political platform was
traditionally good relations with the				Ukraine's independence, with the
Scandinavian countries appears quite				constitutional monarchy as a government
logical, as the Rurik dynasty, to which				form. The union believed it necessary to
he belonged, had Scandinavian origin.				inform the public opinion in the
Among Vladimir's numerous wives was a				war-neutral Balkan and Scandinavian
Scandinavian-born - Rogneda - whom he				states about the issues of Ukraine and
married in 977. Good relations with the				liberation of other enslaved nations of
Scandinavian states ensured to Prince				the Russian Empire.
Vladimir the stability on the				To this end ULU assigned to Norway its
north-western borders of Rus and served				envoy Osyp Nazaruk, who had meetings
primarily his local tactical purposes.				with the president of the Storting J.
According to ancient Scandinavian				Løvland and the Minister of Foreign
sources, Olav Haraldsson also called				Affairs Ihlen, and discussed with them
Olav the Holy (years 995-1030) who was				the war and the attitude of Ukrainians
the Norwegian King from 1014 till 1028,				towards it. Owing to Osyp Nazaruk a
lived in Rus from autumn 1029 till				number of articles on the Ukrainian
spring 1030. His political opponents in				issues appeared in the Norwegian
Norway took the side of the King of				Morgenbladet.
England and Denmark, Knut the Great, who				,b>Ukrainian-Norwegian relations during
also sought power in Norway. Olav was				the Soviet Union period.
defeated in the war against Denmark and				Very few facts and evidence are found of
was forced to flee to Sweden, then				the Ukrainian-Norwegian relations of the
onwards to Kievan Rus. Olav the Holy was				Soviet time. The 1921-1922 famine in
married to Astrid, the sister of				Ukraine evoked the movement of
Yaroslav the Wise's wife Ingigerda. It				solidarity with the starving people in
is known that Ingigerda persuaded her				the Scandinavian countries. In Norway
husband to foster Olavs' son Magnus, who				this movement took shape of public
was left in Kiev when Olav left Kievan				agitation, the so-called charity weeks
Rus.				and months, the proceedings from which
Thus, Magnus Olavsson, the future king				were then directed to the starving
of Norway (1035-1047) and of Denmark				population in Ukraine and Volga region.
(1042-1047) also called Magnus the Good,				The charity included one-off
spent at least five years of his life in				fundraisings, individual donations, as
Kievan Rus. Later, members of Norwegian				well as systematic subscriptions from
nobility came to Kiev and took him back				the individuals' incomes.
to Norway. Some sagas contain an				Yet, creation in 1923 of the Union of
evidence of Yaroslav and Ingigerda's				Soviet Socialist Republics virtually
active involvement in raising Magnus to				brought to an end Ukraine's
the Norwegian throne.				communication with the world community -
The sagas also tell us of the Norwegian				individual diplomatic missions of
King Harald Hard Ruler's (1046-1066) two				Ukraine were closed, and the entire
visits to Kievan Rus. In 1031 he started				international activity was taken over by
his "voyage eastwards to Gardarike, to				the People's Commissariat for Foreign
King Jarisleiv", where he lived for				Affairs of the Soviet Union.
several years (ca 1034-1043) in Kiev, at				The Norwegian polar explorer, scientist
the court of Yaroslav the Wise and,				and humanist Fridtjof Nansen served as a
according to Snorri Sturluson, served as				high commissioner of the International
a retinue chief. Later Harald spent				Red Cross, which provided relief for
several years serving the Byzantine				famine stricken Ukraine in 1921-23.
emperor Konstantin IX Monomachus. Upon				Nansen did a lot to inform Europe about
his return to Kievan Rus in 1043 he				the famine in Ukraine and he collected
married Elizabeth, the daughter of				money for the relief work. He also used
Yaroslav the Wise.				money he earned from the Nobel Peace
Harald wrote the Song of Joy dedicated				Prize for the aid work. On 23 January
to Elizabeth, the daughter of King				1923 Nansen came to the city of Kharkiv
Yaroslav, whom he sought in marriage".				to discuss with the Soviet government of
It should be noted that this kind of				Ukraine the plans for fighting the
love lyric poetry is not typical for the				famine. Nansen's mission established a
works of Scandinavian scalds. A				number of orphanages, and provided
translation into Ukrainian was made by				scholarship for students and teachers at
the famous Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko.				Kharkiv University. Nansen also
Harald and Elizabeth had two daughters -				established a number of model farms -
Maria and Ingigerda. This marriage				the most famous of them in the town of
strengthened ties between Kievan Rus and				Mykhailovka between Kharkiv and
Norway and resulted in a temporary				Dnipropetrovsk. In these farms he
alliance between Harald and the mighty				introduced modern technology and
Earl Svein Ulfsson, the future Danish				principles for farming.
king.				Later, during World War II in 1944
The assistance provided by Yaroslav the				Ukraine regained its lost status by
Wise to Harald, namely preserving his				passing the law On Establishment of the
treasure, offering a temporary refuge				People's Commissariat for Foreign
and helping Harald prepare his trip to				Affairs in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic
the homeland, on the one hand, and				(from 1946 - Ministry of Foreign
furthering a political alliance between				Affairs). In compliance with this Law,
Harald and the enemies of King Magnus				the Constitution of Ukraine was amended
through the marriage with Elizabeth, on				by Article 15-b, which established the
the other hand, resulted in an agreement				right of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic
between Magnus and Harald to divide the				to be directly involved in international
rule of Norway.				relations. However, due to the
Elizabeth remained the Norwegian queen				totalitarian nature of the political
for over 20 years - from the winter 1043				regime existent in the Soviet Union, the
1044 until the death of Harald on 25				above documents proved to be a mere
September 1066 during the battle of				formality.
Stamford Bridge. Later she married the				During World War II a considerable
Danish king Svein.				number of Ukrainian prisoners of war
The fact that Rusian written sources of				ended up in labor camps in Norway. Many
information about the Scandinavians				of these people established contact with
presence in Rus do not mention names of				or were helped in various ways by
the Norwegian kings which served the				Norwegian civilians. Soviet troops took
Rusian princes, nor their sons who were				part in the liberation of Norway in
brought up there, reveals a strong				1944-45.
overstatement in the sagas of their role				Only in 1991, after Ukraine gained
in Rus. Moreover, the life of Norwegian				independence and entered the
kings in Rus is pictured rather				international scene, did the relations
concisely in sagas - a few general				between Ukraine and Norway begin to
words. It may well be due to lack of				improve. In 1992 Ukraine and Norway
specific information, as well as				established diplomatic relations.
tendency of the authors of sagas to				This article was prepared by members of
exaggerate the importance of				the Institute of Ukrainian History at
Scandinavian noblemen in Rus. Yet,				the National Academy of Sciences of
despite the lack of information in the				Ukraine, and then translated and edited
Rusian sources, there exists an evidence				by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kiev.
of their presence in Kievan Rus. The

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Ukrainian-norwegian Relations Through the 9th Up to the 20th Century