The Economy

Agriculture remained the basic form of livelihood in the Hetmanate, and commerce and manufacturing, although showing some signs of activity, remained underdeveloped, even in comparison with the Russian north.

The most noteworthy development in Ukrainian agriculture was its expansion into southern Ukraine. Yet despite the increased acreage and the excellent quality of the new land, agricultural yields did not increase significantly because of outdated implements and techniques. The wasteful system of three-field rotation continued to be used and in the new lands, colonists often moved on to virgin soil rather than enriching the lands they had already worked. Typical harvests of wheat were only three to four times greater than the amount of grain sown – a pitifully low yield by European standards. Serfdom encouraged this backwardness. As free labor was abundant, landowning nobles were not constrained to innovate.

Moreover, serfdom, particularly as it was practiced in Ukraine, discouraged occupational diversification. In the Russian north, where the soil was poor, landowners often encouraged peasants to buy off their obligations (obrok) by earning money in the fledgling commercial and manufacturing enterprises that were based in the towns. In fertile Ukraine, in contrast, nobles generally demanded labor obligations (barshchina) from the peasantry. As a result – and this point deserves to be emphasized – the Ukrainian peasant became more firmly bound to the traditional way of life in the village and in the field than did the Russian peasant.

General sluggishness notwithstanding, some diversification did appear in the rural economy. New crops, such as corn and potatoes, were introduced in the late 18th century. More than ever before, landowners invested in agriculture-related, cash-producing enterprises. Mills were especially favored. Not only did landowners use them to grind their own grain, but they also allowed their peasants to do so for a price. By 1782, there were over 3300 water mills and about 12,000 windmills on the Left Bank alone. However, the most profitable sideline for entrepreneurs among the nobility was the distillation of wheat-based spirits (horilka), the sale of which earned many nobles as much as 50% of their cash income. Not surprisingly, in 1750, the regimental districts of the Hetmanate averaged 500 distilleries each. Other landowners branched out into breeding the famous Ukrainian oxen and sheep as well as horses. For example, Kyrylo Rozumovsky had a herd of 5000 horses, 800 of which were thoroughbred. Also, such traditional occupations as beekeeping retained their popularity, with some apiaries on the Right Bank numbering as many as 15,000 hives. Commerce

Although trade in Ukraine was still hampered by poor means of communication, lack of cash, and exhorbitant borrowing rates (ranging from 20% to 50% per annum), it grew markedly. Expanding agricultural production encouraged commerce and the reverse was also true. Because of the difficulty of travel, people would gather in certain towns and villages at regular intervals to buy and sell their wares. Such large commercial fairs, which lasted for weeks and offered a vast array of goods for sale, took place in Nizhyn, Romny, Kiev, Pereiaslav, Poltava, Kharkiv, and other towns. By the 1780s, the Left Bank, which was economically more dynamic than the Right Bank, had close to 400 fairs. Small-scale trade was carried on in the region’s 700 local bazaars. Another popular form of small-scale trade, particularly among Cossacks and wealthier peasants, was salt and fish trading.

Before the opening of the Black Sea ports in the late 18th century, foreign trade was quiescent. As might be expected, the primary exports were agricultural products. But whereas in earlier times Ukrainian merchants had had extensive contacts with the Baltic ports and Western markets, imperial policies caused this trade to shift to the north. In 1714, Peter I forced these merchants to ship their wheat to such Russian or Russian-dominated ports as Arkhangelsk, Riga, and St Petersburg. In 1719, the export of Ukrainian grain to the West was forbidden and the stringent import duties were imposed at the Polish-Ukrainian border were meant to prevent the import of Western finished products that might compete with Russia’s fledgling industries. As we have seen, Russian merchants received preferential treatment in the export of their products to the Left Bank, while Ukrainians paid duties of 10–40% on the finished goods they shipped to the north. Taking advantage of this situation, Russian merchants became heavily involved in Ukrainian trade. By 1754, when trade barriers were lifted between Russia and the Left Bank, Russians were in control of large-scale commerce. Manufacturing

In comparison with Russia, manufacturing in Ukraine developed more slowly. On the one hand, abundant opportunities in agriculture absorbed the attention and energies of Ukrainians; on the other, imperial policy encouraged industrial development in Russia while treating Ukraine primarily as a source of raw materials. This situation led a number of Soviet economic historians of the pre-Stalin era to describe the economic relationship between Russia and Ukraine as a colonial one.