Ukraine – Greek Diaspora History

Novorossiya (New Russia)

What is Novorossiya (New Russia)?

Novorossiya, also known as New Russia, has historically referred to the region of present day Southern Ukraine. The name Novorossiya was first given to the region when it was annexed by the Russian Empire from the Ottoman Empire at the end of the Russo-Turkish War in 1774.

Novorossiya (New Russia) and The Greek Project

The Greek Project, also known as the Greek Plan, was Catherine the Great’s vision of reclaiming historically Greek lands under occupation by the Ottoman Empire and restoring the Byzantine Empire. Click here to learn more about Catherine the Great.

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, Catherine the Great sponsored the Orlov Revolt in Morea. Prince Potemkin, who masterminded the Greek Project, gave Greek names to the newly founded towns in Novorossiya.

Here are some of the Greek names given to the cities in the historic region of Novorossiya, in present day Ukraine:

Kherson (1778), named after Chersonesus – an ancient Greek city in Crimea.
Mariupol (1780), named after the Greek settlement of Mariampol, as well as the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Nikopol (1782, renamed in 1786), named after Nike – the goddess of victory.
Melitopol (1784, renamed in 1842), named after Melita (an ancient port city) and the Greek word for Honey (meli).
Nikolaev (1789), named after St. Nicholas, combining the Greek words for victory (nike) and people (laos).
Odessa (1795), named after the ancient Greek city of Odessos, thought to be located in the area.

Catherine the Great met with the Holy Roman Emperor – Joseph II and formed an alliance in her ambitions with Austrian monarchs. Unfortunately, after Joseph’s death in 1790, the agreement fell apart.

Ancient Greek Diaspora History in Novorossiya (New Russia)

Between the 8^th and 6^th Century BC, the ancient Greeks commenced widespread colonisation. Greek colonies were founded as far West as the Iberian Peninsula and as far East as the Caucasus. The Black Sea was surrounded by Greek colonies and a number of colonies on the Black Sea coast of Novorossiya were first recorded in the 6^th Century BC. This early Greek diaspora community however, began to assimilate into the wider population of the region.

In the 4^th Century BC, the Hellenistic Bosporan Kingdom ruled part of the region. Reintroducing the Greek language into Novorossiya. In the 3^rd Century BC, part of the region fell under rule of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Pontus. Parts of Novorossiya remained Greek speaking following the conquest of the Byzantine Empire in the 1^st Century AD and later the Empire of Trebizond in the 14^th Century AD.

Modern Greek Diaspora History in Novorossiya (New Russia)

In the 15^th Century AD, the Ottoman Empire conquered Novorossiya, ending almost 2,000 years of Greek speaking rule in the region.

During the Russian Empire (1721–1917), many Russian monarchs, including Catherine the Great, sympathized with the Orthodox Christians under Ottoman rule and welcomed many Greeks to settle in Russia. The present day Greek diaspora community in Novorossiya are predominantly descendants of Pontic Greeks who arrived in Ukraine between the fall of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829.

In 1814, the Society of Friends (known in Greek as the Filiki Eteria) was founded in the city of Odessa. The secret organisation was founded by Greeks from Constantinople and the Russian Empire and was the precursor for the Greek War of Independence. The fact that the Society of Friends was founded in the region of Novorossiya shows the Greek presence in the area at the time.

Greek Diaspora History in Novorossiya (New Russia) Today

The last wave of Greek immigration to Novorossiya was following the 1946–1949 Greek Civil War, where a number of Greek communists arrived in Ukraine as refugees.

In 2001, the Ukrainian National Census recorded Pontic Greeks at 77,516 within Donetsk Oblast, making them the third largest ethnicity in the province at 1.6%, surpassed only by Ukrainians and Russians. Major cities in Donetsk Oblast include Donetsk, Mariupol, Makiivka, and Horlivka.

Controversy over the use of the term Novorossiya (New Russia)

The term “Novorossiya” today is often used by pro-Russian political movements within Ukraine and Russian expansionists. Today the term is often viewed as controversial as it is used to substantiate Russia’s claims in the region and has been proposed as the name of an independent confederation by pro-Russian separatists. The Ukrainian government refers to the pro-Russian separatists as terrorists and dismisses any Russian claims in Novorossiya as irredentist.

Conflict in Present Day Crimea, Donbass, and wider Novorossiya (New Russia)

The Euromaidan movement and subsequent Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 resulted in the removal of the government and has created a conflict between Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian protesters in Ukraine ever since.

The Crimean Peninsula, located on the Black Sea, is considered by some as part of the historic region of Novorossiya, but most regard the peninsula as south of Novorossiya. Between February and March 2014, Crimea was annexed by Russia. This move has been extremely contentious with Ukraine considering it to be violation of international law, but Russia citing a Referendum that took place as complying with the principle of self-determination and rejecting the term “annexation”. Today, Russia and 17 UN member states officially recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, while Ukraine and 114 other UN member states do not.

Donbass is a region in Eastern Ukraine, often largely included in the historic region of Novorossiya. The war in Donbass has raged since 2014 and continues to this day, with Donetsk and Luhansk self-declaring independence.

*It is important to note that this article does not intend to support extreme Ukrainian or Russian nationalist views or political aspirations in the region by any side. We respect present day land borders and do not condone irredentism. As is the case with all our Diaspora History articles, our intention is to present historical facts and inform readers of their Greek ancestral connection to individuals and regions outside of present day Greece and Cyprus.

Do you have a connection to the Greek Diaspora in Ukraine? Trace your ancestry to find out. There are a number of DNA tests available but the most common and most trusted of them all is Ancestry.com

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