Valuev Circular

The Valuev Circular (Russian: Валуевский циркуляр, Valuyevskiy tsirkulyar; Ukrainian: Валуєвський циркуляр, Valuievs'kyi tsyrkuliar) of 18 July 1863 was a secret decree (ukaz) of the Minister of Internal Affairs, of the Russian Empire Pyotr Valuev (Valuyev), by which many publications (religious, educational, and literature recommended for the use in primary literacy training of the commoners) in the Ukrainian language were forbidden, along with belles lettres works.

The circular has put the reason for the growing number of textbooks in Ukrainian and beginner-level books in Ukrainian as "the Poles' political interests" and the "separatist intentions of some of the Little Russians". The circular quoted the opinion of the Kiev Censorship Committee that "a separate Little Russian language never existed, does not exist, and shall not exist, and their [Little Russians] tongue used by commoners is nothing but Russian corrupted by the influence of Poland".

The circular ordered the Censorship Committees to ban the publication of religious texts, educational texts, and beginner-level books in Ukrainian but permitted publication of belles-lettres works in the language.

Further restrictions were placed on Ukrainian by the Ems Ukaz in 1876, which completely prohibited the usage of the language in open print.

See also[]

• Lithuanian press ban

Further reading[]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Valuyev Circular

• Alexei Miller, The Ukrainian Question. The Russian Empire and Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century, Central European University Press, Budapest - New York, 2003, ISBN 963-9241-60-1
• Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996). A History of Ukraine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-0830-5. pp. 369-70 contain a translation.