September 2024 Part 2: Code 1 for the Ukrainian restaurant "Zhyto" - another origin of the city of Zhytomyr
Before learning about the relationship between "rye" and the city of "Zhytomyr," let's take a look at what kind of city "Zhytomyr" is and its overview and history.
Zhytomyr is a city in northern Ukraine and a key transportation hub. It is the capital of Zhytomyr Oblast and the cultural and educational center of the oblast. The city's population is approximately 260,000 as of 2022, and its main industries are light industry such as rubber, plastics, and metals, as well as food and textile production.
Zhytomyr Oblast is a land rich in nature, with forests spreading, and agricultural land accounts for approximately 52% of the Oblast. The Oblast's main export products are agricultural products, lumber, machinery and equipment, and textiles.
The city of Zhytomyr has a long history and is believed to have been founded in 884. At the end of the era of the Grand Duchy of Kyiv (882-1240), the Mongol-Tatars invaded. With the fall of Kyiv, the city of Zhytomyr was almost completely destroyed and left in ruins, and was subsequently damaged by Tatar raids several times.
After the Mongol invasion, the city was gradually rebuilt, and in the 15th century a strong wall was built to protect it from foreign enemies.
After 1569, the city of Zhytomyr came under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but resistance to Poland grew stronger, with a large-scale popular uprising occurring in 1594.
In 1648, the troops of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who opposed Polish rule, stormed the castle of Zhytomyr. Bohdan Khmelnytsky's rebellion against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth drew Russia into the conflict, leading to the Russo-Polish War.
In 1667, under the Treaty of Andrusovo, which ended the Russo-Polish War, Kyiv came under the control of the Russian Tsarist state, while Zhytomyr remained under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After this, Poland began to decline, and Russian influence in the region grew.
The large-scale peasant revolt of Kolyvschyna in 1768 had a major impact on the city of Zhytomyr. Poland's decline accelerated, and with the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the city of Zhytomyr came under the control of the Russian Empire.
Under the rule of the Russian Empire, a policy of assimilation into Russia was implemented, which included the banning of the Ukrainian language and the use of Cossack units for the development of Siberia.
In the 19th century, construction of a cathedral was underway in the city, and commerce developed with the abolition of serfdom and the construction of railways.
1917: The Russian Empire falls in World War I, and the Ukrainian People's Republic is established. A battle between the Soviets and the Ukrainian People's Republic takes place in the city of Zhytomyr. In 1919, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic is established. The Ukrainian People's Republic is subsequently defeated and dissolved, and the city comes under the control of the Bolsheviks of the Soviet Union.
The 1930s saw the start of a dark period under Soviet rule, including Stalin's Great Purge and forced ethnic relocations. In 1932-33, an artificial famine called the Holodomor was caused. In order to cover up the failure of the planned economy, the Soviet Union sent troops into Ukraine to plunder crops. This led to serious food shortages in the rural areas of Zhytomyr Oblast, many people died of starvation, and small villages were destroyed. The Soviet Union earned foreign currency by exporting the crops it plundered from the rural areas, and made major cities such as Moscow prosper. Foreign journalists were only allowed to cover the prosperous cities, and the Soviet Union promoted the idea of ??"Communism being successful" abroad.
When World War II broke out, Nazi Germany bombed and occupied the city of Zhytomyr in 1941. In 1944, Nazi Germany withdrew and the city of Zhytomyr was again controlled by the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union began to promote industrialization around 1960. In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred, damaging the northern part of Zhytomyr Oblast.
Ukraine gained independence in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Around 2010, the transportation network in the city of Zhytomyr was developed and commerce began to develop.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Zhytomyr has suffered damage from rocket attacks and other attacks.
This concludes the overview and history of the city of Zhytomyr.
Now let's take a look at the origin of the name of the city of Zhytomyr.
The city of Zhytomyr is said to have taken its name from the legendary Kyiv princes, the brothers Askold and Dir. There are several versions of this legend, and it is unclear which one is correct. It is also believed that as rulers changed, the story was rewritten to suit the convenience of the new ruler.
In fact, there is another origin of the city of "Zhytomyr". It is said that the city was named after rye, which has been cultivated in this region since ancient times. It is said that the city was named after rye, which is an important cultural ingredient for Ukraine, as a symbol of the peaceful and calm life of people whose main occupation is agriculture, and that is, "rye and peace" or "peace of the people". Zhytomyr has been a rye-producing region since ancient times, and rye is an important symbol of agricultural culture for Ukrainians. Here, rye finally appears. Learning this other origin connects "Zhyto" (i.e. "rye") with "Zhytomyr".
Why does the city have two origins for its name?
Old documents, especially those from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, often only state the origin of the name, not the origin of the phrase "rye and peace." The origin of the phrase "rye and peace" may have been erased by Russian rule and the ban on the Ukrainian language.
"Zhyto" means "rye" in Ukrainian. Under the rule of the Russian Empire, the Ukrainian language was banned many times, so it would not have been permitted to explain that it means "rye" in Ukrainian. Since the Ukrainian language was banned, the origin based on the Ukrainian language would have been erased from the documents.
On the other hand, the origin of a person's name can be rewritten to suit the ruler's convenience by simply changing the lineage of the person who is the origin or the content of the story. This is probably why only the origin of a name is written in old documents.
The code of the Ukrainian restaurant Zhyto is to reconnect rye, a symbol of the agricultural culture of Ukrainians, with the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr. Perhaps the code is intended to remind people of another origin that was erased during the time when the Ukrainian language was banned: that Zhytomyr is a city of "rye and peace."
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