The Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius was a short-lived secret political society that existed in Kiev, Ukraine, at the time a part of the Russian Empire. Founded in December, 1845 or in January, 1846, the society was quickly suppressed by the government in March 1847 with most of the members punished by exile or imprisonment. Kiev (Київ, Kyiv, in Ukrainian; Киев, Kiev, in Russian) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper river. ... Ukraine (Україна, Ukrayina in Ukrainian; Украина in Russian) is a republic in eastern Europe which borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the Black Sea to the south. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Events January January 4 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. ...

The goals of the society were liberalisation of the political and social system of the Imperial Russia in accordance with the members Christian principles and the Slavophile views that gained popularity among the country's liberal intelligentsia. Created under the initiative of Nikolay Kostomarov, a famous historian of Russia and Ukraine, the society was named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, widely regarded as heroes for the Slavic nations celebrated for spreading Christianity and inventing the alphabet used in several Slavic languages. The society goals included the abolition of serfdom, broad access to public education and transformation of the empire into a federation of free Slavic people with Russians being one of the equal rather than the dominant nation. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ... A Slavophile was an advocate of the supremacy of Slavic culture over that of others, especially Western European culture. ... The intelligentsia is a social class of intellectuals and social groups close to them (e. ... The Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: Росси́я, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. ... Cyril and Methodius were two brothers who lived in the 9th century and became the missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) comprise the languages of the Slavic peoples. ... Traditionally, the term for a peasant of the epoch of feudalism in Imperial Russia, krepostnoi krestyanin (крепостной крестьянин), is translated as serf. ... For alternative meanings, see Empire (disambiguation) An empire (also known technically, abstractly or disparagingly as an imperium, and with powers known among Romans as imperium) comprises a set of regions locally ruled by governors, viceroys or client kings in the name of an emperor. ... A federation (from the Latin fœdus, covenant) is a state comprised of a number of self-governing regions (often themselves referred to as states) united by a central (federal) government. ... Russians (Русские - Russkie) are an ethnic group of East Slavic people, which live primarily in Russia and neighboring countries. ... A nation is an imagined community of people created by a national ideology, to which certain norms and behavior are usually attributed. ...

A great Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko, was one of the members of the brotherhood. Taras Shevchenko, self portrait Taras Hryhorovich Shevchenko, Тарас Григорович Шевченко (March 9, 1814 - March 10, 1861), Ukrainian poet, artist, and humanist. ...

See also

• Saints Cyril and Methodius

Cyril and Methodius were two brothers who lived in the 9th century and became the missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples. ...

External references

• Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood article (http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pagesCYCyrilandMethodiusBrotherhood.htm) in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.