For the moment the government, under the spell of the liberation of the serfs, was disposed to tolerate all this activity. Kulish was even encouraged to prepare a Ukrainian translation of the Imperial decree providing for the liberation of the serfs. It seemed as if the Ukrainians might be allowed to establish schools where the children would be taught in their native tongue. The success of the cultural program of the young Ukrainian leaders seemed assured. Of course in all this there was no open political action, for it must not be forgotten that at this period there was no opening for political life anywhere in Russia. There was nothing that corresponded to political parties, to elections or to free political discussion. There was even no organized group among the Russians which aspired or voiced their aspirations for such procedure, so that there was necessarily a vagueness about the real goal of all this cultural activity that has been used at a later time by the enemies of Ukraine to dub it mere literary nationalism. Suddenly everything changed. In 1863 there came another revolt among the Poles in Russia. It was a heroic but desperate venture which was doomed in advance to failure. At the same time there were repeated the sad words of Shevchenko, “Poland fell but it ruined us.” A very few of the most Polonized Ukrainians joined in the movement. The Poles themselves complained that they did not receive Ukrainian support, but they succeeded in inspiring the fear in the Russian government that the movement to restore a free Poland would automatically involve the separation of all Ukraine from Russia. The leaders of the Empire now reversed the policy that they had taken in 1847. At that time they were afraid that the Ukrainians would long to go back to their days of practical independence and would throw off the Russian yoke. Now they became convinced that the Ukrainians would give up any hopes of winning their own liberty and would be glad to be lost in a Polish state.