The Russian Connection

Art Lebedev has a story about the role Russia played in the US Declaration of Independence of 1776 and

how one of the pillars of the US national pride happened to wind up in the Kiev archives, and why the document of historical importance was entitled “United States of Жmerinca”

According to him, Timothy Matlack, Assistant to Charles Thomson and noted calligrapher, was assigned with penning the Declaration of Independence prior to it being signed by the members of the US Congress.

Apparently, according to Lebedev, Matlack was actually Tomislav Matlakowski, a native of Kiev and born in a place called Zhmerinca. The theory is that Matlack wrote the title in mixed alphabets, with the Russian character Ж being overlooked for its similarity to the capital Latin letter A.

Lebedev illustrates his story with photos and scans of the original document. It’s worth a look and a grain of salt