Soon after the Crimean War, in 1860–61 number of hromada societies sprung up across the Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv. Among the most prominent hromada members in Kharkiv was Oleksandr Potebnia, a native of Sloboda Ukraine. Beside the old hromada, in Kharkiv also existed several student hromadas members of which were future political leaders of Ukraine such as Borys Martos, Dmytro Antonovych and many others. One of the University of Kharkiv graduates Oleksandr Kovalenko was one of initiators of the mutiny on Russian battleship Potemkin being the only officer who supported the in-rank sailors.