Printing began in early 1933, but Moscow censors decried the encyclopedia as being nationalist.

[citation needed] In early 1948, interest in the USE returned as a response the publication of the Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies by Volodymyr Kubijovyč; an attempt to preserve a Ukrainian national heritage believed to be under threat by the Soviet regime in Ukraine.

The foreword stated that the URE "should show fraternal unity of the people with the Russian and all other peoples of the Soviet Motherland" and that it is against "Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism", a reference to the Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies.

Content included sections on Ukrainian literature and artists and scientists of different origin who worked on the territory of Ukraine.

Historical figures in Ukrainian history such as Ivan Mazepa were not viewed positively, as to avoid brewing any nationalist sentiments.