Theme 11. The Ukrainian Lands in the First World War between 1914 and 1918. The Ukrainian National Revolution between 1917 and 1921

The purpose of the theme is concerned the fate of the Ukrainian lands in the First World War and National Revolution. The political movement of the Ukrainians, and attempts to establish the independent Ukraine are described there.

The theme includes the following main topics: the First World War; the splitting of the Ukrainian national movement; the Supreme Ukrainian Council (HUR); the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine (SVU); the political forces of the Dnieper Ukraine before the War; the Society of Ukrainian Progressives; the Galician and Bukovinian Governor-generalship; the Brusilov’s Offensive; the February Revolution in the Russian Empire; the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR); the All-Ukrainian National Congress; the First Universal of the Central Rada; the General Secretariat; the Second Universal of the Central Rada; the uprising of the regiment of Pavlo Polubotko in Kyiv; the Instructions temporary for the General Secretariat; the October revolution of the Bolsheviks in Petrograd; the Third Universal of the Central Rada; the conflict between the Central Rada and Bolsheviks; the first war of the Soviet Russia with the Ukrainian National Republic; the Fourth Universal of the Central Rada.

The First World War. The First World War (August 1, 1914 - November 11, 1918) was waged by States for the purpose of redistribution of previously divided colonies. The rivals were two military Alliances: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia). In 1915, after the Italy had revoked the Alliance, Germany and Austria-Hungary allied with the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. They made the Quadruple Alliance.

Regarding to Ukraine, Germany sought to capture the industrialized regions (Dnieper, Donbass, Crimean). The Austria-Hungary was going to annex Podillia and Volhynia. The Ottoman Empire pretended to take the Crimea, and the South of Ukraine.

Their enemy, the Russian Empire, equiped an army for taking the Northern Bukovyna, Zakarpattia and Halychyna. The border between the Austria-Hungary and Russia was laid along the river Zbruch [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The splitting of the Ukrainian national movement. The First World War caused the splitting of the national movement into supporters and opponents of the War.

The Supreme Ukrainian Council (HUR). On August 1, 1914, in Lviv, Ukrainian parties joined together into the Ukrainian Supreme Council (Holovna Ukrainska Rada, abbr. HUR; sometimes translated the Ukrainian Main Board) to support the Austria-Hungary. The HUR included radical, social-democratic and the national-democratic Parties.

At the head of the HUR was Kost Levytskyi. The HUR made a military legion named the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (Ukrainski Sichovi Striltsi (USS), the riflemen of the Cossack Sich) of 2 500 soldiers in order to support the Austrian-Hungarian army. The first unit of this corps was comanded by Dmytro Vitovsky. The Commander of the whole Legion the HUR made was a former school teacher Mykhailo Halushchynskyi.

On August 3, 1914, the HUR announced the "Manifesto of the Main Ukrainian Council", the political program. The HUR hoped the Austria- Hungary, being the winner in the War, would make Ukraine the independent State [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The Union for the Liberation of Ukraine (SVU). On August 4, 1914, in Vienna the Social Democrats Dmytro Dontsov, Volodymyr Doroshenko, Andrii Zhuk, Marian Melenevskyi-Basok, Olexandr Yoltuhovskyi and others foun-ded the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine (Soiuz Vyzvolennia Ukrainy, abbr. SVU). Its program contained the aim to form an independent sovereign Ukra­inian State under the protection of the Austria-Hungary and Germany. SVU was going to establish a Constitutional Ukrainian Monarchy [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The political forces of the Dnieper Ukraine before the War.

The Society of Ukrainian Progressives. The Society of Ukrainian Progressives (Tovarystvo Ukrainskykh Postupovtsiv, abbr. TUP). The TUP was founded by democrats in 1908 as inter-party power. Its leaders were Yevhen Chykalenko, M. Hrushevskyi, Fedir Matiushevskyi, Dmytro Doroshen­ko, and others. The Society announced that Ukrainian had to be neutral one in the War and advocated for an independent Ukraine with the Constitutional Monarchy.

The Galician battle. From August 23 to September 25 of 1914 the Russian army invaded Halychyna, wich belonged to the Austria-Hungary. The so-called Galician battle started. During the battle the Russian troops occupied Halychyna, Bukovyna, Zakarpattia and the north-eastern part of the Slovakia. In March of 1915 the Russians captured the fortress of Peremyshl [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The Galician and Bukovynian Governor-generalship. By the begin­ning of spring of 1915 the Russains had annexed the whole Western Ukra­ine. There was created by the Russians the Galician and Bukovynian Gover­nor-generalship, headed by the Count George Bobrinskiy. During the occupa­tion the Russians closed the "Prosvita" societies, Ukrainian institutions, libra­ries, schools. The Russian government started the Russification of the Wes­tern Ukrainian culture. Local intellectuals and Greek-Catholics (the Uniats) were repressed. The Russians imprisoned Mykhailo Hrushevskyi and the Uniat Metropolitan Andrii Sheptytskyi. Political parties were banned. In Haly- chyna more than 12 000 people were exiled to Siberia.

By the end of June of 1915 under the pressure of the Austro-German armies the Russian troops left Halychyna, Bukovyna, and Volhynia [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The Brusilov’s Offensive. In the first half of 1916 the situation changed at the battlefront again. The Russian troops under the General Aleksey Brusilov captured Bukovyna, the eastern part of Halychyna, and Volhynia region. In summer of 1916 the front line remained unchanged. In summer of 1917 the Russians launched another offensive. It ended with the collapse, and German and Austrian armies moved to the east of the Ukrainian territory [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The February Revolution in the Russian Empire. While the battle campaigns were running, on February 23 (March 8), 1917, in the town of Petrograd protest marches and strikes were going. The protest marches were attended by soldiers. The so-called February Revolution started. On 2 (15) March Nikolay II abdicated. No sooner had the Tsar abdicated than two Powers were launched by revolutionists: the Provisional Government (Vremennoye Pravitelstvo) and the "Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers' Deputies" (Soviet Rabochykh I Soldatskikh Deputatov).

The RSDLP took a course to gain the majority in the Soviets and put forward the slogan "All Power to the Soviets!" Taking into account RSDLP's course, the members of it took name the Bolsheviks (those, who make majority in the Soviets) [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR). On March 4 (17), 1917, in Kyiv some Ukrainian parties created the pre-Parliament of Ukraine - the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR). The Chairman of the UCR was Mykhailo Hrushevskyi. Very soon the UCR split into the faction of the autonomists and the faction of the independentists. The autonomists demanded the autonomy for Ukraine in the Russian Federation, the independists demanded the independence for the whole Ukraine.

The UCR intended to inspire all-people elections for the All-Ukrainian Parliament, named the All-Ukrainian Constituent Assembly [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The All-Ukrainian National Congress.

The First Universal of the Central Rada. On 10 (23) June, 1917 the UCR issued the Universal, proclaiming the autonomy of Ukraine. It was said: "Henceforth we will make our own life".

The General Secretariat. In June of 1917 the Ukrainian Government - the General Secretariat, headed by Volodymyr Vynnychenko, was establi­shed.

The Second Universal of the Central Rada. The next month the delegation of the Russian Provisional Government arrived to Kyiv. The members of the delegation were Aleksandr Kerenskiy, Mikhail Tereshchenko, and Irakli Tsereteli.

During the negotiations the UCR agreed to put off the final decision about the autonomy of Ukraine untill the All-Russian Constituent Assembly had started working and cosidered this question. In return, the Russian delegation promised that the Provisional Government would recognize the legitimacy of the Central Rada. The results of negotiations were put by the UCR into its Second Universal, issued on 3 (16) July, 1917 [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The uprising of the regiment of Pavlo Polubotok in Kyiv. In respon­se to the declaring of the Second Universal, on the night of 4 (17) July the Ukrainian regiment of Pavlo Polubotok led by Mykola Mikhnovskyi made attempt to seize Kyiv and proclaim the independence of Ukraine [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The temporary instructions for the General Secretariat. Meanwhile, the Provisional Government did not accept the decisions of its delegation. In August of 1917 it sent a "The temporary instructions for the General Secretariat". According to that the General Secretariat was appointed a local body of the Provisional Government. The UCR was proclaimed by the Provisional Government the illegal Power [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The October Revolution of the Bolsheviks in Petrograd. In Russia, at the VI Congress of the RSDLP (July 1917) the Bolsheviks voted for the armed uprising. They began to form Red Guard. The Bolsheviks actively contributed to the defeat of the counterrevolutionary rebellion of General Kornilov (August 1917). Due to that fact the Bolsheviks' party became more popular one.

In September of 1917 the Provisional Government declared Russia a republic. The Bolsheviks opposed the Provisional Government. The UCR announced the intention to acquire autonomy for Ukraine.

On October 25, 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies proclaimed the Soviet Power in Russia. The first Soviet government - the Soviet of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), led by Vladimir Lenin, was also created [3; 5; 10; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 30; 38].

The Third Universal of the Central Rada. On November 7 (20), 1917, the Ukrainian Central Rada issued the Third Universal on the formation of the Ukrainian National Republic (Ukrainska Narodna Respublika, also translated the Ukrainian People's Republic, UNR) as the autonomous part of the Russian Federation unless the Russia was the Bolshevist State.

The Third Universal declared the wide program of social reforms. It ceased landlordism, introduced the 8-hour working day; made state control over production. Minority groups were given the national-personal autonomy. Also it proclaimed democratic rights and liberties; the death penalty was banned, and political prisoners received amnesty. The UCR planned to convene on January 9, 1918, the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].

The conflict between the Central Rada and Bolsheviks. The Central Rada, being against the Bolshevik Revolution, founded the National Commit­tee for the Protection of the Revolution (of course, the February Revolution).

In return, the Bolsheviks headed by V. Zatonskyi, I. Kreisberh and H. Piatakov inspired workers of the Kyiv plant "Arsenal" and the third Aircraft Fleet to revolt against the UCR. After the revolt had been supressed the Bolsheviks moved from Kyiv to Kharkiv. There they announced the new State, named the the Soviet Ukrainian National Republic (the Soviet UNR), in order to show it be opposed to the UNR of the Central Rada. The Bolsheviks formed the Power - the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Soviet Ukraine (December 1917) [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].

The first war of the Soviet Russia with the Ukrainian National Republic. On December 17 (30) the Bolsheviks sent from Kharkiv ultimatum to the Central Rada, in which they called the UCR unlegal Power. Very soon the Red Army under the command of M. Muraviev invaded the Left Bank and, then, besieged Kyiv [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].

The Fourth Universal of the Central Rada. Meanwhile, the German troops were moving from the west. In order to conclude the German interstate agreement against the Bolsheviks and inspire people to fight, the Central Rada announced the Fourth Universal, on January 9 (22), 1918. It was

proclaimed the independence and sovereignty (the supremacy of national power was independent of any factors) of the Ukrainian National Republic. The transfer of land to the peasants without any compensation for it and the nationalization of forests, waters and groundwater resources were guaranteed there. The Fourth Universal also contained the intention to make peace with the Quadruple Alliance [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].

Questions

1. What were the aims of the both millitary blocks regarding Ukraine in 1914?

2. Why did the Ukrainian national movement split before the First World War?

3. What was the policy the Russian State pursued in Ukraine during the First World War?

4. What were the reasons and results of the February Revolution in the Russian Empire?

5. Why was the Ukrainian Central Rada established? What political agenda did the Central Rada have?

6. What were the conflicts among members of the Central Rada?

7. Describe the relations between the Central Rada and the Russian Authorities.

8. What were the significance and role of the Central Rada's Universals?

9. What were the reasons of the first war between the Soviet Russia and the Ukrainian National Republic?