Theme 12. The Ukrainian National Revolution between 1917 and 1921
The purpose of the theme is related to the attempts of the Ukrainians to defend their independence and establish Ukraine as the state throughout the civil war.
The theme includes the following main topics: the Brest Treaty of the Ukrainian National Republic and the Quadruple Alliance; the Hetmanate of Pavlo Skoropadskyi and the Ukrainian State; the second Ukrainian-Soviet war; the Directory and its Ukrainian National Republic; the French troops in the south of the Dnieper Ukraine; the Unification Act (Akt Zluky) of the UNR and ZUNR; the Warsaw Agreement of Symon Petliura and the Polish dictator Jozef Pilsudski; the White Army (the Volunteer Army); the Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA); the First Winter campaign of the Directory military units; the restoration of the Bolsheviks' regime in Ukraine; the Second Winter campaign of the Directory military units; the Soviet-Polish war (1920 - 1921); the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR).
The Brest Treaty of the Ukrainian National Republic and the Quadruple Alliance. On January 16, 1918, 300 students equipped by the Ukrainian Central Rada were defeated by the Red Army in the battle of Kruty. After the defeat of Kruty, the UCR went to Zhytomyr. On January 27 (February 10), 1918, the UCR signed the Brest Treaty with the Quadruple Alliance. The Treaty allowed armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary to occupy the whole Ukraine. The UCR promised to supply German and Austria- Hungarian troops by food and raw materials. In March, the Germans (led by 94
the General Linzingen) occupied Kyiv. Before it, the Russia also had signed with the Alliance the Peace in the Brest-Litovsk. The Alliance forced Russia to recognize the Ukrainian National Republic of the Central Rada [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Hetmanate of Pavlo Skoropadskyi and the Ukrainian State. Later on, the Germans found that the UCR was not able to control the local governments (atamans), and, hence, was not able to supply food for the German Army.
Due to this, the German Military Authorities resolved to replace the UCR by another Government, the Hetmanate of the military officer Pavlo Skoropadskyi, the descendant of the Cossack Hetman Ivan Skoropadskyi, who had been ruling Ukraine from 1708 to 1722.On April 29, 1918, the Central Rada adopted the Constitution of the Ukrainian National Republic and elected the President of UNR M. Hrushevskyi. The Constitution proclaimed democracy, freedom of speech and press, national and personal autonomy for minority groups. However, the same day, shortly after the adoption, there was the military coup made by the Germans. The Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi dissolved the UCR. The previous name of Ukraine the UNR was changed by the Ukrainian State (Ukrainska Derzhava) [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Ukrainian National Rada and the West Ukrainian National Republic. In October of 1918, in the Western Ukraine, the Austrian Emperor Karl allowed all subjugated peoples to create their own national governments. In Lviv the Ukrainians launched the Ukrainian National Rada (or the National Council, NR). Yevhen Petrushevych was elected the Chairman. The Poles immediately sent from Krakow to Lviv the Liquidation Committee. In response, the Ukrainian officers launched the Central Military Committee, headed by Dmytro Vitovskyi, the former officer of the Sich riflemen. The Central Military Committee officers and soldiers took post offices and other State institutions of Lviv. In November of 1918 the National Rada established the Government, named the State Secretariat, headed by Kost Levytskyi. The West Ukrainian National Republic (ZUNR) was also proclaimed by the National Rada [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Hetmanate of Pavlo Skoropadskyi and the peasant revolts in the Dnieper Ukraine. In the Dnieper Ukraine the Hetman Government introduced serfdom and took away grains from peasants to supply the German Army. It led to peasant revolts against the State policy.
At the village of Hulaipole, nearby Katerynoslav, the rebels led by anarchist Nestor Makhno created the military corps.
In May of 1918, the former members of the Central Rada established the Ukrainian National State Association (UNA, Ukrainskyi Natsionalno- Derzhavnyi Soiuz).
The fall of Skoropadskyi’s regime. On November 11, 1918, the First World War ended. The Quadrelupe Alliance was defeated. The Hetman was left without the support of Germany. He immediately declared that Ukraine was going to be an autonomous part of Russia, unless the Bolshevik Government was ruling Russia. The Hetman was hoping that, taking this new course, he would gain the support of the Entente [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The second Ukrainian-Soviet war. As soon as Germany had stopped supporting the Hetmanate, on November 13, 1918, the Soviet Russia started the second war with Ukraine [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Directory and its Ukrainian National Republic. While the Bolshevik army had been marching to Kyiv, on November 14, 1918, the UNA created the Directory, which members Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Symon Petliura, Fedir Shvets, Opanas Andriievskyi and Andrii Makarenko were elected. The military units of the Directory defeated the army of Hetman in the battle of Motovylivka, near Kyiv.
The Directory occupied Kyiv and proclaimed Ukrainian National Republic (also translated the Ukrainian People's Republic, Ukrainska Narod- na Respublika, UNR) [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The French troops in the south of the Dnieper Ukraine. In December of 1918 in the South of Ukraine (in Novorossiisk, Sevastopol, Odesa) French troops landed. The French demanded that Directory subject-ted to the Entente Ukrainian army, railways and finances. By that time, the Bolshevik troops had been advanced through the eastern part of the Dnieper Ukraine to Kyiv [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Unification Act (Akt Zluky) of the UNR and ZUNR.
In front of the danger to be captured by the enemies, the UNR and ZUNR declared the Act of Unification (on January 22, 1919) into one State - the Ukrainian National Republic. The ZUNR was renamed the Western region of the UNR.Meanwhile, the Red Army led by V. Antonov-Ovsienko captured Kharkiv, and soon came to Kyiv. By that time, the Bolsheviks had crushed the French troops, not far from Odesa.
Rescuing from the Bolsheviks the Directory flet to Vinnytsa, then to Rivne, and then to Kamianets-Podilskyi [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR). Having taken Kyiv, the Bolsheviks declared the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR). They also started a policy of the War Communism (or military Communism), main features of which were robbing peasants, making nationalization of enterprises, abolishing market relations, and persecuting all oppositionists.
On March 10, 1919, the Soviet Ukrainian Constitution was adopted by the Communists. This Act banned a private property. The Government of the new State - the Council of People's Commissars (CPC, Soviet Narodnykh Komissarov) led by Khrystyian Rakovskyi, was created [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The White Army (the Volunteer Army). However, in spring of 1919 the Left-Bank Ukraine was occupied by the White Army, led by Anton Denikin. The Denikinists (also known the Whites) called for the restoration of the Great Russia. Also it was known as the Volunteer Army (Dobrovolcheskaia Armia). The Volunteer Army advanced from the Don region and in the late summer of 1919 captured Kyiv. The Bolshevik troops retreated to the northern regions of Ukraine. Having possessed the Dnieper Ukraine, the Whites prohibited even the name "Ukraine". Throughout their regime, the Whites persecuted both the Bolsheviks and the supporters of the previous Ukrainian Government [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA). In June of 1919, the army of the ZUNR - the Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA) made a successful offensive against the Polish Army, at Chortkiv, in Western Ukraine.
On August 30, 1919 the UGA led by A. Kravs together with detachments of the Directory came in Kyiv. Unfortunately on August 31, a Cavalry of the White Army entered there. A. Kravs was arrested and the UGA was forced to leave Kyiv. Symon Petliura called these events "the Kyiv disaster", because after it the Ukrainian troops fell into the so-called "Triangle of Death", at the surrounding, between the Polish, Volunteer, and Soviet Armies. As a result, a lot of Ukrainians, which had fallen into encirclement, moved to partisan warfare [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The First Winter campaign of the Directory military units. Between December of 1919 and May of 1920 the Ukrainian Generals Mykhailo Omelia-novych-Pavlenko and Yurii Tiutiunnyk made the so-called First Winter
cam-paign through the rears of the White Army and the Red Army [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The restoration of the Bolshevik regime in Ukraine. Between October of 1919 and February of 1920 the Bolsheviks possessed almost all of Ukraine. The White Army under command of Peter Wrangel retreated to the Crimea, where, then, it fortified in Perekop. In 1920, the Red Army and Nestor Makhno troops captured Perekop and beat the Whites. Shortly after the victory the Bolsheviks turned against its former ally Nestor Makhno and his troops, and repressed them all [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Warsaw Agreement of Symon Petliura and the Polish dictator Jozef Pilsudski. By this time, in Warsaw S. Petliura had concluded with Polish dictator Jozef Pilsudski the Agreement (in April of 1920). In exchange for the support Symon Petliura obliged to give the Poles the Western Ukraine [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Soviet-Polish war (1920 - 1921). In spring of 1920 Polish army seized Kyiv, but soon was forced by the Red Army to retreat to Warsaw. In March of 1921 the Soviet Russia and Poland signed the Peace of Riga. Poland recognized the Ukrainian SSR and received for it the Western Ukraine [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
The Second Winter Campaign of the Directory military units. In November of 1921 the former soldiers of the Ukrainian National Republic, led by Yurii Tiutiunnyk started from Poland their Second Winter Campaign against the Bolsheviks. Unfortunately, this Campaign was lost. In 1921 the captured soldiers were shot by the Bolsheviks in the town of New Bazar, near Zhytomyr.
By 1921, Ukraine, but its western part, had been under the regime of the Bolsheviks, who declared the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic [3; 5; 8; 10; 11; 12; 17; 24; 28; 29; 38].
Questions
1. What were the reasons of defeating the Central Rada?
2. What were the negative and positive results of the regime of the Hetmanate of Pavlo Skoropadskyi?
3. What was the West Ukrainian National Republic (the ZUNR)? Describe the Government of the ZUNR.
4. Why did the second Ukrainian-Soviet war start?
5. What politics did the Directory of the Ukrainian National Republic pursue?
6. What was the significance of the Unification Act (Akt Zluky) of the UNR and ZUNR?
7. Describe the establishment of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR).
8. What were the features of the internal war in Ukraine between 1919 and 1921?