Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukraine, 1917–1921. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Ukrainian People's Republic was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Following the October Revolution, the Central Council of Ukraine denounced the Bolshevik seizure of power and proclaimed the establishment of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The republic formally declared its independence from Russia on 22 January 1918. As a result of the fighting, Soviet Russia managed to extend its control over what would ultimately become the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922.
Seat of power: Kyiv
Rulers
Mykhailo Hrushevskyi
Head of state, 1917–1918
Soon after the February Revolution, on 17 March 1917, Hrushevsky, still living in Moscow, was elected head of the revolutionary parliament, the Ukrainian Central Rada in Kyiv.
Portrait of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Chairman of the Directorate of Ukraine, 1918–1919
Vynnychenko served as the head of the General Secretariat of Ukraine, a local representative executive body of the Russian Provisional Government. Vynnychenko resigned his post in the General Secretariat on August 13 in protest against the Russian government's rejection of the Universal of Central Rada. The Directorate, a temporary executive council of five, proclaimed the restoration of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
Portrait of Volodymyr Vynnychenko: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Symon Petliura
Chairman of the Directorate of Ukraine, 1919–1926
He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a part of the wider Russian Civil War. He became the leader of the Directorate in early 1919, after the Bolsheviks invaded Ukraine and captured its capital. During the Civil War, the UNA were responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Jewish civilians, and Petliura's role in the pogroms has been a topic of dispute.
Portrait of Symon Petliura: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Culture
- On 13 April a major demonstration took place in the Sofiyska Square, involving around 100,000 participants, many of whom waved blue-and-yellow flags and sang the Ukrainian national anthem.
- In March the Russian revolutionary cabinet headed by Georgy Lvov permitted the introduction of Ukrainian language in schools and administration of Ukrainian lands.
- On 24 June 1917, the Central Council of Ukraine declared its autonomy as part of the Russian Republic by its First Universal at the All-Ukrainian Military Congress.
Picture
The Ukrainian War of Independence lasted from March 1917 to November 1921 and was part of the wider Russian Civil War.
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Sources
- Ukrainian People's Republic (Wikipedia)
- Ukrainian People's Republic (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.