Ukrainian People's Republic
The emergence of fake Ukrainian "states" and "Soviet republics" after the February Revolution in Russia and during the Civil War raises many questions. Did the population of the Southwestern Territory of Russia really strive for independence? Or was it all artificially provoked? Why did a series of mutual betrayals, attempts to find foreign owners and the failure of statehood to haunt this territory all the time?
Separatist sentiments, especially in Galicia, were fueled by Poland for centuries, and on the eve of World War I by Austria-Hungary and Germany. The Austrian authorities used the movement of Ukrainophiles as agents of influence in Russia. Since 1912 in Galicia there was an organization called "The Association of Ukrainian Doctors" headed by an Austrian citizen Grushevsky, which set separatist goals in relation to the population of the Southwestern Territory of Russia. In Kiev and other cities of the South-Western Territory, under the leadership of Hrushevsky, centers for the spread of Ukrainophilism are being created, the activities of the "Mazepa" people become more active, and hundreds of propagandists appear.
Austrian and German special services secretly financed and directed the activities of Ukrainophiles in a spirit of Russophobia. In August 1914, the Austrian special services created in Galicia the "Union for the Liberation of Ukraine", which later passed under the wing of the German General Staff, with the aim of promoting the idea of separating a part of the Southwestern Territory from Russia as an "independent state included in the system of central powers."
The activities of the Ukrainophiles and "Mazepians" do not find support among the masses, but they are picked up by Russian liberals in the person of the leader of the Cadet Party, Milyukov, who are striving to orient Russia towards Western values. Grushevsky, who maintains contacts with Russian liberal parties and factions in the State Duma of Russia, even manages to impose discussions on the existence of the "Ukrainian people" there. Before that, the term "Ukrainian" was never used in Russia.
The February revolution renders the Galician Ukrainians an invaluable service. Hrushevsky's old acquaintance, the cadet Milyukov, who perceives his views on the "Ukrainian question", becomes the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government and on March 2, 1917 declares that the Ukrainians of Galicia, if they wish, can unite with the Ukrainians living in Russia, thereby recognizing for the first time at the level government the existence of two different peoples - Russian and "Ukrainian".
Considering that practically all "Ukrainians" were in Galicia, they responded to Milyukov's call, quickly moved to Kiev and began to form the organs of the future "state". "Ukrainian actions", transformed into the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Federalists, together with the "Union for the Liberation of Ukraine", with the support of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Labor Party, various societies, circles, party groups, workers, military, cultural and professional organizations, on their own initiative establish in Kiev on March 4 (17) the Ukrainian Central Rada under the plausible pretext of "achieving broad national and territorial Ukrainian autonomy in the Russian federal republic."
At the same time, they do not seek to unite Galicia with Russia, but to annex the lands of the South-Western Territory to Galicia. Appointing themselves members of the Central Rada, and Hrushevsky as chairman (of the 18 first leaders of the Central Rada, 12 were Austrian subjects), they begin energetic efforts to create an "independent Ukraine."
Thus, as a result of the conspiracy of the short-sighted part of the Russian elite with the "Mazepians", they were given the opportunity to seize part of the Russian lands from Russia. All further activities of the Central Rada consisted in securing the seized rights and promoting the "Ukrainian question" to the international level, and the Germans and Austrians enthusiastically supported the aspirations of their puppets.
At a demonstration organized by the Central Rada on March 19 in Kiev, a resolution was adopted on the immediate introduction of autonomy in Ukraine, followed by approval by the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, and the Provisional Russian Government was to immediately issue a declaration on the need for broad autonomy for Ukraine.
To give its legitimacy, the Central Rada is organizing a Ukrainian congress on April 6-8 to hold "elections" for the composition of the Central Rada, which would give it the character of representation from the entire "Ukrainian people" and would confirm its political platform for the creation of national-territorial autonomy. The delegates to the congress were represented by parties, associations and organizations that recognized themselves as Ukrainian. According to the recollections of its participants, the election of delegates to the congress has not been officially held anywhere. However, later it was announced that 822 deputies had been elected to the CR. From this composition, the Malaya Rada was formed in the amount of 58 people, and also confirmed the powers of Hrushevsky as chairman of the CR.
The composition of the "people's" delegates to the congress and the principle of their formation are interesting. Deputies from the army had "powers" on the basis of military certificates to send them to Kiev to receive a batch of boots in the quartermaster's warehouse, for cash payments, for medical treatment, etc. Deputies from the localities had private letters addressed to Grushevsky and other leaders of the following content: "We are sending what we know …" signed by the chairman of some party or public Ukrainian organization. For example, the deputies from Poltava were elected by the council of elders of the Ukrainian club, which was attended by only 8 people. Approximately 300 deputies were represented by Hrushevsky, Vinnichenko and other members of the presidium, each of whom was "entrusted" with deputy powers from 10, 15, 25 deputies. It was with such a "popular" expression of will that the Central Rada was established.
The emissaries from the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine, with the support of Hrushevsky, were able to freely influence the deputies of the Central Rada, who got there "on occasion", and to form separatist sentiments in them.
In May, the Central Rada demanded from the Provisional Government of Russia to issue a government act on the recognition of the autonomy of Ukraine, the allocation of 12 provinces with the Ukrainian population to an administrative unit and the creation of a Ukrainian army. Autonomy was supposed to be formed not on a territorial, but on a national basis.
Relying on the "Ukrainian units" being created, the Central Rada organizes on June 4 (23) a military congress, which recognizes the Ukrainian Army Committee as the supreme body of Ukrainian military units and organizations. Gathering the delegates to the congress on Sofia Square, the Central Rada announces the "First Universal", which unilaterally proclaimed the national and cultural autonomy of Ukraine within Russia. Then, on June 16 (29), the General Secretariat is formed, which was supposed to become the highest authority in Ukraine. Volodymyr Vinnichenko was elected the chairman (prime minister) of the General Secretariat (government), the general secretary for military affairs Simon Petliura.
During this period, the formation of "Ukrainian units" began, which was facilitated by the position of the Supreme Headquarters, which considered it expedient to create "national units" (Polish, Latvian, Serbian, Czechoslovak, etc.), which could strengthen the combat capability of the Russian army. The headquarters made it possible to "Ukrainize" two army corps, renaming them the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian corps. Thus, the prerequisites for the formation of the UPR army were created.
The Central Rada went further in spreading separatism in Russia. On June 27, she adopted a resolution to hold in July in Kiev a congress of all Russian nationalities seeking autonomy, with the participation of Finns, Poles, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Belarusians, Georgians, Jews, Tatars, Armenians, Kalmyks, Bashkirs, as well as Donets and Siberians. This initiative was never implemented.
After negotiations of the Central Rada with a delegation of the Provisional Government of Russia on June 28 - July 3 and mutual concessions, the Provisional Government recognized Ukraine's right to create an autonomy with the final solution of this issue by the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. The Central Rada on July 3 (16) publishes the "Second Universal", which unilaterally declares the General Secretariat as a local authority accountable to the Provisional Government.
The elections to city government bodies held in Ukraine on July 23 (August 5) showed that the idea of "independence" is not supported by the population, supporters of Ukraine's independence did not receive a single seat, all-Russian parties received 870 seats, and supporters of Russia's federalization - 128 seats.
The Provisional Government of Russia on August 4 (17) recognizes the possibility of Ukraine gaining autonomy, but the powers of the General Secretariat of the CR as a local government body of the Provisional Government extend not to 9 Ukrainian provinces, which the Central Rada was striving for, but only to 5 provinces (Kiev, Volyn, Podolsk, Poltava and Chernigov). The Provisional Government did not subject the Central Rada to Kharkiv, Yekaterinoslav, Tauride and Kherson provinces, since the Union of Industrialists of the South of Russia on August 1 (4) appealed to the Provisional Government to prevent the transfer of the mining and mining industry of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog region under the control of "provincial autonomy".
The Central Rada and the General Secretariat during this period were not any state bodies, state institutions ignored them, taxes went to the Russian treasury. Nevertheless, being just a kind of public institution with the powers of local authorities, they skillfully used the difficulties of the Provisional Government, the Bolshevik uprising in Petrograd and General Kornilov's coup d'etat, consistently pursuing a policy of secession from Russia. On September 30, the General Secretariat adopts a declaration, which introduced a management structure fully accountable to the CR, and also prohibited the implementation of any orders of the Provisional Government adopted without the consent of the Central Rada.
After the October Revolution in Petrograd on October 25 (November 7) and the overthrow of the Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks tried to seize power in Kiev, but this attempt was suppressed by the troops and "Ukrainian units" loyal to the Provisional Government.
The Central Rada pulled loyal "Ukrainian units" to Kiev, occupied government offices, seized power in Kiev and created the Regional Committee for the Protection of the Revolution, subordinating to it all civil and military authorities in Ukraine, including in Kherson, Yekaterinoslav, Kharkov, Kholmsk and partially Tavricheskaya, Kursk and Voronezh provinces, urging to fight against attempts to support the revolution in Petrograd.
Fearing the force that was forming around the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander in Mogilev, planning to create an all-Russian government to fight the Bolsheviks, Hrushevsky did not dare to immediately declare an independent Ukrainian state, but initiated on November 7 (20) the adoption of the "Third Universal", which proclaimed the Ukrainian People's Republic in federal connection with the Russian Republic, including the Kiev, Volyn, Podolsk, Kherson, Chernigov, Poltava, Kharkov, Yekaterinoslav provinces and the districts of Northern Tavria (without Crimea). The annexation of parts of the Kursk, Kholmsk, Voronezh and neighboring provinces, where "the majority of the Ukrainian population" lives, was to be decided "by the consent of the organized will of the peoples."
At the same time, the Central Rada began to establish contacts with the ataman of the Don Army, Kaledin, who did not recognize the power of the Bolsheviks and declared the independence of the Oblast of the Don Army before the formation of legitimate Russian power.
So, because of the short-sighted policy of liberal circles in Russia, the collapse of the Russian statehood and the army after the February Revolution, with the support of the Austro-German authorities in part of the territory of the Southwestern Territory of Russia, separatist-minded "Mazepians" and Ukrainophiles, against the will of the population, proclaimed the first "Ukrainian state" called the Ukrainian People's Republic.
