Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic
In addition to the already mentioned Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets, other Soviet republics existed in Ukraine during this period. One of them was the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic.
Before the February Revolution, a consensus of economic and political elites had developed in this region on the need to unite the coal, metallurgical and industrial regions of the region into a single region with the capital in Kharkov. The initiators of this association were industrialists who saw the advantages of a unified management of the industry in these areas. They proposed to unite the Kharkov and Yekaterinoslav provinces, parts of the Kherson and Tavricheskaya provinces, the Don Cossack Region, the Donetsk and Krivoy Rog basins into a single region.
At the congress of Soviets of Workers' Deputies held in Kharkov on May 6, 1917, such an association was proclaimed and the Executive Committee of the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Region was created. The unification was carried out not on a national basis, but on the basis of economic and territorial considerations.
In connection with the claims of the independent Central Rada on the territory of this region, the Union of Industrialists of the South of Russia on August 1 (14) appealed to the Provisional Government with a demand to prevent the transfer of "the southern mining and mining industry - the basis of economic development and military power of the state" under the control of "provincial autonomy. based on a sharply expressed nationality ", since" the whole region, both in industrial terms and in geography and everyday life, appears to be completely different from Kiev. " Here is such an interesting appeal of industrialists to the Provisional Government, the formulation and justification given in it are still relevant.
The Provisional Government supported this demand and on August 4 (17) sent the Central Rada "Temporary Instruction", according to which its competence extended only to Kiev, Volyn, Podolsk, Poltava and Chernigov provinces.
The plenum of the Executive Committee of the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih region on November 17 (30) rejected the "Third Universal" of the Central Rada, which made claims to the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih region and demanded a referendum on the self-determination of the region.
An interesting situation in relation to the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih region has developed in the camp of the Bolsheviks. The Petrograd leadership of the Bolsheviks insisted on the inclusion of the region in Ukraine, and the local Bolshevik leadership of the region did not want to recognize itself as a part of Ukraine and defended its independence within the Russian Federation.
Despite the decision of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets, held in Kharkov on December 11-12 (24-25), 1917 with the participation of delegates from the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih region and recognizing the region as part of Ukraine, they nevertheless at the IV Congress of Soviets of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog region on January 30 (February 12) 1918 in Kharkov, the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic was proclaimed as part of the All-Russian Federation of Soviet Republics, creating the Council of People's Commissars of the DCSR and electing him chairman of the Bolshevik Artyom (Sergeev).
The initiators of the creation of the DKSR believed that the basis of the Soviet state should not be based on national characteristics, but on the principle of territorial-industrial community of regions, and insisted on the separation of the DKSR from Ukraine and its inclusion in Soviet Russia.
This position was at odds with the policy of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, headed by Lenin, who sought to dilute the nationalist and peasant masses of Ukraine at the expense of the proletariat of industrial regions.
The Council of People's Commissars of the DKSR in its economic activities was guided by the nationalization of only large industry - metallurgical plants, mines and mines, economic reforms, the introduction of taxes for large entrepreneurs, but at the same time adhered to the preservation of financial resources of private banks to support the economy.
Against the background of the occupation of Ukraine by Austro-German troops, which began after the Central Rada signed on January 27 (February 9) 1918 of the separate Brest Peace Treaty, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on March 15, 1918 declared that Donbass was part of Ukraine and obliged all party workers of Ukraine to including DKSR, to take part in the Second All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets with the aim of forming at the congress a single government of Soviet Ukraine for all.
The Second All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets, held on March 17-19, 1918 in Yekaterinoslav, proclaimed the Ukrainian Soviet Republic an independent state, uniting into it the territories of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets, Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic and Odessa Soviet Republic. Skrypnik was elected the head of the People's Secretariat of the republic. However, this was a purely declarative statement, since in connection with the offensive of the Austro-German occupation forces, the Ukrainian Soviet Republic ceased to exist at the end of April, without holding out even two months.
The activities of the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic were also interrupted by the occupation, on March 18 troops invaded the DKSR, on April 8 the government of the republic moved to Lugansk, and on April 28 it was evacuated to the territory of the RSFSR. During the three months of its existence, the DKSR distinguished itself by its reasonable economic and social policy and the republic was led by extraordinary people who were able to go against the tide and saw the prospect for many years to come. Nevertheless, on February 17, 1919, at the suggestion of Lenin, a resolution was adopted by the Defense Council of the RSFSR on the liquidation of the DKSR, despite the resistance of the party and Soviet workers of the republic, who were trying to revive it.
Almost a hundred years later, the same situation developed with the creation of the Donetsk People's Republic, which sought to become part of the Russian Federation, but this was not supported or supported in Moscow in any way.
Odessa Soviet Republic
In addition to the DKSR, there was another lesser known Soviet republic in Ukraine - in Odessa. After the fall of the Provisional Government, the local authorities of the Central Rada and the units of the Haidamaks stationed in Odessa, the Moldovan-Bessarabian council "Sfatul Tarii", oriented towards Romania, and the Council of Soldiers and Sailors of the Romanian Front and the Black Sea Fleet (RUMCHEROD), claimed the position of the local authorities of the Central Rada and Odessa. supported the Bolsheviks.
Until January 1918, the opposing sides did not take serious action, but in early January, Romanian troops invaded Bessarabia. In those days, the UPR authorities in Odessa tried to disarm the military units of the garrison supporting the Bolsheviks.
RUMCHEROD on January 13 raised an uprising in Odessa against the authorities of the UPR, by that time the Soviet troops had already expelled the troops of the UPR from Yekaterinoslav, Aleksandrovsk (Zaporozhye), Poltava. In Odessa on January 17, with the support of the artillery of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, the resistance of the Haidamaks was suppressed.
On January 18 (31), 1918, the Bolsheviks, with the support of anarchists, Left Social Revolutionaries, insurgent soldiers and sailors, proclaimed the Odessa Soviet Republic in parts of the territories of the Kherson and Bessarabian provinces and formed a government - the Council of People's Commissars, recognizing the power of the Council of People's Commissars and the Soviet government in Kharkov.
The Council of People's Commissars of the republic began to nationalize large enterprises, mills, bakeries, maritime transport, expropriate housing stock from large homeowners for transfer to the needy, requisition food from entrepreneurs, fight speculation, set norms for the distribution of food to the population, accompanied by violence against the propertied classes.
For the republic, the main task was to defend against the Romanian invasion. Despite the resistance of the republican army, the Romanian troops captured Chisinau and a significant part of Bessarabia. In these battles, the commanders of individual detachments, Kotovsky and Yakir, who later became famous red commanders, distinguished themselves.
In February, the 3rd revolutionary army arrived in Odessa under the command of Muravyov, who led the republic's armed forces and, in fact, established a regime of personal power, limiting the powers of the Odessa Council of People's Commissars, reorganized into the regional executive committee.
With the establishment of the regime of Muravyov's personal power, the terror against "class enemies": officers of the tsarist army, the bourgeoisie, priests, which took place earlier, as in the detachments of the Red Guards there was a significant proportion of criminals, intensified. The Odessa Republic became famous not only for social protection of the poor, but also for extrajudicial reprisals. During this time, up to two thousand people were killed without trial, including up to 400 officers of the tsarist army were executed. For the most part, these were reprisals against the "bourgeoisie", which were based on both political and criminal motives.
Republican troops led by Muravyov inflicted sensitive defeats on the Romanian troops, forcing them on March 9 to sign the Soviet-Romanian agreement, according to which Romania undertook to withdraw its army from Bessarabia.
Nevertheless, the Odessa Soviet Republic fell on March 13, 1918 under the onslaught of the Austro-German occupation forces. On their shoulders, the authorities of the UPR returned to Odessa and the Kherson province, and Southern Bessarabia was annexed by Romania.
The Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic, along with the Odessa Soviet Republic, followed the path of building a federation not on the basis of national territorial entities, but a federation of regions formed on a territorial-economic principle, but this was not supported by the Bolshevik government headed by Lenin, which was building a federation on the basis of national republics …
Ukrainian State
The Austro-German occupation troops, which freely occupied Ukraine in pursuance of the separate Brest Peace, signed by the Central Rada with Germany and Austria-Hungary on January 27 (February 9) 1918, entered Kiev on March 2. The day before, Petlyura, for propaganda purposes, organized a solemn parade in Kiev abandoned by the Bolsheviks of the Haidamaks and Sich Riflemen, which angered the Germans and the leadership of the CR, and Petliura was expelled from the UPR army.
The Central Rada, which returned to Kiev on the shoulders of the occupation troops, was of little interest to the German command, which viewed Ukraine as a territory from which, in accordance with the Brest Peace, it was necessary to receive large quantities of agricultural products for the needs of Germany, which is experiencing great difficulties in providing for the army and the population.
The Germans needed bread, and the ideas of the Central Republic leaders about the socialization of the land, leading to its next redistribution, only complicated the task of quickly withdrawing grain. In addition, the CR was unable to ensure order in the territory under its control, where the revelry of gangs and chieftains, who did not obey the Kiev authorities, continued. The report of the German command to Berlin indicated that the existing government is not able to establish the necessary order in the country, that practically nothing comes of Ukrainization, and that it is desirable to openly declare the occupation of Ukraine by German troops.
The German command was looking for a way to replace the Central Rada with a more controllable and capable government. The reason for this was the abduction on April 24 in Kiev in order to obtain a ransom for Abram Dobry, the head of the bank through which the financial transactions of the occupation forces with the Reichsbank of Germany were carried out. Prominent figures of the Central Rada were involved in the abduction. This caused the outrage of the commander of the German troops Eichhorn, who issued a decree on the jurisdiction of the German field courts of certain criminal offenses. On April 28, a German patrol came to a meeting of the Central Council, arrested a number of CR ministers and ordered everyone to leave the premises. The power of the Central Republic of Russia ended there, no one tried to protect it, it completely discredited itself and did not enjoy the support of the army and the population.
The day after the dispersal of the Central Rada on April 29, a "congress of grain growers" was organized in Kiev, which handed over the supreme power in the country to General Skoropadsky, the Ukrainian People's Republic was renamed into the Ukrainian State, Skoropadsky was proclaimed the hetman of the Ukrainian State.
Skoropadsky issued a charter, according to which the Central and Malaya Rada were dissolved, and the laws they had issued were canceled, and the Hetmanate regime was established in Ukraine. Immediately, a cabinet of ministers was formed, headed by the prime minister - a large landowner Lizogub, most of the ministerial posts were received by the cadets who supported the hetman regime.
The former tsarist general did not trust the supporters of the Central Rada, so his power relied on the German occupation troops, large landowners, the bourgeoisie, former state and local officials, and Russian officers who went over to serve in the hetman army.
The hetman's army was formed on the basis of the former tsarist army, command positions were occupied by Russian officers, tens of thousands of whom fled in Kiev from the persecution of the Bolsheviks. Subsequently, most of the top commanding staff refused to serve in the Petliura army and went over to the banners of Denikin.
Large landowners' tenure was restored, the right to private property was confirmed, and the freedom to buy and sell land was declared. The stake was placed on the restoration of large landlord and middle peasant farms, in which the occupation authorities were interested.
A significant part of the harvest collected by the peasants was subject to requisition, a tax in kind was introduced to fulfill Ukraine's obligations to Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Brest Peace.
The restoration of landlord ownership with the accompanying terror of the landowners, food robbery and violence from the occupation troops to the limit exacerbated the already tense political and socio-economic situation, and the repressive actions of the hetman's punitive detachments provoked the peasants into armed resistance. Relative peace and order were in the cities, the former tsarist bureaucracy and officers, with the assistance of the German occupation administration, ensured the functioning of management structures.
This situation already in May led to widespread peasant uprisings in different regions of Ukraine. During the peasant uprisings in the first six months of the occupation, according to the German General Staff, about 22 thousand soldiers and officers of the occupying forces and more than 30 thousand soldiers of the hetman army were killed.
From the end of May, opposition to the hetman's regime began to form from various parties that operated during the rule of the UPR. The Ukrainian National Union, formed in August, was headed by Volodymyr Vynnychenko. He came into contact with peasant atamans, representatives of the Bolshevik government and individual commanders of the hetman army who supported the Ukrainian statehood, who agreed to participate in the uprising against Skoropadsky.
Skoropadsky's power rested mainly on the bayonets of the occupation forces. After the defeat in November 1918 of the Central Powers in the war, he lost the support of external allies and tried to go over to the side of the victorious Entente, issuing a manifesto to uphold "the long-standing power and strength of the All-Russian State."
This manifesto put an end to the independent Ukrainian statehood and, naturally, was not accepted by the majority of politicians in Ukraine defending these ideas. Vynnychenko on November 13 formed the Directory of the UPR, starting an armed struggle with the hetman for power in Ukraine. The armed struggle ended with the capture of Kiev by the troops of the Directory on December 14. Skoropadsky's regime was eliminated, and he fled with the retreating German troops. The UPR was restored as a Directory. The Ukrainian State, having existed for 9 months on German bayonets, fell as a result of a peasant uprising against the terror of the occupying troops and the hetman's army.
The end follows …
