Kiev Bolshevik Uprising
Encyclopedia
The Kiev Bolshevik Uprising (November 8-13 (October 26-31 by old style), 1917) was a military struggle for power in Kiev
after the fall of the Russian Provisional Government
due to the October Revolution
, that ended with a victory for the Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the Central Rada.
10 members of which joined the Central Rada previously. The best chances that the Central Rada was that it consisted of representatives from 19 political parties including the Bolsheviks. The last one did not have a wide influence in Ukraine with about 10% of support from the total population. Prior to such turmoil, the Central Rada was in a conflict with the Provisional Government from which it was requesting a full autonomy of Ukraine as part of the Russian State. That was the reason for it to take the actions using the circumstances of political chaos which engulfed the city.
On November 8 with the initiative of the Central Rada the State Committee for the Protection of the Revolution was created;which was intended to be a temporary government in Kiev. It consisted of representatives from different political parties, councils, and the city Duma. The Committee was meeting in the building of the Pedagogical museum
. The headquarters of the KMD was supporting the Russian Provisional Government and did not trust the State Committee as it included the Bolsheviks. On November 9 the Central Rada finally defined its negative position in relation to the Petrograd coup, condemned the Bolshevik's actions, and declared that "it will decisively fight against all attempts to support such uprising in Ukraine. Rada expressed its agreement for the creation in Russia homogeneous socialist government with the representatives of all socialist parties.
The Kievan Bolshevik
s headed by Georgiy Pyatakov (active member of the Central Rada) firmly stood on the Lenin's principles and they did not agree with the position of the Central Rada. The same day they left the State Committee for the protection of the revolution and held a joint meeting (congress) with representatives of worker's and soldier's deputies councils, trade unions, factory presiding committees (fabzavkom), and military units (in the building of the Bergonie theater). And although it was clear that the possible seizure of power by one will lead the disagreement with other political forces, the split in society, and the civil war they accepted the resolution for the support of the Bolshevik Revolution in Petrograd and declared the power of Soviet government. With their next decision the congress elected revkom consisting of such Bolsheviks as Jan Hamarnyk, Oleksandr Horwits, Andriy Ivanov
, Isaac Kreysberg, Volodymyr Zatonsky
, Ivan Kulik
, and others to whom was planned to transfer the power. All of them also initiated the January Uprising
couple of months later to support the sack of Kiev by the advancing Bolshevik forces from Russian SFSR and installation of the Soviet government in Ukraine.
In response to the Bolshevik activities the military forces of the KMD were ordered to liquidate the Bolshevik center on November 10, 1917. They surrounded Mariyinsky Palace
where was located the local revkom and thrashed the building of the Kievan Duma Executive Committee and the Bolshevik Committee. Almost all the members of the Kievan Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker's Party (Bolsheviks)
and the revkom (14 people) were arrested. The same day ceased to exist the State Committee for the protection of the revolution as the commander of the KMD, Mikhail Kvetsinsky, refused to take orders from it. On November 10 all the functions of the liquidated State Committee for the protection of the revolution were transferred to the General Secretariat
.
Bolsheviks answered by reinstating the revkom the next day (Volodymyr Zatonsky
, Andriy Ivanov
, Ivan Kudrin, and others). They initiated military operations against the forces of the KMD. At the same time the VII session of the Central Rada was taken place, the deputies of which formed a committee that would find ways to stop mayhem in Kiev. The seesion also sanctioned all the power in Ukraine to be transferred to the Central Rada. The committee decided that all the power in the city will transfer to the Ukrainian Central Rada that will cooperate with the City Duma and the soviets
of the workers' soldiers' deputies. For the next couple days street firefights filled some parts of the city (Pechersk
, Demiivka). On November 13 the headquarters of the Kievan Military District (KMD) that was located on the Bankova Street
signed a cease-fire agreement with the Kiev revkom and soon withdrew out of the city. Since that time the Kiev Military District was virtually liquidated.
On November 16, 1917 at the joined meeting of the Central Rada and the Executive Committee of the soviets
of the workers' soldiers' deputies in Kiev have acknowledge the Rada as the regional council in Ukraine. Soon, on November 20, was issued the III Universal of the Ukrainian People's Republic
which declared Ukraine an autonomous part of the democratic Russian state with the capital in Kiev
.
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
after the fall of the Russian Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
due to the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, that ended with a victory for the Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the Central Rada.
Chronology of activities
On November 7, 1917 message about anti-tsarist, revolutionary activities in Petrograd caused questions to asked regarding the political control in the city and Ukraine in general. In order to gain control over Ukraine, three major factions competed with each other, they were the following: the Ukrainian Central Rada, the headquarters of the Kievan Military District (KMD), and the Kievan Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker's Party (Bolsheviks)Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
10 members of which joined the Central Rada previously. The best chances that the Central Rada was that it consisted of representatives from 19 political parties including the Bolsheviks. The last one did not have a wide influence in Ukraine with about 10% of support from the total population. Prior to such turmoil, the Central Rada was in a conflict with the Provisional Government from which it was requesting a full autonomy of Ukraine as part of the Russian State. That was the reason for it to take the actions using the circumstances of political chaos which engulfed the city.
On November 8 with the initiative of the Central Rada the State Committee for the Protection of the Revolution was created;which was intended to be a temporary government in Kiev. It consisted of representatives from different political parties, councils, and the city Duma. The Committee was meeting in the building of the Pedagogical museum
Ukrainian Club Building
Building of Pedagogical Museum is a historical building located at 57 Volodymyr Street, in Kyiv, Ukraine and constructed in the times of Russian Empire in 1909-1911 by Pavlo Alyoshyn...
. The headquarters of the KMD was supporting the Russian Provisional Government and did not trust the State Committee as it included the Bolsheviks. On November 9 the Central Rada finally defined its negative position in relation to the Petrograd coup, condemned the Bolshevik's actions, and declared that "it will decisively fight against all attempts to support such uprising in Ukraine. Rada expressed its agreement for the creation in Russia homogeneous socialist government with the representatives of all socialist parties.
The Kievan Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s headed by Georgiy Pyatakov (active member of the Central Rada) firmly stood on the Lenin's principles and they did not agree with the position of the Central Rada. The same day they left the State Committee for the protection of the revolution and held a joint meeting (congress) with representatives of worker's and soldier's deputies councils, trade unions, factory presiding committees (fabzavkom), and military units (in the building of the Bergonie theater). And although it was clear that the possible seizure of power by one will lead the disagreement with other political forces, the split in society, and the civil war they accepted the resolution for the support of the Bolshevik Revolution in Petrograd and declared the power of Soviet government. With their next decision the congress elected revkom consisting of such Bolsheviks as Jan Hamarnyk, Oleksandr Horwits, Andriy Ivanov
Andriy Ivanov
Andriy Vasylyovych Ivanov was Russian-Ukrainian, Communist Party activist.Ivanov was born in a village of Kukshevo, Imperial Russia . In 1905-1907 he has partaken the party work in Vladimir Governorate and Moscow city.Since 1916 he worked at the Kiev Arsenal factory as the party agitator...
, Isaac Kreysberg, Volodymyr Zatonsky
Volodymyr Zatonsky
Volodymyr Zatonsky was a Soviet politician, Communist Party activist, member of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences ....
, Ivan Kulik
Ivan Kulik
Ivan Yulianovych Kulik was Jewish-Ukrainian poet, writer, translator, diplomat and Communist Party activist, . He also wrote under names "R. Rolinato" and "Vasyl Rolenko".-Biography:...
, and others to whom was planned to transfer the power. All of them also initiated the January Uprising
Kiev Arsenal January Uprising
Kiev Arsenal January Uprising, sometimes called simply the January Uprising or the January Rebellion , was the Bolshevik organized workers' armed revolt that started on January 29, 1918 at the Kiev Arsenal factory during the Ukrainian-Soviet War....
couple of months later to support the sack of Kiev by the advancing Bolshevik forces from Russian SFSR and installation of the Soviet government in Ukraine.
In response to the Bolshevik activities the military forces of the KMD were ordered to liquidate the Bolshevik center on November 10, 1917. They surrounded Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace is an official ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine in Kiev and adjoins the neo-classical building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine...
where was located the local revkom and thrashed the building of the Kievan Duma Executive Committee and the Bolshevik Committee. Almost all the members of the Kievan Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker's Party (Bolsheviks)
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
and the revkom (14 people) were arrested. The same day ceased to exist the State Committee for the protection of the revolution as the commander of the KMD, Mikhail Kvetsinsky, refused to take orders from it. On November 10 all the functions of the liquidated State Committee for the protection of the revolution were transferred to the General Secretariat
General Secretariat of Ukraine
The General Secretariat of Ukraine was the main executive institution of the Ukrainian People's Republic from June 28, 1917 to January 22, 1918.It closely related to the today's Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine...
.
Bolsheviks answered by reinstating the revkom the next day (Volodymyr Zatonsky
Volodymyr Zatonsky
Volodymyr Zatonsky was a Soviet politician, Communist Party activist, member of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences ....
, Andriy Ivanov
Andriy Ivanov
Andriy Vasylyovych Ivanov was Russian-Ukrainian, Communist Party activist.Ivanov was born in a village of Kukshevo, Imperial Russia . In 1905-1907 he has partaken the party work in Vladimir Governorate and Moscow city.Since 1916 he worked at the Kiev Arsenal factory as the party agitator...
, Ivan Kudrin, and others). They initiated military operations against the forces of the KMD. At the same time the VII session of the Central Rada was taken place, the deputies of which formed a committee that would find ways to stop mayhem in Kiev. The seesion also sanctioned all the power in Ukraine to be transferred to the Central Rada. The committee decided that all the power in the city will transfer to the Ukrainian Central Rada that will cooperate with the City Duma and the soviets
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
of the workers' soldiers' deputies. For the next couple days street firefights filled some parts of the city (Pechersk
Pechersk
Pechersk Raion is a larger administrative district of the city which lies majorly within the historical neighborhood, while also including some other historical areas. Pechersk neighborhood is located on the hills adjoining the right bank of the Dnieper River. The two geographic entities are...
, Demiivka). On November 13 the headquarters of the Kievan Military District (KMD) that was located on the Bankova Street
Bankova Street
Vulytsia Bankova or Bankova is a street located in the Lypky neighborhood of the Pechersk District in central Kiev , the capital of Ukraine...
signed a cease-fire agreement with the Kiev revkom and soon withdrew out of the city. Since that time the Kiev Military District was virtually liquidated.
On November 16, 1917 at the joined meeting of the Central Rada and the Executive Committee of the soviets
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
of the workers' soldiers' deputies in Kiev have acknowledge the Rada as the regional council in Ukraine. Soon, on November 20, was issued the III Universal of the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
which declared Ukraine an autonomous part of the democratic Russian state with the capital in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
.