Ukraine after the Russian Revolution
Encyclopedia
Ukrainian territory was fought over by various factions after the Russian Revolution of 1917
and the First World War, which added the collapse of Austria-Hungary
to that of the Imperial Russia. The crumbling of the empires had a great effect on the Ukrainian nationalist movement and in the short period of four years a number of Ukrainian governments sprung up. This period was characterized by optimism and nation-building, as well as chaos and civil war
. It ended in 1921, with the territory of modern-day Ukraine
divided between Soviet Ukraine (which would become a constituent republic of the Soviet Union
) and Poland
, with small regions belonging to Czechoslovakia
and Romania
.
of 1917, during the First World War, territories which had belonged to the Russian Empire
, including Ukraine
, suddenly found themselves in a political vacuum. Factions in Ukraine and several foreign powers vied for control during the increasingly chaotic period of the Russian Civil War
. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the ethnic Ukrainian territories of Galicia (Halychyna), Transcarpathia
(Zakarpattia), and Bukovina
(Bukovyna) found themselves likewise in strife.
Ukrainians of Dnieper Ukraine
and of the Western territories independently declared statehood as the Ukrainian People's Republic
(Ukrayins'ka Narodna Respublika, UNR) and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (Zakhidno-Ukrayins’ka Narodna Respublyka, ZUNR), respectively. Forces of these Ukrainian republics, the White movement
, the Ukrainian and Russian Bolsheviks, Poland
, Germany
, and Romania
fought over Ukrainian lands. The Makhnovist
Partisan Army
claimed significant areas as an anarchist
"Free Territory
." Many stateless paramilitary bands lacking any coherent ideology fought these forces and each other in what frequently seemed a political free-for-all. Various alliances were formed and broken.
Despite the turbulence, this period saw a resurgence of Ukrainian-language publication, which had been controversial in Austro-Hungary, and persecuted in the Russian Empire. The Hetmanate
, installed by Germany while overthrowing the government of the UNR, conducted state policies directed at bolstering the Ukrainian culture and education. Among the Bolsheviks, national identity was controversial, but the so-called Kiev faction pushed for Ukrainization
as well.
, Ukrainian community leaders were able finally to organized the Central Rada in Kiev (Tsentral’na rada), headed by Mykhailo Hrushevsky
. They sought an approval of the Russian Provisional Government
in Petrograd (St Petersburg) to establish a regional government. The Central Rada consisted of various political parties such as Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionary, Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party, Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, Jewish Bund, Polish national party, representatives of Army, peasantry, workers, and others. It quickly gained the support of elements of the Imperial Army in Ukraine. On June 23, 1917, the Central Rada issued its First Universal, declaring Ukrainian autonomy within a Russian federation, which was enthusiastically supported by the First All-Ukrainian Peasant Congress on June 28.
Shortly after the early-November Bolshevik coup in Petrograd and a similar event
in Kiev
, the Central Rada issued the Third Universal on November 20, 1917, declaring a Ukrainian People's Republic
in Kiev
and condemning the Bolsheviks initiated disorder in Petrograd as politically illegal. Because the legal government in Petrograd was dissolved the Central Rada had no other choice, but to declare its autonomy with its own regional government that was previously approved by the Russian Provisional Government
. The UNR refused to recognize the newly installed Soviet government, which in turn caused a tension within the Central Rada. The Bolshevik government demanded an all-Russian union. The Bolsheviks faction convened an All-Ukrainian Congress of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Soviets in Kiev in December demanding from the Central Rada recognition of Sovnarkom. Finding themselves to be a small minority at the congress of 2,500 delegates, the 100 Bolsheviks and a few others left to join a congress of local deputies in Kharkiv
which they renamed the All-Ukrainian Congress of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Soviets. They declared the Bolshevik government of Ukraine
(Respublyka Rad Ukrayiny) on December 25, 1917 and claimed that the outlaw is the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
The UNR for couple of months lost Kiev to the Bolsheviks, but pushed them back and maintained control of much of Ukraine, while the Bolsheviks were forced to convene their government in Taganrog, Russia, on the coast of the Sea of Azov
. Eventually the Soviet government of Ukraine was dissolved by Stalin, but later supposedly was recreated once again in Moscow
by the end of 1918. After the overthrow of the Hetman's government the Bolsheviks forces renewed their aggression claiming to be led by the government of Ukraine. Ukraine sent a note of protest requesting to cease the hostilities while Sovnarkom first ignored the request and later stated that it has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government was forced to declare a war on January 16, 1919. The Bolsheviks amid fluid alliances with various anarchists would eventually defeat the Ukrainian army that was fighting on several fronts simultaneously.
Also the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR) was declared in Lviv
on October 19, 1918. The ZUNR formally (and largely symbolically) joined the UNR
in hope to gain some support in the war against Poland
. A UNR delegation sent to Paris could not gain recognition at the Treaty of Versailles
at the end of the World War. UNR forces fared poorly during Polish-Soviet War
and a late alliance
with Poland wasn't enough to secure the republic. After the Polish-Soviet Peace of Riga
, Ukrainian territory found itself split mostly between the Ukrainian SSR
in the east, and Poland in the west. Carpathian Ruthenia
found itself in Czechoslovakia, and Bukovina
in Romania. In 1922, having secured its territory, Soviet Ukraine joined the Russian, Byelorussian
, and Transcaucasian
republics to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
, Poles
and Jews
. Russians were generally in favour of union with Russia and didn't have much interest in participating. They found more in common with Skoropadsky's Hetmanate
, but also supported the efforts of General Denikin's Volunteer Army
to restore Russian control in Ukraine. Poles in Ukraine were mixed in their reaction; in 1919-1921 many of them fled west during the period of chaos and then Soviet rule. Under the Hetmanate, Jews were excluded from participation, and although they were theoretically welcomed back by the Directory of the Ukrainian People's Republic, by this time they were suffering greatly as the countryside descended into the chaos of civil war. The white Volunteer Army
was the main perpetrator of pogrom
s, some were instigated by Matviy Hryhoriyiv's Green Army and other neo-Haydamak bands and the Directory's forces, esp. the irregular otaman-led groups, also carried out numerous pogroms. The worst pogroms occurred in Proskuriv (arguably the most savage, organised by otaman Semesenko in February 1919), Zhytomoyr, Cherkasy, Rivne, Fastiv, Korosten and Bakhmach. Even Bolsheviks sometimes participated in pogroms.. It is estimated that between 35,000 and 50,000 Jews lost their lives in pogroms in 1919-1920. Consequently, the Ukrainian-Jewish relations suffered immensely from this period.
The German
minority in Ukraine remained mostly aloof from the various governments. Many had already been deported to the far east during World War I, and under the Bolsheviks they were held under suspicion as potential sympathizers with the German enemy. Many German villages, and especially prosperous Mennonite
estates, were burned by the Makhnovists, and their occupants killed or fled.
Crimean Tatars
, outside of territory of the Ukrainian governments, declared independence in Bakhchisaray
in 1917. They had good relations with the UNR, but were opposed by Russians and Ukrainians in Crimea, as well as by the Bolsheviks, who drove the Tatar government out. From 1918 to 1920, Crimea was occupied successively by Germany, a Crimean pro-Russian government
, a Crimean Soviet Republic with Tatar co-operation, the White armies of Denikin and Wrangel
, and finally by the Soviets again. This time, the Soviets declared the Tatars counterrevolutionary, and joined the Russian SFSR in 1921.
government and surrender the Ukrainian sovereignty
in favor of Moscow
. All of them were not recognized except for the so-called Third Ukrainian Soviet government in 1945.
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and the First World War, which added the collapse of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
to that of the Imperial Russia. The crumbling of the empires had a great effect on the Ukrainian nationalist movement and in the short period of four years a number of Ukrainian governments sprung up. This period was characterized by optimism and nation-building, as well as chaos and civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. It ended in 1921, with the territory of modern-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
divided between Soviet Ukraine (which would become a constituent republic of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) and Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, with small regions belonging to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
.
National awakening
Following the Russian October RevolutionOctober 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...
of 1917, during the First World War, territories which had belonged to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, including Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, suddenly found themselves in a political vacuum. Factions in Ukraine and several foreign powers vied for control during the increasingly chaotic period of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the ethnic Ukrainian territories of Galicia (Halychyna), Transcarpathia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
(Zakarpattia), and Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
(Bukovyna) found themselves likewise in strife.
Ukrainians of Dnieper Ukraine
Dnieper Ukraine
Dnieper Ukraine , was the territory of Ukraine in the Russian Empire , roughly corresponding to the current territory of Ukraine, with the exceptions of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and Galicia in the west, which was a province of the Austrian Empire. Galicians sometimes call it Great Ukraine...
and of the Western territories independently declared statehood as 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:...
(Ukrayins'ka Narodna Respublika, UNR) and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (Zakhidno-Ukrayins’ka Narodna Respublyka, ZUNR), respectively. Forces of these Ukrainian republics, the White movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, the Ukrainian and Russian Bolsheviks, Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
fought over Ukrainian lands. The Makhnovist
Makhnovism
Makhnovism refers to various related political and economic theories elaborated by anarchist revolutionary leader Nestor Makhno, and by other theorists who claim to be carrying on Makhno's work. Makhnovism builds upon and elaborates the ideas of Peter Kropotkin, and serves as the philosophical...
Partisan Army
Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine
The Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine , popularly called Makhnovshchina, less correctly Makhnovchina, and also known as the Black Army, was an anarchist army formed largely of Ukrainian and Crimean peasants and workers under the command of the famous anarchist Nestor Makhno during the...
claimed significant areas as an anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
"Free Territory
Free Territory (Ukraine)
The Free Territory , , svobodnaya territoriya; or Makhnovia was a territory of operation by free soviets and libertarian communes under the protection of the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Nestor Makhno where an attempt was made to form a stateless anarchist society in part of the...
." Many stateless paramilitary bands lacking any coherent ideology fought these forces and each other in what frequently seemed a political free-for-all. Various alliances were formed and broken.
Despite the turbulence, this period saw a resurgence of Ukrainian-language publication, which had been controversial in Austro-Hungary, and persecuted in the Russian Empire. The Hetmanate
Hetmanate
The Ukrainian State or The Hetmanate was a short-lived polity in Ukraine, installed by Ukrainian Cossacks and military organizations under the support of the Central Powers, after disbanding the Central Rada of the Ukrainian National Republic on 28 April 1918.-History:On April 29, 1918 the head...
, installed by Germany while overthrowing the government of the UNR, conducted state policies directed at bolstering the Ukrainian culture and education. Among the Bolsheviks, national identity was controversial, but the so-called Kiev faction pushed for Ukrainization
Ukrainization
Ukrainization is a policy of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture, in various spheres of public life such as education, publishing, government and religion.The term is used, most prominently, for the...
as well.
Alliance and strife
After the abdication of Tsar Nicholas IIFebruary Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, Ukrainian community leaders were able finally to organized the Central Rada in Kiev (Tsentral’na rada), headed by Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Serhiyovych Hrushevsky was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian, and statesman, one of the most important figures of the Ukrainian national revival of the early 20th century...
. They sought an approval of the Russian Provisional Government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
in Petrograd (St Petersburg) to establish a regional government. The Central Rada consisted of various political parties such as Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionary, Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party, Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, Jewish Bund, Polish national party, representatives of Army, peasantry, workers, and others. It quickly gained the support of elements of the Imperial Army in Ukraine. On June 23, 1917, the Central Rada issued its First Universal, declaring Ukrainian autonomy within a Russian federation, which was enthusiastically supported by the First All-Ukrainian Peasant Congress on June 28.
Shortly after the early-November Bolshevik coup in Petrograd and a similar event
Kiev Bolshevik Uprising
The Kiev Bolshevik Uprising 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.-Chronology of activities:On November 7, 1917...
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....
, the Central Rada issued the Third Universal on November 20, 1917, declaring a 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:...
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....
and condemning the Bolsheviks initiated disorder in Petrograd as politically illegal. Because the legal government in Petrograd was dissolved the Central Rada had no other choice, but to declare its autonomy with its own regional government that was previously approved by 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...
. The UNR refused to recognize the newly installed Soviet government, which in turn caused a tension within the Central Rada. The Bolshevik government demanded an all-Russian union. The Bolsheviks faction convened an All-Ukrainian Congress of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Soviets in Kiev in December demanding from the Central Rada recognition of Sovnarkom. Finding themselves to be a small minority at the congress of 2,500 delegates, the 100 Bolsheviks and a few others left to join a congress of local deputies in Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
which they renamed the All-Ukrainian Congress of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Soviets. They declared the Bolshevik government of Ukraine
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
(Respublyka Rad Ukrayiny) on December 25, 1917 and claimed that the outlaw is the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
The UNR for couple of months lost Kiev to the Bolsheviks, but pushed them back and maintained control of much of Ukraine, while the Bolsheviks were forced to convene their government in Taganrog, Russia, on the coast of the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
. Eventually the Soviet government of Ukraine was dissolved by Stalin, but later supposedly was recreated once again in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
by the end of 1918. After the overthrow of the Hetman's government the Bolsheviks forces renewed their aggression claiming to be led by the government of Ukraine. Ukraine sent a note of protest requesting to cease the hostilities while Sovnarkom first ignored the request and later stated that it has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government was forced to declare a war on January 16, 1919. The Bolsheviks amid fluid alliances with various anarchists would eventually defeat the Ukrainian army that was fighting on several fronts simultaneously.
Also the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR) was declared in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
on October 19, 1918. The ZUNR formally (and largely symbolically) joined the UNR
Act Zluky
The Unification Act was an agreement signed on January 22, 1919 by the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian People's Republic on the St. Sophia Square in Kiev...
in hope to gain some support in the war against Poland
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
. A UNR delegation sent to Paris could not gain recognition at the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
at the end of the World War. UNR forces fared poorly during Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
and a late alliance
Treaty of Warsaw (1920)
The Treaty of Warsaw of April 1920 was an alliance between the Second Polish Republic, represented by Józef Piłsudski, and the Ukrainian People's Republic, represented by Symon Petlura, against Bolshevik Russia...
with Poland wasn't enough to secure the republic. After the Polish-Soviet Peace of Riga
Peace of Riga
The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga; was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, between Poland, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish-Soviet War....
, Ukrainian territory found itself split mostly between the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
in the east, and Poland in the west. Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
found itself in Czechoslovakia, and Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
in Romania. In 1922, having secured its territory, Soviet Ukraine joined the Russian, Byelorussian
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, and Transcaucasian
Transcaucasian SFSR
The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , also known as the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the TSFSR for short, was a short-lived republic of the Soviet Union, lasting from 1922 to 1936...
republics to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Ethnic relations
Aware that Ukrainians of other ethnic background would largely be opposed to an ethnic national republic, the UNR early on set up seats in government and ministries to represent RussiansRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. Russians were generally in favour of union with Russia and didn't have much interest in participating. They found more in common with Skoropadsky's Hetmanate
Hetmanate
The Ukrainian State or The Hetmanate was a short-lived polity in Ukraine, installed by Ukrainian Cossacks and military organizations under the support of the Central Powers, after disbanding the Central Rada of the Ukrainian National Republic on 28 April 1918.-History:On April 29, 1918 the head...
, but also supported the efforts of General Denikin's Volunteer Army
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
to restore Russian control in Ukraine. Poles in Ukraine were mixed in their reaction; in 1919-1921 many of them fled west during the period of chaos and then Soviet rule. Under the Hetmanate, Jews were excluded from participation, and although they were theoretically welcomed back by the Directory of the Ukrainian People's Republic, by this time they were suffering greatly as the countryside descended into the chaos of civil war. The white Volunteer Army
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
was the main perpetrator of pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s, some were instigated by Matviy Hryhoriyiv's Green Army and other neo-Haydamak bands and the Directory's forces, esp. the irregular otaman-led groups, also carried out numerous pogroms. The worst pogroms occurred in Proskuriv (arguably the most savage, organised by otaman Semesenko in February 1919), Zhytomoyr, Cherkasy, Rivne, Fastiv, Korosten and Bakhmach. Even Bolsheviks sometimes participated in pogroms.. It is estimated that between 35,000 and 50,000 Jews lost their lives in pogroms in 1919-1920. Consequently, the Ukrainian-Jewish relations suffered immensely from this period.
The German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
minority in Ukraine remained mostly aloof from the various governments. Many had already been deported to the far east during World War I, and under the Bolsheviks they were held under suspicion as potential sympathizers with the German enemy. Many German villages, and especially prosperous Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
estates, were burned by the Makhnovists, and their occupants killed or fled.
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
, outside of territory of the Ukrainian governments, declared independence in Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray raion , best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate...
in 1917. They had good relations with the UNR, but were opposed by Russians and Ukrainians in Crimea, as well as by the Bolsheviks, who drove the Tatar government out. From 1918 to 1920, Crimea was occupied successively by Germany, a Crimean pro-Russian government
Crimean People's Republic
The Crimean People's Republic existed during December, 1917, and January, 1918, in the Crimean peninsula, located in the south of the present-day Ukraine. The Republic was the first attempt in the Muslim world to establish a state that was both democratic and secular...
, a Crimean Soviet Republic with Tatar co-operation, the White armies of Denikin and Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
, and finally by the Soviets again. This time, the Soviets declared the Tatars counterrevolutionary, and joined the Russian SFSR in 1921.
Ukrainian governments (1917–1920)
- Central Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic: March 17, 1917–April 29, 1918.
- HetmanateHetmanateThe Ukrainian State or The Hetmanate was a short-lived polity in Ukraine, installed by Ukrainian Cossacks and military organizations under the support of the Central Powers, after disbanding the Central Rada of the Ukrainian National Republic on 28 April 1918.-History:On April 29, 1918 the head...
of the Ukrainian State: April 29, 1918–December 14, 1918. - Ukrainian National Council of the West Ukrainian People's Republic: October 18, 1918–January 22, 1919 (de facto independent until July 1919).
- Directorate of the Ukrainian People's RepublicDirectorate of UkraineThe Directorate, or Directory was a provisional revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian National Republic, formed in 1918 by the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Skoropadsky's regime....
: November 14, 1918–1920.
Russian puppet states
States that fought to depose the UkrainianUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
government and surrender the Ukrainian sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
in favor of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. All of them were not recognized except for the so-called Third Ukrainian Soviet government in 1945.
- First Ukrainian Soviet governmentUkrainian SSRThe Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
: December 25, 1917–March 1918. - Second Ukrainian Soviet government: November 20, 1918–August 1919.
- All-Ukrainian Revolutionary Committee: April 1919–July 1919.
- Third Ukrainian Soviet government: December 21, 1919–1991.
- Galician RevkomGalician Soviet Socialist RepublicThe Galician Soviet Socialist Republic existed from July 8, 1920 to September 21, 1920 during the Polish-Soviet War within the area of the South-Western front of the Red Army...
: July 8, 1920–September 21, 1920