Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party
Encyclopedia
The Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party was the leading party of the Ukrainian People's Republic
and was also known as SDPists or Esdeky. The party was reformed in 1905 at the Second Congress of the RUP
and was pursuing the Marxist ideology
. The leaders of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party were Volodymyr Vynnychenko
, Symon Petliura, Mykola Porsh, Dmytro Antonovych
, Lev Yurkevych, Mykhailo Tkachenko, M. Kovalsky.
, provided it was recognised as the sole representative of the Ukrainian proletariat, within the RSDLP. The Fourth (Unity) Congress of the RSDLP
rejected the proposal which the USDLP spokesman had made for the immediate discussion of the terms of a merger, and referred the matter to the Central Committee for decision. No agreement was reached on a merger. Arguably, the reason that there was no merger was the fact that the USLDP, the UPSR
, and the URLDP all favoured an independent Ukrainian state. The party also closely worked with the Jewish Bund subsequently including the Ukrainian Jewish into the government of Ukraine; as well as other menshevik factions which altogether accounted for around 3,000 members.
After the February Revolution
the party was the main party in the first Ukrainian government, the General Secretariat of Ukraine
which was headed by the Volodymyr Vynnychenko
(USLDP). Eventually it came into coalition with another party of Federalists, the proponent of the federalism with the Russian SFSR and was in the opposition to the other truly nationalistically oriented parties in the country such as the Democratic Agrarian Party, the Union of Land Owners, and others. With time SDeky lost its popularity in favor of the Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR) that worked together with the peasant representatives and gaining a rapid popularity amongst military formations within Ukraine. In 1918 together with several other Ukrainian parties formed the Ukrainian National Union that stayed in the opposition to the Hetmanate
of Skoropadsky and later formed the Directory after defeat of the Hetman. After the IV Universal (Declaration of Independence) only two members of the party represented the party in the government (Dmytro Antonovych
and Mykhailo Tkachenko).
During the Soviet times the party was portrayed as nationalistic
as it ideologically was for the wide autonomy of the Ukrainian lands.
, Symon Petliura, Isaak Mazepa
, and most of the party members opposed their ideas and were proposing the Labor Democracy, phased socialization of the main industries of People's Economy, and support of Direktoria
.
Later in 1920 those independent SDPists formed the Ukrainian Communist Party
also known as UKPists as opposed to the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine. The independent SDPists (or Socialists-Sovereigns) were opposing the centrist tendency of the Moscow Communists parties, particularly the Bolshevik
s. The Ukrainian Communist Party
became a legal party of the Soviet Union
(see Ukrainian Communist Party
).
the Central Committee requested for its party members to withdraw out of the government. USDLP had members in Czechoslovakia
, Poland
, Germany
and France
, amongst other countries with the center in Prague
. Isaak Mazepa was the secretary of the Foreign Delegation while other members of the Foreign Delegation included Yo. Bezpalko, Fedenko, I. Romanchenko, amongst others. The party began issuing publications: Socijalistyčna Dumko (published in Lviv
and Prague
), Vil'na Ukraina (Lviv) and Socijaldemokrat (published monthly from 1925 from Poděbrady
). The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International
between 1923 and 1940.
As of the early 1960s, Emil Wolynec was the acting chairman of the party, Panas Fedenko the general secretary and Bohdan Fedenko the youth secretary. Other executive committee members of the party were Antin Czerneckyj, Iwan Luczyszyn and Spyrydon Dovhal. The party had its headquarter in London
. It published the monthly Nashe Slovo from London with Panas Fedenko as its editor. The party also issued the quarterly Vilna Ukraina from Detroit, with Mykola Nahirniak as its editor and Volodymyr Lysyj as its director. Vilna Ukraina and Nashe Slovo each had a circulation of around 1,000. Furthermore, there was a weekly newspaper (Narodna Volya
) published from Scranton which was politically close to the party.
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:...
and was also known as SDPists or Esdeky. The party was reformed in 1905 at the Second Congress of the RUP
Revolutionary Ukrainian Party
The Revolutionary Ukrainian Party was a political party in early 20th century Ukraine, founded February 11, 1900 by students in Kharkiv.-History:...
and was pursuing the Marxist ideology
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. The leaders of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party were Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko - Biography :Vynnychenko was born in Yelisavetgrad , the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire in a family of peasants. His father Kyrylo Vasyliovych Vynnychenko earlier in his life was a peasant-serf has moved from a village to the city of Yelisavetgrad where...
, Symon Petliura, Mykola Porsh, Dmytro Antonovych
Dmytro Antonovych
Dmytro Antonovych was a Ukrainian politician and art historian.Professor Dmytro Antonovych was the son of a Ukrainian historian Volodymyr Antonovych, the husband of Kateryna Antonovych, the father of Marko Antonovych and Mykhailo Antonovych.In 1900–1905, he was one of the founders and leaders of...
, Lev Yurkevych, Mykhailo Tkachenko, M. Kovalsky.
History
In December 1905, the Ukrainian Social-Democratic Labour Party (USLDP) decided to join the Russian Social Democratic Labour PartyRussian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
, provided it was recognised as the sole representative of the Ukrainian proletariat, within the RSDLP. The Fourth (Unity) Congress of the RSDLP
4th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Fourth Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party that took place in Stockholm, Sweden, from April 10-25 , 1906....
rejected the proposal which the USDLP spokesman had made for the immediate discussion of the terms of a merger, and referred the matter to the Central Committee for decision. No agreement was reached on a merger. Arguably, the reason that there was no merger was the fact that the USLDP, the UPSR
Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party
Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party was a political party in the Russian Empire from 1907-1917. It was simply referred as Essery and was one of the most influential in Ukraine as it was representing the interest of the major social class - peasants...
, and the URLDP all favoured an independent Ukrainian state. The party also closely worked with the Jewish Bund subsequently including the Ukrainian Jewish into the government of Ukraine; as well as other menshevik factions which altogether accounted for around 3,000 members.
After the February Revolution
February 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...
the party was the main party in the first Ukrainian government, the General Secretariat of Ukraine
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...
which was headed by the Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko - Biography :Vynnychenko was born in Yelisavetgrad , the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire in a family of peasants. His father Kyrylo Vasyliovych Vynnychenko earlier in his life was a peasant-serf has moved from a village to the city of Yelisavetgrad where...
(USLDP). Eventually it came into coalition with another party of Federalists, the proponent of the federalism with the Russian SFSR and was in the opposition to the other truly nationalistically oriented parties in the country such as the Democratic Agrarian Party, the Union of Land Owners, and others. With time SDeky lost its popularity in favor of the Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR) that worked together with the peasant representatives and gaining a rapid popularity amongst military formations within Ukraine. In 1918 together with several other Ukrainian parties formed the Ukrainian National Union that stayed in the opposition to 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...
of Skoropadsky and later formed the Directory after defeat of the Hetman. After the IV Universal (Declaration of Independence) only two members of the party represented the party in the government (Dmytro Antonovych
Dmytro Antonovych
Dmytro Antonovych was a Ukrainian politician and art historian.Professor Dmytro Antonovych was the son of a Ukrainian historian Volodymyr Antonovych, the husband of Kateryna Antonovych, the father of Marko Antonovych and Mykhailo Antonovych.In 1900–1905, he was one of the founders and leaders of...
and Mykhailo Tkachenko).
During the Soviet times the party was portrayed as nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
as it ideologically was for the wide autonomy of the Ukrainian lands.
Party split
At the Fourth party Congress on January 10–12, 1919 the party had several members split as the left independent SDPists. Among the most prominent independists were Anatol Pisotsky, Vasyl and Yuriy Mazurenkos, Mykhailo Tkachenko, and others. They recognized the necessity of the dictatorship of proletriat and peace with Russia. The main faction consisting of Mykola Porsh, Volodymyr VynnychenkoVolodymyr Vynnychenko
Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko - Biography :Vynnychenko was born in Yelisavetgrad , the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire in a family of peasants. His father Kyrylo Vasyliovych Vynnychenko earlier in his life was a peasant-serf has moved from a village to the city of Yelisavetgrad where...
, Symon Petliura, Isaak Mazepa
Isaak Mazepa
Isaak Prokhorovych Mazepa was a Ukrainian politician.-References:...
, and most of the party members opposed their ideas and were proposing the Labor Democracy, phased socialization of the main industries of People's Economy, and support of Direktoria
Directorate of Ukraine
The 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....
.
Later in 1920 those independent SDPists formed the Ukrainian Communist Party
Ukrainian Communist Party
The Ukrainian Communist Party was an oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925. Its followers were known as Ukapists , from the initials UKP.Socialist Sovereigns...
also known as UKPists as opposed to the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine. The independent SDPists (or Socialists-Sovereigns) were opposing the centrist tendency of the Moscow Communists parties, particularly the 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. The Ukrainian Communist Party
Ukrainian Communist Party
The Ukrainian Communist Party was an oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925. Its followers were known as Ukapists , from the initials UKP.Socialist Sovereigns...
became a legal party 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....
(see Ukrainian Communist Party
Ukrainian Communist Party
The Ukrainian Communist Party was an oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925. Its followers were known as Ukapists , from the initials UKP.Socialist Sovereigns...
).
In exile
As the government of Ukraine was emigrating into exile during the Russian-Ukrainian war of 1918-1919, a section of the USDLP was formed as the 'Foreign Delegation' of the party. During 1919 the party's Central Committee included Yosyp Bezpalko, Andriy Livytsky, Mykola Shadlun, and I. Romanchenko. At the party's conference September 9–13, 1919 in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
the Central Committee requested for its party members to withdraw out of the government. USDLP had members in 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...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 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 France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, amongst other countries with the center in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. Isaak Mazepa was the secretary of the Foreign Delegation while other members of the Foreign Delegation included Yo. Bezpalko, Fedenko, I. Romanchenko, amongst others. The party began issuing publications: Socijalistyčna Dumko (published 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...
and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
), Vil'na Ukraina (Lviv) and Socijaldemokrat (published monthly from 1925 from Poděbrady
Podebrady
Poděbrady is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It lies on the river Labe 50 km east of Prague on the D11 highway. A historic milestone in the life of the town was the year 1905, when it was visited by the German estate owner Prince von Bülow...
). The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The LSI was a forerunner of the present-day Socialist International....
between 1923 and 1940.
As of the early 1960s, Emil Wolynec was the acting chairman of the party, Panas Fedenko the general secretary and Bohdan Fedenko the youth secretary. Other executive committee members of the party were Antin Czerneckyj, Iwan Luczyszyn and Spyrydon Dovhal. The party had its headquarter in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It published the monthly Nashe Slovo from London with Panas Fedenko as its editor. The party also issued the quarterly Vilna Ukraina from Detroit, with Mykola Nahirniak as its editor and Volodymyr Lysyj as its director. Vilna Ukraina and Nashe Slovo each had a circulation of around 1,000. Furthermore, there was a weekly newspaper (Narodna Volya
Narodna Volya
Narodna Volya was a Ukrainian-language weekly newspaper published from Scranton, United States. As of the early 1960s, Matthew Stachiw was the editor of the newspaper. The newspaper had a circulation of around 8,000 at the time. Politically, Narodna Volya was close to the Ukrainian Socialist Party...
) published from Scranton which was politically close to the party.
Party press media
- Slovo (Word) weekly, 1907-1909 in KievKievKiev 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....
. - Pratsia (Work), newspaper
- Robitnyk (Worker), newspaper, from June 1917 in KharkivKharkivKharkiv 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...
(three times a week) and 1919-1923 irregularly in ChernivtsiChernivtsiChernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina, which is currently divided between Romania and Ukraine... - Nash Holos (Our Voice), newspaper in LvivLvivLviv 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...
- Robitnycha Hazeta (Worker's Gazette), a party diary
See also
- Revolutionary Ukrainian PartyRevolutionary Ukrainian PartyThe Revolutionary Ukrainian Party was a political party in early 20th century Ukraine, founded February 11, 1900 by students in Kharkiv.-History:...
- General Secretariat of UkraineGeneral Secretariat of UkraineThe 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...
- Ukrainian Communist PartyUkrainian Communist PartyThe Ukrainian Communist Party was an oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925. Its followers were known as Ukapists , from the initials UKP.Socialist Sovereigns...