The Ukrainian State (Ukrainian: Українська Держава, romanized: Ukraiinska Derzhava) was the official name of Ukraine used between 29 April and 14 December 1918, following the deposition of the Central Rada of Ukrainian People's Republic. For the entirety of its existence, the state was ruled autocratically by Pavlo Skoropadsky, the Hetman of all Ukraine, who took a sharp departure from the earlier democratic and socialist-leaning policies of the Central Rada, instead aligning his government with the interests of large landowners and industrialists.
Established against the backdrop of the Central Powers becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Ukrainian government's inability to fulfil its obligations to provide large quantities of food and raw goods as per the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Ukrainian State was deeply politically, economically and militarily dependent upon the Central Powers, particularly Germany and Austria-Hungary, who pledged to support Skoropadsky's rule in return for greater control over the state. Despite this dependency, the Ukrainian State pursued a largely independent internal policy and managed to establish a relatively well-functioning bureaucracy, in contrast to the chaos of the previous government.
Failure to complete land reform, a perceived support for often violent German and Austrian methods to extract grain from the countryside and a controversial ethnic policy (which was seen as too Russophilic) led to the Ukrainian population becoming dissatisfied with the government of the Ukrainian State. Meanwhile, Skoropadsky's main backers, Germany and Austria, had been defeated by the Triple Entente, leaving the Ukrainian State at the mercy of neighbouring countries, particularly the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Tensions finally culminated in the Anti-Hetman Uprising, during which the Directorate toppled the Ukrainian State and re-established the Ukrainian People's Republic.
History
Background
On 29 December [O.S. 16 December] 1917, the Bolshevik government Petrograd issued an ultimatum to the Central Rada in Kyiv. The ultimatum, while recognising the autonomy of the Ukrainian People's Republic (often referred to as the UPR) as per the earlier Third Universal, also demanded the Rada agree to the following within 48 hours:
- Cease disarming Soviet troops in its territory.
- Block passage for White sympathisers, who frequently travelled through Ukraine to join the White Don forces.
- Allow Soviet troops to travel to the front through Ukraine.
The Rada refused to comply with the ultimatum.
In response, the Bolshevik diplomats met with Soviet delegates to the Third Congress of Soviets from Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih in Kharkiv (already controlled by Bolshevik forces) and proclaimed the establishment of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets, effectively creating a rival government to the Rada in Kyiv. On 30 December [O.S. 17 December] 1917, the Soviet Ukrainian government officially declared war upon the Rada, marking the formal beginning of the Ukrainian–Soviet War.
The war proceeded poorly for the UPR. On 29 December [O.S. 16 December] 1917, the Arsenal Uprising began, which forced a large portion of the 16,000 strong Ukrainian garrison in Kyiv to be used for suppressing it. Soviet troops under the command of General Muravyov faced unexpected resistance by the much inferior Ukrainian forces at Kruty, but nevertheless advanced quickly. The Battle of Kyiv began on 23 January [O.S. 10 January] 1918 and was concluded by the Bolshevik capture of the city three days later.
Against the backdrop of complete military defeat, the Central Rada committed to signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 2 March [O.S. 17 February] 1918, in which the Central Powers recognised the independence of Ukraine and pledged to help liberate its territories from Bolshevik troops. German forces then recaptured much of the Ukrainian territory under the control of the Bolsheviks, including Kyiv itself. The chaos of the previous months had, however, left the Rada in a precarious situation, as it was unable to re-establish control over large parts of the country (primarily in the vast rural areas).
Austria-Hungary and especially the German Empire had expected huge shipments of grain, other foodstuffs and raw industrial materials from Ukraine to alleviate the shortages caused by the wartime blockade, but the Ukrainian government was unable to extract or transport these items. This led to increased friction between the Rada and the Central Powers, as it was thought that the Ukrainian government was not fulfilling its obligations.
Tensions reached a new high on 6 April 1918, when Field Marshal Hermann von Eichhorn, the commander of the German Army Group Kiev, issued his so-called "cultivation order", in which he accused the Ukrainian peasants of not sowing their fields and instructed that Germans must ensure that the fields were sowed, even at the threat of military intervention. This was very unpopular with the local population and greatly angered the Rada, which issued a note of protest on 13 April. Meanwhile, on 18 April, the German ambassador in Kyiv, Alfons von Mumm, informed Berlin that "collaboration with present government, considering its tendencies, is impossible", having earlier recommended that the Rada should be overthrown and a new government put in place.
In mid-April, Mumm stablished contact with a former general of the Russian Imperial Army of Ukrainian origin, Pavlo Skoropadsky. He was deemed to be a suitable candidate for leading a new government in Ukraine. On 26 April, Skoropadsky met with General Wilhelm Groener, the commander of the German I Corps, to discuss specific conditions under which his rule would be supported. These included:
- Acceptance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- Dissolution of the Central Rada
- Abolition of the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly
- Unlimited export of raw and manufactured goods
- German approval of all cabinet members in government
- German determination of the size of the Ukrainian army
Establishment
German relations with the Rada broke down completely after the so-called Dobryi Affair, in which the wealthy banker Abraham Dobryi, director of the Kyiv section of the Russian Bank for Foreign Trade was abducted on the 24 April 1918. As Dobryi was member of a special commission of the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance which negotiated financial operations with the Central Powers, chiefly Germany, and was thus well known to the Germans, his sudden and unexplained disappearance resulted in Germany's complete loss of trust in the Ukrainian government. Field Marshal Eichhorn responded to the incident by issuing a decree which granted the German military courts jurisdiction over all criminal offences on 25 April, leaving only the civil cases to the Ukrainian judiciary. This prompted the premier Vsevolod Holubovych to state in the Rada:
Who is this Mr. Dobryi? Is he a subject of the German State? No, he is not a far relative nor a godparent, he is a stranger. And just because that stranger who legally has no connections with Germany and gave no halters to issue a decree of such colossal weight was abducted, the decree was issued.
Worse yet for the Rada, the subsequent German investigation connected the abduction to a secret organisation by the name of Committee for Ukraine's Salvation (Ukrainian: Комітет порятунку України), headed by several high-ranking members of the Ukrainian government, chiefly Mykhailo Tkachenko, the minister of the interior. Already on 26 April, the First Ukrainian Division, also known as the Bluecoat division (a unit formed from Ukrainian prisoners of war in Germany and Austria-Hungary, named so after their blue uniforms.) and units of the artillery regiments were disarmed by the Germans. On 28 April, an armed German detachment raided the Rada, loudly shouting at those present and arresting two officials in connection with the Dobryi Affair, while Tkachenko himself evaded capture due to being absent that day. The final meeting of the Rada then took place on 29 April, during which the constitution of the People's Republic of Ukraine was approved.
Also on 29 April, a congress of the League of Landowners consisting of some 6,500 delegates from all eight governorates of Ukraine took place in the building of the Kyiv circus. The league consisted primarily of wealthy and Russified moderate and large landholders. After receiving information about the situation at the Congress from his couriers, Pavlo Skoropadsky later arrived in his car to the event where he was elected the Hetman of all Ukraine. After Skoropadsky received a standing ovation, the crowd moved to St. Sophia's Square, where Skoropadsky was served a moleben by Nykodym, the Vicar of Kyiv and Galicia (as Metropolitan Vladimir was executed by Bolsheviks). That night, the supporters of the Hetman took over the government building of military and internal affairs as well as the State Bank. The following day, the elite and most loyal formation of the Central Council, the Sich Riflemen, was disarmed.
Skoropadsky issued his manifesto (Ukrainian: грамота, romanized: hramota) "To the All-Ukrainian Nation" and the Law of the Provisional State System. Desiring stability, the Austro-Hungarian and German forces welcomed the coup; Skoropadsky cooperated with them, making him unpopular among many Ukrainian peasants. The new state retained the tryzub (coat of arms) and the national flag but reversed the design to light blue over yellow.
Reactions
The intrusion of occupying troops in Ukrainian internal affairs, as well as the reliance of the hetman on pro-Russian forces, caused great dissatisfaction among the general population. Soon after the coup, oppositional organs emerged, represented by the All-Ukrainian Peasant Congress, which illegally gathered in Holosiiv Forest on 8–10 May, and the All-Ukrainian Workers' Congress. Underground congresses were held by the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries and the Ukrainian Social-Democratic Labour Party. As a result, many members of the Ukrainian opposition, especially Social Revolutionaries, were put under arrest.
In parallel, pro-regime parties, such as Constitutional Democrats, organized their own meetings, supporting the hetman and demanding, among others, the introduction of Russian language as co-official. Large landowners and businessmen also established the so-called ProToFis - Union of Industrial, Trade, Finance and Agricultural Representatives. Simultaneously, numerous Russian press publications and officers' organizations conducted propaganda calling for the restoration of "one indivisible Russia" and conducted recruitment to the Volunteer Army, but were generally tolerated by the authorities.
Internal opposition was provoked by the requisitioning of food stocks and restoration of land to the wealthy landowners. Opponents of the Skoropadsky regime committed acts of arson and sabotage and, in July 1918, assassinated Hermann von Eichhorn, the commander of German troops in Ukraine. In August 1918, the anti-Skoropadsky coalition succeeded in forcing him to re-form the Sich Riflemen. By then it was becoming obvious that the Central Powers had lost the war and that Skoropadsky could no longer rely on their support. He thus looked for support from conservative Russian elements in society and proposed joining a federation with Anton Denikin and the White movement. This further eroded his standing among Ukrainians.
Dissolution
Almost the entire commanding staff of the Ukrainian State armed forces consisted of officers of the former Imperial Russian Army. Most officers were not supportive of the Ukrainian cause and viewed it as a way to make it through tough times. At the same time, wide masses of the population did not have a developed sense of nationalism and mainly chose to follow socialist and communist principles.
Following the defeat of Central Powers, part of the Council of Ministers adopted a pro-Entente orientation and initiated talks with members of the oppositionary Ukrainian National Union. Negotiations resulted in the creation of a new cabinet on 19–24 October, which included members of the Ukrainian Party of Socialists-Federalists. In his charter from 29 October, the hetman declared his allegiance to ideas of Ukrainian independence and promised to accelerate the execution of agrarian reform and preparations for convening the parliament.
After the armistice ending World War I, Ukrainian socialists formed the Directorate of Ukraine (the "Directory"), whose forces were mainly composed of the Sich Riflemen and "Greycoats". On 14 November, after the end of World War I, Skoropadsky declared his course on a federal union with non-Bolshevik Russia, hoping to satisfy demands of the Entente. Simultaneously, he appointed a new government headed by Sergei Gerbel. These actions led to a rebellion spearheaded by the Ukrainian National Union. Although German and Austrian troops had not yet withdrawn from Ukraine, they had no further interest in fighting. Most of Skoropadsky's own forces changed sides and joined the Directory.
On 16 November 1918, starting in Bila Tserkva, fighting broke out in the Hetmanate. Skoropadsky had to turn to the thousands of Russian White Guard officers who had escaped to Ukraine with the intention of joining Denikin's Volunteer Army in the region of the Don river further east. The officers were assembled into a "Special Corps" but proved unable to resist the Directory's forces led by Symon Petliura. Skoropadsky abdicated his position as Hetman on 14 December, as the Ukrainian People's Army took Kyiv. He fled to Switzerland and then Germany under disguise. Upon his abdication, Skoropadsky transferred his powers to the Council of Ministers, which in its turn surrendered itself to the Directorate.