Ukrainian independence leader who headed the People's Republic but whose role in pogroms remains fiercely contested
Do not separate the fate of Ukraine from the fate of Russia. If Russia suffers defeat, the consequences of this catastrophe will also affect Ukraine.
A social-democratic journalist from Poltava who rose from military secretary of the Central Rada in 1917 to commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian People's Army and head of the Directorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic. He fought to defend Ukrainian independence against Bolsheviks, White armies, and Poland, but was forced into exile, first in Poland and then Paris, after defeat in 1920. An estimated 50,000 Jews were massacred by forces under his command, and whether he was unable or unwilling to stop the killings remains fiercely disputed. In 1926 he was assassinated in Paris by the Jewish anarchist Sholem Schwarzbard, who called it vengeance for the pogroms.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1900–1917Activist in the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party and USDRP; journalist leading the Ukrainian national movement
- 1917.5–1917.12Secretary of Military Affairs, Central Rada; led organization of Ukrainian armed forces
- 1918.1–1918.3Commander of Haydamaky Kish; suppressed Bolshevik Arsenal uprising in Kyiv
- 1918.11–1919.2Chief of Military Forces, Directorate of Ukraine
- 1919.2–1920.12Head of the Directorate and Supreme Commander, Ukrainian People's Army
- 1920.4Signed Warsaw Treaty with Poland, forming anti-Bolshevik alliance
- 1924–1926Published weekly Tryzub from exile in Paris
Related historical events
- 1917–1921Ukraine’s revolution and warsDirectory and republican army leaderHead of the Directory from February 1919 and leader of the People's Republic's army, he concluded the Warsaw agreement with Piłsudski in April 1920, winning Poland's alliance at the price of Galicia.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionHead of the Ukrainian People's RepublicAs head of the Directorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic, he fought to preserve Ukrainian independence against Bolsheviks, White armies, and Polish forces, and went into exile in Poland after defeat in 1920.
- 1919–1921The Soviet-Polish WarHead of the Ukrainian People's Republic, allied with PolandAllied with Poland by the Warsaw agreement of April 1920 and took part in the Kyiv offensive, but was left alone by Poland's armistice in October and withdrew into Poland with his army in November.