Ukrainian Social Democratic writer who led the Rada's General Secretariat and the Directory
Just as you created the dictatorship of workers and peasants in Russia, we must create a dictatorship of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian Social Democratic writer, he led the Central Rada's General Secretariat in 1917 and retook Kyiv as first chairman of the Directory in 1918. Arguing for talks with the Soviets he broke with Petliura and resigned in 1919, dying in France in 1951.
Activities and affiliations
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1917–1919
Ukrainian People's Republic state institutionsHead of the General Secretariat, Chairman of the DirectorateMain
Government and administration -
1920
Soviet Communist Party and Bolsheviks
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1905Co-founder of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers' Party
- 1917Vice-president of the Central Rada and first head of its General Secretariat
- 1918.01Premier of the Ukrainian People's Republic, soon resigned
- 1918.12Retook Kyiv as chairman of the Directory
- 1919–1920Wrote the memoir Rebirth of a Nation
- 1920Deputy head of the Ukrainian SSR Sovnarkom; soon re-emigrated
Related historical events
- 1905–1907The Revolution of 1905Co-founder of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers' PartyHe co-founded the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1905.
- 1917.02–07The February RevolutionHead of the Central Rada's General SecretariatIn June 1917, he became head of the Central Rada's General Secretariat, leading the autonomy declaration and talks with the Provisional Government.
- 1917.12–1918.11Brest-Litovsk and Germany’s eastern occupationUkrainian Central Rada leaderAs chairman of the Rada's General Secretariat he approved Ukraine's separate peace and resigned at the end of January 1918, just as Soviet troops took Kyiv.
- 1917–1921Ukraine’s revolution and warsLeader of the Rada’s Secretariat and the DirectoryLed autonomy and the proclamation of the People's Republic as chairman of the General Secretariat in 1917, retook Kyiv as first chairman of the Directory in December 1918 and resigned in February 1919 after breaking with Petliura.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionLeader of the Rada’s Secretariat and the DirectoryAs chairman of the Rada's General Secretariat he approved Ukraine's separate peace and resigned at the end of January 1918, just as Soviet troops took Kyiv.
Revolution and independence wars
Born to a peasant family in Kherson province, he was one of the leading novelists and playwrights of early twentieth-century Ukrainian literature and a leader of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party who was repeatedly imprisoned and exiled. In June 1917 he became chairman of the Central Rada's General Secretariat, leading the declaration of autonomy and the talks with the Provisional Government, and in November drafted the Third Universal proclaiming the Ukrainian People's Republic. He resigned in January 1918 during the war with the Bolsheviks, and in November became first chairman of the Directory against the Hetman, retaking Kyiv in December. Arguing for negotiation with Soviet Russia and a state based on councils of workers and peasants, he broke with Petliura, who wanted Allied cooperation, resigned in February 1919 and went abroad. In 1920 he returned to Soviet Ukraine to explore joining its government, found that the post carried no real power and left again, living in the south of France, writing novels and a diary, until his death in 1951.