NIKOLAEV DURING THE CENTRAL COUNCIL OF UKRAINE PERIOD (MARCH 1917

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NIKOLAEV DURING THE CENTRAL COUNCIL OF UKRAINE PERIOD (MARCH 1917 – APRIL 1918)

Journal Title: Наукові праці. Серія "Історія" - Year 2017, Vol 292, Issue 280

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the history of Nikolaev during the Central Council of Ukraine period (March 1917 – April 1918). The author used the documents of the State Archives of Nikolaev region, the Central State Archives of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government of Ukraine, and the State Scientific Archives Library to prove the fact that Nikolaev had recognized the Central Council and belonged to the Ukrainian People’s Republic. During the Ukrainian national congress in Kiev on April 6–8, 1917 local influential Ukrainian politician Boris Broyakivskyy represented Nikolaev. There were three main bodies of power in the city: the democratic Nikolaev City Council, the Council of Labor and Military Deputies, and the Nikolaev council of joint Ukrainian organizations. They were involved in all major events of the given period. After the declaration of the 3rd Universal they approved the resolution on the recognition of the Central Council. A multiparty system prevailed in all three of these agencies. The main parties were the Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, later the lefts and the rights) and Social Democrats (USDLP and RSDLP). The author discovered Aleksander Rozhanskyy, a member of the Council of Labor and Military Deputies, was the representative of Nikolaev in the Central Council. The article covers Rozhanskyy’s biography and activities in Nikolaev. Confrontations between Ukrainian political forces and Bolsheviks became typical in Nikolaev in December 1917 – January 1918. The author refuted the Soviet historiographic conclusion regarding the date of Soviet power establishment in Nikolaev as January 13–14, 1918. The event took place 10 days later after the disarmament of Zaporozhskiy Regiment on January 23, 1918. During these 10 days, several outstanding events related to the Ukrainian forces happened. For instance, Ukrainian troops guarded the city’s government offices, railway station, and post office. The Nikolaev council of joint Ukrainian organizations officially published two newspapers, «The Ukrainian Bulletin» and «The Ukrainian Newspaper», on the 18 and 19 January, 1918. The 4th Universal of the Central Council was presented to citizens. People started to apply to «Free Cossacks» units. According to the newspaper «The Council of Labor and Military Deputies News» (January 1918), the refusal of Nikolaev Ukrainian political forces to participate in the next elections to the Council of Labor and Military Deputies, which was a form of protest against the Bolshevik invasion in Ukraine, was a political mistake and led to a gradual strengthening of the Bolsheviks. However, the Nikolaev City Council conceded neither to the Bolsheviks and the Council of People’s Commissars nor to the German-Austrian occupation troops. The council expressed its indignation at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed by the Central Council, as well as at a similar agreement signed by the countries of the Quadruple Alliance and Bolshevik Russia. The Nikolaev City Council demanded the convening of the Constituent Assembly or even an international conference on this issue. The Nikolaev City Council did not consider the arrival of the German-Austrian troops to be benign assistance in the fight against the Bolsheviks, but saw it as a military occupation instead. Additionally, the article considers the beginning, the course, and the consequences of the Nikolaev uprising against the German-Austrian army on March 22–24, 1918, which Bolsheviks instigated at the shipyards. Subsequently, the Bolsheviks improved their credibility among townspeople, because they were the only ones fighting against the invaders; the Germans gained full control over the city and freely exported grain; while the Central Council lost its influence and popularity in Nikolaev. On April 13, 1918, the Central Council sent a special commission to Nikolaev in order to investigate the causes of the uprising and clarify the relationship between the city’s authorities and the German command. It is hard to assert the exact conclusions of this commission due to lack of information in the archival documents. The German-Austrian authorities did not fight the Bolsheviks in Nikolaev. Instead, the civilian population was subjected to severe repressions. Because of them, the Nikolaev City Council sent a delegation of public representatives to Kyev. While most members of the delegation returned to Nikolaev reassured, the representative Bayan Terentyev expressed his distrust of the Central Council. A week after the population of Nikolaev learned that Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky came to power and the Central Council ceased to exist.

Authors and Affiliations

L. Levchenko

Keywords

Nikolaev; the Central Council; Aleksander Rozhanskyy; Boris Broyakivskyy; Vladimir Kostenko; Jan Ryappo; Aleksander Zyma; the Nikolaev council of joint Ukrainian organizations; the Nikolaev Council of Labor and Military Deputies; the democratic Nikolaev City Council; the Nikolaev uprising of 1918; The Ukrainian Bulletin; The Ukrainian Newspaper.

EP ID EP399451
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