On Jan. 22, 1919, following the collapse of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires, one of Ukraine’s most significant historical events occurred. Two separate Ukrainian states in the heart of Eastern Europe united to become the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR).
How did it happen that Ukrainians, who had been subjected to centuries of Russification, were able to first achieve freedom and create two independent states almost simultaneously before uniting into one? How was this unified state unable, after a long struggle, to withstand the Soviet onslaught? And how did it manage to revive in 1991?
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The struggle of Ukrainians to achieve their own statehood did not differ significantly from similar movements in Europe among other nations, such as the Poles or Czechs. It also shared much in common with the fight for independence by the American colonies against Britain.
The Ukrainian Cossack state, which fought for a long time against the forces of Poland, the Ottoman Empire, and the Moscow Kingdom, did not vanish without trace when the Hetmanate was forcibly incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 18th century. It left a legacy of wealthy and educated Cossack families that integrated into the Russian elite yet retained a distinct national identity and view of the world. The Hetmanate’s legal system also continued to exist de facto in the Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire.
22 January 1918 – Ukraine’s First Independence Day Still Awaits Proper Recognition
In the 19th century, universities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa advanced the development of the Ukrainian national identity, along with numerous public and creative associations supported by a new business elite such as the sugar magnates Tereshchenko and Symyrenko or collectors like the Khanenkos.
Initially, the Russian Empire turned a blind eye to Ukrainian national developments, viewing them as a counterbalance to pro-Polish nationalist movements. However, by the mid-19th century, Russian officials began to suppress Ukrainian culture and identity. The 1863 Valuev Circular and the Emsk Decree of 1876 explicitly prohibited the Ukrainian language in public life and publications.
Despite these restrictions, the movement persisted, aided by the fact that part of Ukraine came under Austro-Hungarian rule, where there was more freedom of expression.
“This is important because many figures of the Ukrainian national movement – scientists and historians – not only gave lectures but were also able to publish their works, taking advantage of the greater freedoms,” Volodymyr Vyatrovych, a historian and member of Ukraine’s Parliament says.
In Halychyna, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Mykhailo Hrushevsky – one of the “fathers” of Ukrainian historical science – published works that described the history of Ukraine as a continuous process beginning with Kyivan Rus and stretching to modern times. This justified Ukrainians’ right to statehood. Ukrainians actively participated in the political and social life of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, even founding their own political parties.
Consequently, the national movements in Ukraine developed in parallel in two regions –sub-Russian and Austro-Hungarian – each with their own, notably different identities.
“In the Dnipro region, sub-Russian Ukraine, the movement had more left-wing, socialist features, while in the western part under Austro-Hungarian rule, it was more conservative. However, the two regions maintained strong connections each recognizing the others as being part of the same people striving together for independence and statehood,” Vyatrovych says.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ukrainian nationalist movement culminated in a statement justifying separate statehood. The lawyer Mykola Mikhnovsky argued that Ukrainian independence should see the termination of the treaty Bohdan Khmelnytsky had signed with Moscow’s Tsar, as the Russian Empire had repeatedly violated the terms of the agreement.
The First World War transformed the political landscape. Ukrainian military formations were created within the Austro-Hungarian army and numerous associations were formed, such as the Main Ukrainian Council.
By the spring of 1917, the Russian Empire was disintegrating. As a result, Ukrainian movements began to push the idea of Ukrainian statehood with more vigor. In the spring of 1917, nationalist rallies were held in the largest cities of Ukraine.
Following the results of military and agricultural congresses, a parliament was created – the Central Rada – along with a government – the General Secretariat.
As a result of long negotiations with the Russian Provisional Government, which did not want to see Ukraine as anything more than a controlled semi-autonomous region, the idea of the need to declare full independence grew among Ukrainians.
The independence of the Ukrainian People’s Republic was proclaimed by the Fourth Universal of the Central Rada on January 22, 1918. This day marked the official emergence of a new state in Central and Eastern Europe, which gained and declared its independence.
This happened after the Bolshevik coup in Russia, which began to destroy Russian democracy, and launched an offensive against all those who decided to secede from the Russian Empire – including the Ukrainian People’s Republic.
“From the creation of the first authorities and the autonomist view of governance to the declaration of full independence, it took less than a year – from the spring of 1917 to January 1918. I do not agree with those who say that the national movement of Ukrainians progressed slowly. This is not so. On the contrary – it was very rapid development – from autonomy to statehood in a few months,” according to Viatrovych.
The young state did not remain isolated – it was recognized by the states of the Central Bloc, first of all, Germany and Austria-Hungary, which began to fight the Russian Bolsheviks to protect their own interests.
Western Ukrainian territory had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed with the end of the First World War and also looked for independence. On Nov. 1, the Ukrainian military seized the main authorities in Lviv leading, two weeks later, to the West Ukrainian People’s Republic (ZUNR) to be solemnly proclaimed.
Yevhen Petrushevych became its head. Negotiations on unification began between the two Ukrainian states shortly thereafter, as both were in a difficult situation from the start. With the end of the First World War, the Ukrainian People’s Republic lost the support of German and Austrian troops, leaving it alone to face Bolshevik Russia. Meanwhile, the West Ukrainian People’s Republic was drawn into conflict with Poland, which also claimed Lviv because of its significant Polish population.
“It was one of the biggest stumbling blocks – determining which enemy to fight first and who was more dangerous. For the leaders of the UPR – Symon Petliura and Volodymyr Vynnychenko – the biggest enemy was the Russian Bolsheviks, who were rapidly advancing from the East. For those in the west, the Polish threat was more pressing, as they had the support of the Entente countries, which gave them a strength advantage in their offensive on Lviv,” Ihor Byhun PhD in history and Lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says.
Nevertheless, the understanding of the common historical fate and the need to solve the problems of one people in one state served to accelerate the negotiations that took place in the Kyiv region in December 1918 and ended with the signing of a treaty between the two republics.
As a result, on Jan. 22, 1919, at a huge rally in Kyiv, Fedir Shvets, a member of the Ukrainian National Directorate and a professor of law, read out the Act of Reunification, announcing the unification of the two states into one Ukraine.
“The single parts of a united Ukraine that have been torn apart for centuries – the West Ukrainian People’s Republic (Halychyna, Bukovyna, Hungarian Rus) and the Great Dnipro Ukraine – merge for eternity. The single independent Ukrainian People’s Republic is born,” the act declared.
However, this did not save the united Ukrainian state from defeat. Left without the support of the Central Powers which had lost the First World War, Ukrainians could not resist the Bolsheviks, White Guards, and Poland for long.
“Because Ukraine was supported during the war by Germany and Austria-Hungary, it was discredited in the international arena. In addition, Russian emigrant figures actively promoted the idea among Western politicians that it was not worth helping Ukraine, claiming that the Ukrainian government was no different from the Bolsheviks. Unfortunately, this narrative worked,” Viatrovych notes.
Additionally, Ukrainian leaders weakened the young state themselves. In 1918 alone, Ukraine experienced at least two major coups, and Kyiv changed hands four times. This instability prevented the establishment of a normal life and the mobilization of people to defend the country.
Ukraine resisted Moscow for another two years. But even the communists who seized it were forced to reckon with the national movement – and were compelled to recognize Ukraine as part of the Soviet Union, almost within the same borders as the Ukrainian People’s Republic. Of course, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was not independent, but it had its parliament and government, which, during the crisis in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, began moving toward independence.
On Jan. 22, 1990, the 71st anniversary of the Act of Reunification, hundreds of thousands of people across Ukraine joined hands between Lviv and Kyiv, forming a human chain of unity across the country.
This was probably the most massive civil action before the Maidan in 2013. It preceded Ukraine’s declaration of independence the following year.
The Act of Reunification did not lead to the victory of the Ukrainian state in 1919 for a number of reasons. But it has become a historical legacy for future generations, for whom a united Ukraine is a given and a value that must be protected. In memory of the Act of Reunification, every year on Jan. 22, thousands of Kyiv residents line up on one of the largest bridges in Kyiv – the Paton Bridge – that connects the right and left banks of the Dnipro river as another symbol of the unification of its people.
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