The First President of the Past and Would-be Republic

However, even Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, a person of encyclopedic knowledge could not find analogy to the 1917–1920 events in Ukrainian history. There were seven armies on the territory of Ukraine namely: the Ukrainian army, troops of the Bolshevik army, divisions of the white counterrevolution, the Polish army, German and Austrian corps, anarchical troops in the south (some of these numbered 50 thousand people), landing troops of the Entente in the ports on the Black Sea.

The 1917–1920 Civil war was an unheard-of event in Ukrainian history. Neighbouring countries, members of the Entente alliance and followers of «one and indivisible Russia» promoted non-recognition of Ukraine as an independent country. In Russia the so-called monarchs-restorers and Bolsheviks-builders of «the new regime» provoked civil war. The tragic events in Ukraine are on the conscience of communist Moscow.

Ukraine appeared on the political arena after Mykola the Second, the Russian tsar, gave up the throne and the Provisional Government wielded the power. On March 17, 1917 Ukrainians formed the Central Rada, the Ukrainian representative body. Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, a 54-year scientist was appointed President of the Ukrainian National Republic.

Mykhaylo Hrushevsky was the oldest among other 20–40-aged leaders of the Ukrainian Republic. However, it was not the young age of his predecessors that hampered Ukraine’s development but ideological narrow-mindedness, the lack of political and state governance experience, susceptibility to rhetoric, traditional Ukrainian ambitions.

Being «armchair scientist» and social democrat, Mykhaylo Hrushevsky also demonstrated political short-sightedness. When the 300-thousand army of the Ukrainian frontier soldiers was ready to fight under the flag of «native Ukraine», Hrushevsky was one of those leaders who rejected the necessity of maintaining a large army. He did not forebode danger since he believed that people in revolutionary Russia practised the «holy commandments of social democracy». As a matter of fact, he ignored the readiness of the Ukrainian people to form and defend their state. None of the neighbouring countries had as large and trained army as Ukraine. But the momentum was lost. Ukrainian soldiers either went to plough land or entered the troops of other armies.

Hrushevsky ordered the Central Rada to enter the community of other states in accordance with the principles of «law and democracy». In accordance with Universals prepared by the Central Rada with the participation of Hrushevsky, the Ukrainian National Republic was pronounced an autonomic republic in Russia. Later Mykhaylo Hrushevsky declared Ukraine an independent state.

The first Universal shocked the Provisional Government in St. Petersburg, the second outraged the government in Moscow, the city where Bolsheviks moved after they seized power in November 1917. Soviet propaganda called for three bloody military campaigns of the so-called Red Army to Ukraine as necessary assistance to the Ukrainian people «to strengthen their authority». In fact, Bolsheviks aimed at restoration of a communist empire that would have been more than illusory without Ukraine. The countries-members of the Entente also perceived that but rejection of Ukrainian State proved to be stronger than simple pragmatism. Agreeing on this act, the Entente countries made their first step towards WWI.

The Ukrainian National Republic was forced to oppose aggression. Ukrainian leaders hurried to form the new Ukrainian military force. Mykhaylo Hrushevsky left his post and went abroad. It was necessary to find a new and strong leader to govern the state. The Central Rada (March 1917–April 1918) delegated its authority to Pavlo Skoropadsky who governed from April 1918 until November 1918. Later the Directorate with Semyon Petlyura came to power and governed the country from November 1918 until October 1920.

The Ukrainian National Republic was not able to oppose the Bolsheviks» professional army. The Ukrainian army was formed out of peasants, «free Cossacks» and gymnasium students. In order to equalise the strength of the enemies, leaders of the Ukrainian National Republic resorted to various dubious alliances. Hetman Skoropadsky entered into an agreement with Germany, Petlyura negotiated with Poland. In fact, Germans only «helped» to restore the estates of rich landlords and openly robbed Ukrainian grain and black earth. Poles required giving them the Western region of Ukraine in reward for their help. Both Polish and German complicity with the Ukrainian leaders sparked resentment in Ukrainian society. Following the annihilation of the Ukrainian National Republic, Soviet propaganda withdrew documents about the true reasons for the tragedy in Ukraine. In return, they fabricated unfeasible myths about UNR’s leaders and called them «bourgeois nationalists and traitors of the people’s interests».

Considering that this article is dedicated to Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, the first President of Ukraine, I would try to compare two incomparable leaders – Mykhaylo Hrushevsky and Volodymyr Lenin. The point is that they popularised two different conceptions. Hrushevsky claimed that national interest should take precedence over the class struggle. Lenin considered class struggle as a historical engine. Later, Lenin’s pupil, Stalin turned «historical engine» into a nightmare of mass repression.

It is worthwhile to note that Lenin was an armchair scientist like Mykhaylo Hrushevsky. However, he proved to be a talented strategist and a good practical man. He was not afraid to take responsibility for the state’s future. Lenin created a disciplined, centralised party that united all society stratums and government structures.

Thanks to Lenin’s bright tactics, the Communist Party considerably increased its ranks. Over six months in 1917, the number of members grew from 24 thousand people (mainly Jewish intellectuals and workers of big cities) to 350 thousand. The same tendency continued in the future.

In June 1918 Lenin held the First congress of Ukrainian Bolsheviks in Moscow. He watched the discussion behind the scenes and felt a sense of relief only when followers of the Communist Party won. In fact, Lenin created his own communist agency in Ukraine. Ukrainian Bolsheviks provoked several sabotage rebellions against the government of the Ukrainian National Republic. One of the most important rebellions is the rebellion of «workers» on «Arsenal» plant in Kyiv. Nowadays, people remember about this myth created by the Soviet propaganda when they see the cannon standing opposite the entrance to Arsenalna metro station in Kyiv.

According to Richard Pipes who researched the history of Russia, a «good agitator was worth of a hundred of soldiers then». Communists were fearless agitators armed not so much with guns as with «bluffed slogans». Lenin’s agitators-communists split armies on the fronts during the First World War, headed «crusades for bread», and robbed Ukrainian peasants like Germans. Bolsheviks held agitation campaigns among politically naive Ukrainian soldiers. As a result, many of them abandoned the army of the Ukrainian National Republic and the white counterrevolution army.

Moscow also cautiously treated even the most trustworthy Ukrainians. Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army Lev Trotsky openly recognized that Soviet power gained a foothold in Ukraine thanks to Moscow authorities and Russian communists.

Moscow authorities suspiciously took news that Mykhaylo Hrushevsky had decided to return to Ukraine 1924 he and his family settled in Kyiv. The scientist actively worked in the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. In 1930 he became a member of the Academy of Sciences in the USSR and a resident of Moscow. Back then Soviet authorities had begun to practice resettlement of prominent national workers to Moscow to keep them under the surveillance of Soviet leaders.

In l934 Mykhaylo Hrushevsky suddenly died of «wrong doctors» actions when treating for a «carbuncle». He was buried in the Baikove cemetery in Kyiv.

Mykhaylo Hrushevsky failed to become leader of the nation. But he opened Ukrainians fundamental laws of the national history, created ethnical passport of Ukraine, namely «The history of Ukraine-Russia» in ten volumes. Having researched thousands of initial documents, Hrushevsky proved that the Ukrainian nation had lived on its territory since the 4^th century A. D. Therefore, Kyivan Rus’ is the product of his creative work. It is not «a cradle of three sister nations» namely Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian people, another myth created by the Soviet propaganda.

The «rebellious ideas» of Mykhaylo Hrushevsky and his predecessors-patriots about the elitist character of the Ukrainian nation were considered as «a riot of the frustrated nation with an undeveloped language and culture». As a result, the European community did not recognize the Ukrainian National Republic. Nowadays, the Russian community as well as the russified population of Ukraine feels upset about that «riot».

Russification of Ukrainians increases as Ukraine celebrates the first years of its independence. It is not a historical paradox but a stage on the way to create a national state in Ukraine. Mykhaylo Hrushevsky is one of those Ukrainian workers who aimed to remove the inferiority complex imposed on Ukraine.

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