From Politnavigator
The First World War, which raged in Europe for four years, plunged into a severe crisis and later crushed to the base two major empires, the Russian and Austro-Hungarian. By the beginning of the XX century, both empires were archaic and not amenable to upgrading regimes with a heavy and long-standing load of internal problems and conflicts, unresolved in time. The abdication of Nicholas II and the military defeat of the Austro-Hungarian empire launched centrifugal processes in them both, which resulted new states appeared on the map of Europe. However, there appeared even more quasi-states, in which regimes changed each other faster than their citizens memorized the names of the new rulers and their political platforms.
The UNR (Ukrainian People’s Republic) and the ZUNR (Western Ukrainian People’s Republic) were examples of such quasi-states. This article is about them.
Actually, if you do not look into luxury Ukrainian history textbooks but turn to the documents, you will see that at the time of signing the «Act of Reunion», the UNR was an amorphous and completely void formation. The «Directory» controlled but a small part of the territories, which are now represented on independent and victorious maps with a flourish. In the south, Odessa was controlled by the French invaders and Denikin's Volunteer Army. From the north advanced the Red Army that had already taken Kharkov at the beginning of January.
Novorossia, Donbass and Tavria clearly announced at the time that they did not wish to be a part of the UNR in any way. At the beginning of 1918, these areas were swept by armed uprises, which resulted in forming people's republics which declared their direct subordination to the Petrograd Sovnarkom (Council of People’s Commissars).
It is also noteworthy that the UNR was not able to cope with any of these republics on its own and managed to subjugate these areas only with the help of Austrian and German invaders.
The situation in the ZUNR at the time of signing the «Act of Reunion» could be only called an agony. Romanian invaders had occupied Chernovtsy, Czechoslovak invaders had seized Uzhgorod, and the capital city of Lvov had been taken by Poles who constituted the majority of the urban population and did not want to live anywhere except Poland. The capital of the ZUNR moved depending on the advancement of the occupation forces. From Lvov, it first moved to Ternopol, and then to Stanislav (Ivano-Frankovsk) where it remained until the elimination of the quasi-state.
In fact, on the part of the ZUNR, the «Act of Reunion» was a gesture of despair, the last attempt to rely on anyone against enemies coming from all sides. Vinnichenko and Petlyura also harbored some hopes for profit from the union with the ZUNR.
Petlyura’s 50-thousand army represented de facto as unsightly spectacle, as the AFU at the time of Poroshenko: a gang of rapists, thugs and looters. For this reason, the Petlurites were beat by absolutely everyone with whom they encountered by the military bad luck.
Paradoxically, the «territory without an army» had to merge with the «army without territory», and as a result of the merger, each side hoped to strengthen its position at the expense of the other.
It just so happened that the two fictions, going towards, signed the «Act of Reunion» in Fastov in December 1918, and on January 22, 1919, it was announced at St. Sophia Square in Kiev.
With this, in fact, the whole «Reunion» ended, although formally it continued until the end of 1919.
A few days after the solemn ceremony at St. Sophia Square, the Red Army approached Kiev, including Ukrainian units of Schors, Bogun and Bozhenko, and on February 5, it took the city, from which Petlyura's army had fled on all fours.
By the early summer of 1919, the Poles occupied 80% of the ZUNR territory, with Petlyura faring no better. It was only Denikin’s offensive that delayed the complete defeat of the «united» UNR. On April 25, 1920, Petlura, in his turn, entered into an alliance with Poland, under which he renounced claims to the «western region of the UNR», drawing the border along the Zbruch river. A sleight of the «Head Ataman’s» hand threw under the the Polish yoke a lot of territory and population, which the little hands of less nimble and powerful invaders had not managed to get. What sacrifices do you not make for the sake of combating damned Bolsheviks, leaving alone the wish to prolong your political career at any price.
However, here is the most delicious part of the story, which today's professional Ukrainian patriots are not terribly fond of remembering.
Petlura was not the only one who betrayed the «Reunion». He was not even the first. The Western Ukrainians, in their turn, too, played their part, too. The Galicians definitely were not going to fight for «united» Kiev. Knocked out of the Western Ukraine by the strong Polish Army, well-equipped with French arms, goat shepherds and buckwheat sowers of the Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA) fell back to the south of Ukraine. After a couple of skirmishes with the Volunteer Army, the UGA Sich Shooters chose for the benefit to terminate the «Act of Reunion» and conclude an alliance with Denikin in the beginning of December 1919.
It was only due to to this alliance that the UGA was not milled between millstones of the Red and the White armies, and ended up in Odessa where, by the efforts of the «senior partner», got their own occupation zone, fenced off from Denikin’s army with ropes strung across the streets of Odessa. However, the goat shepherds and buckwheat sowers were not able to fight on Denikin's side for the «United and Indivisible» either, due to an epidemic of typhus, caused by endemic pediculosis of «Vuykos» (the name for a farmer in Western Ukraine).
However, it is not the end of story yet. In January 1920, the UGA «warriors» suddenly woke up to a sense of class solidarity with the proletariat of all countries, and its commanders signed an agreement with the Soviets. The UGA was urgently renamed as the ChUGA, the Red UGA, which again was not yet the final transformation of the army of the «united» Galicians. Poland’s attack on the Soviet Belarus and Ukraine caused an acute nostalgia of the «Red Sich Shooters» for a master’s boot, and the ChUGA urgently went back to the proud name of the UGA, having announced its coming to the side of the Poles, and even reportedly participated in the seizure of Kiev by the Polish invaders.
Bolsheviks responded adequately to the betrayal of the UGA-ChUGA-UGA, and one day from the top chameleon commanders of the Galician army received a lead seal on the forehead from the Odessa ChK (the Emergency Committee).
The new history of Ukraine, boasting virtually no victories, made the Ukrainian authorities headed by Kuchma, drag out from the oblivion, in 1999, the event of the «Reunion», insignificant from all points of view, cut off all icky parts of it and present the painted and hollow simulacrum as a watershed event that determined the fate of Ukraine.
Apparently realizing the falsity of the «historic date», none of the Ukrainian presidents dared to make January 22 a red calendar day. However, the «event» was celebrated with «living chains», folk festivals, concerts on the Ukrainian TV channels and official speeches.
The celebration of the «Act of Reunion» reached its zenith during the reign of Yushchenko who stood out for his unique mediocrity even against a gray succession of other Ukrainian presidents. Under Yanukovych, the «Unity Day» was still celebrated at the official level, as the «Regionals» (Yanukovich’s party) did not have enough courage to cancel the fake, through and through, holiday.
As for Poroshenko Poroshenko, this state wooden head has already proved his commitment to not only worship any «Conscious» idol, but also to produce new ones.
As it follows from the «Act of Reunion» itself, there is no room in it for Donbass, the Crimea and Novorossia. Anyway, the «Reunion» certainly had nothing to do with the whole of Ukraine within its borders of 1991.
The entire «value» of the paper signed between the UNR and ZUNR on January 22, 1919, lies for modern «patriots» in the fact that it included no role of either the Russian or the Soviet factor, which played a key role in all integration processes in Ukraine.
Continuing to celebrate the false «Reunion», the Ukrainian authorities once again admit the primacy of the flawed Ukrainian nationalism in their policies and identify Russia, together with the historical commonality of the three Slavic nations, as a geopolitical formation dangerous for them.
And, apparently, we can not expect any changes in the disastrous course of Ukraine.
Alexander Rostovtsev
- This is a war
- Fascism in Ukraine
- Light of Victory. Enemies fear even fallen warriors