Ukrainian Statehood 1917–1921: Not a 'Bolshevik Project'

Where this myth comes from

Putin has repeatedly claimed that “modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia, or more precisely by Bolshevik, Communist Russia” (speech of 21 February 2022). This assertion is a deliberate falsification of history that ignores:

• The centuries-long development of Ukrainian national consciousness
• The powerful national movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries
• The creation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic before the Bolshevik coup
• The fact that the Bolsheviks conquered Ukraine by armed force — they did not “create” it

The national movement before 1917

The 19th century: the formation of a modern nation

The Ukrainian statehood of 1917 was preceded by a lengthy process of national revival:

1840s — The Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood (Shevchenko, Kostomarov, Kulish) — the first Ukrainian political organisation, aimed at creating a federation of Slavic peoples with an equal Ukraine

1846 — Taras Shevchenko, in the poem “The Caucasus” and other works, articulates the idea of Ukrainian liberation and statehood

1868 — Foundation of the “Prosvita” society in Lviv — the beginning of mass educational activity

1890 — Foundation of the first Ukrainian political party — the Ruthenian-Ukrainian Radical Party

1898 — The General Ukrainian Organisation (later the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party), which declared its goal to be “a single, indivisible, free, independent Ukraine”

1905 — During the Russian revolution of 1905, a Ukrainian faction appeared in the Duma

1907 — The Shevchenko Scientific Society in Lviv became a fully-fledged academy of sciences (long before the Bolsheviks)

The autonomy movement in the First Duma

In 1906, 45 deputies from Ukrainian provinces formed the Ukrainian Community in the First State Duma of the Russian Empire. They demanded:

• Autonomy for Ukraine
• Teaching in Ukrainian in schools
• Ukrainian-language judicial proceedings

This proves that the Ukrainian political movement existed even within the Russian Empire — it was not “invented” by the Bolsheviks.

The creation of the UNR: chronology

The Central Rada (March 1917)

After the February Revolution, on 4 (17) March 1917 in Kyiv, the Ukrainian Central Rada was established — a representative organ of the Ukrainian people. Mykhailo Hrushevsky — the greatest Ukrainian historian — was elected its chairman.

The Central Rada:

• Was created 8 months before the Bolshevik coup (October 1917)
• Was a democratic body with representatives of various parties and national minorities
• Included representatives of Jews, Poles, Russians — i.e., it was multinational

The Four Universals

1. First Universal (10 (23) June 1917) — declaration of Ukrainian autonomy within a democratic Russia
2. Second Universal (3 (16) July 1917) — Russia’s Provisional Government recognised the Central Rada
3. Third Universal (7 (20) November 1917) — proclamation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (after the Bolshevik coup in Petrograd)
4. Fourth Universal (9 (22) January 1918) — proclamation of full independence of the UNR

Importantly: the Third Universal proclaimed the UNR 2 weeks after the Bolshevik coup — as a reaction to the Bolshevik seizure of power, not at their initiative.

What the UNR proclaimed

The Fourth Universal was one of the most progressive documents of its time:

“Ukrainian People! By your strength, will and word, a free Ukrainian People’s Republic was created on Ukrainian soil. The long-cherished dream of your fathers — fighters for the freedom and rights of the working people — has come true.”

The UNR guaranteed:

• Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, association, and strikes
• Inviolability of person and home
• Rights of national minorities to national-personal autonomy (unique for its time!)
• Abolition of the death penalty
• The 8-hour working day

Bolshevik aggression against the UNR

The First War (December 1917 – February 1918)

The Bolsheviks did not recognise the UNR and launched armed aggression:

• December 1917 — Bolshevik forces under Muravyov invaded Ukraine
• 26 January 1918 — the Battle of Kruty: 300 students and cadets stood in the path of the Bolshevik army (a symbol of Ukrainian resistance)
• 8 February 1918 — the Bolsheviks captured Kyiv. Muravyov ordered the shooting of civilians — by various estimates, between 2,000 and 5,000 Kyivans were killed

The puppet “UkrSSR”

The Bolsheviks created the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic as an alternative to the UNR:

• Proclaimed in Kharkiv (not Kyiv!) on 25 December 1917
• Its leadership consisted mainly of non-Ukrainians (Russians and Jewish Bolsheviks)
• Had no real support among the Ukrainian population
• Existed only thanks to Russian armed forces

As Richard Pipes (Harvard) noted: “Soviet Ukraine was created not by Ukrainians, but against Ukrainians — as an instrument of control over Ukraine.”

The WUPR: parallel statehood

Simultaneously with the UNR, on 1 November 1918 in Galicia the West Ukrainian People’s Republic (WUPR) was proclaimed. This proves that the aspiration to statehood was not a local phenomenon, but encompassed all Ukrainian lands:

• The WUPR had its own army (the Ukrainian Galician Army — up to 100,000 soldiers)
• It held elections to parliament (the Ukrainian National Council)
• 22 January 1919 — the Act of Union: the unification of the UNR and the WUPR into a single Ukraine

The WUPR had no connection whatsoever to the Bolsheviks — it arose on the territory of the former Austro-Hungary. This completely refutes the myth about the “Bolshevik” character of Ukrainian statehood.

Why Ukraine lost

The defeat of the UNR in 1920–1921 does not mean it was “artificial.” Ukraine lost because of:

1. War on multiple fronts — simultaneously against the Bolsheviks, the White Guards, Poland, and Romania
2. Overwhelming forces of the enemy — the population of Russia was three times that of Ukraine
3. Absence of international support — the Entente did not recognise the UNR
4. Internal conflicts — social contradictions and ataman-ism

For comparison: Finland, which gained independence in the same year 1917, survived only thanks to geographic isolation and German support, and later recognition by the Entente.

The legacy of 1917–1921

Despite the defeat, the UNR left a powerful legacy:

• Proof of Ukrainians’ aspiration to independence — not fiction, but a mass popular movement
• Democratic traditions — the Central Rada and the Universals
• Rights of national minorities — a law on national-personal autonomy unique for its time
• The UNR government-in-exile — existed until 1992, when it transferred its authority to independent Ukraine
• Symbols — the blue-and-yellow flag and the trident, which became the state symbols of independent Ukraine

Ukrainian statehood of 1917–1921 is not a “Bolshevik project” — it is a project that the Bolsheviks destroyed through armed aggression. It was Bolshevik Russia that acted as the destroyer of Ukrainian democracy, not its creator.