The Ukrainian State

On 29 April, the establishment of the “Ukrainian state” (as opposed to the Central Rada’s “Ukrainian People’s Republic”) under the leadership of hetman Skoropadskyi was announced.

The hetman placed under his control legislative, executive, and judicial powers and in fact became a dictator. Thus an authoritarian regime replaced a parliamentarian democracy, which was ineffective during instability. To stabilize the political situation Skoropadskyi closed oppositionist press, introduced censorship, forbade disobedient trade unions and limited political freedoms in general. Yet the hetman’s seemingly unlimited authority did not hide the fact that it was the Germans who had ultimate power in Ukraine. In fact, Skoropadskyi’s government was a puppet regime. The establishing of the Skoropadskyi regime meant the return to power of Ukraine’s pre-revolutionary elites: bureaucrats, landowners, capitalists, and military officers.

As might be expected, the reaction of Ukrainian activists (most of whom were socialists and had belonged to the Central Rada) to the new regime was sharply negative. Therefore, when some well-known Ukrainians were invited to join the Hetman government, almost all of them refused. This left the hetman with no choice but to turn to individuals not associated with the Ukrainian movement to form his cabinet, thereby exposing himself to accusations that his government included no “real” Ukrainians. In fact 12 of 16 ministers were ethnic Ukrainians but they were Russified and the idea of Ukrainian independence was foreign to them except for a few. The foreign minister D. Doroshenko characterized the members of cabinet as ‘Ukrainian by blood but Muscovite in spirit.’ It does not mean, however, that they were vassals who tried to please Russia by any means. They sincerely believed that Ukrainians and Russians were two branches of the same nation. However, despite its lack of Ukrainian patriots, the new government led by a wealthy landowner Fedir Lyzohub had a number of very skilled administrators. In contrast to the “young utopians” of the Central Rada, who dreamed about socialist experiments, Lyzohub’s cabinet was made of experienced middle-aged and older professionals. The major criterion for forming the cabinet was not political views of its members but their professionalism. The cabinet’s activity brought about positive results. An effective bureaucratic apparatus was reestablished in Ukraine. An efficient currency reform was carried out. Factories and plants were revived. The railway system was operating normally after a long break. Trade with Germany and Austria-Hungary also contributed to the economic growth in Ukraine. Many Russian nobles, businessmen, politicians, military officers, scholars, scientists, and state officials who fled Petrograd and Moscow found their refuge in Kyiv which was booming with economic activity. The capital was in electric light all night. Its cafes, restaurants, casinos, and brothels attracted numerous visitors.

The government’s achievements in the fields of education and culture were especially impressive. Several million Ukrainian-language textbooks were prepared and Ukrainian was introduced into most of the schools. Over 100 new Ukrainian-language gimnazia (high schools), many located in rural areas, were founded. Two new Ukrainian universities were created in Kyiv and Kamianets-Podilsky. In the old three universities, the hetman government opened departments of Ukrainian language, literature, and history. The State Archive, the Museum of Ukrainian History, the National Library, the Ukrainian Academy of Fine Arts, and a number of other cultural institutions were also founded. The high point of this activity was the establishment of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences on 24 November 1918. The famous scientist V. Vernadskyi was appointed its head after M. Hrushevskyi refused the hetman’s proposal to occupy this position. In summer of 1918, a Ukrainian Autocephalous (Independent) Orthodox Church was created with metropolitan V. Lypkivskyi at its head.

In his nationality policy the hetman tried to unite Russians, Ukrainians and other peoples living in Ukraine under the concept of political nation in contrast to the nationalist concept of ethnic nation. According to the concept of political nation (which is the norm in contemporary European Union) all nationalities living in Ukraine can be considered Ukrainian patriots if they are loyal citizens. The hetman also tried to build a strong army but unfortunately for him the Germans were preventing its building as they wanted to be the only serious military force in Ukraine.

The major pillars of the hetman regime were landowners, businessmen, and bureaucracy, who were primarily interested in stability. In general they were Russified and indifferent to the Ukrainian movement. Many of them liked the idea of a “unified and indivisible Russia.” Seventy percent of Lyzohub’s government belonged to the Cadets - a Russian nationalistic party which major slogan was “restoration of an indivisible Russia.” They hoped to use Ukraine as a springboard for fighting the Bolsheviks and the restoration of Russia.

The peasantry and workers were not pleased with the hetman’s policy. The hetman forced the peasants to return conquered during the chaos lands and property to their former owners and pay compensations. In factories an 8-hour working day was canceled. Workers had to work now 12 hours a day without any rights to go on strike or form trade unions for protection of their interests.

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