Symon Petliura
Symon Petliura | |
---|---|
Симон Петлюра | |
2nd Chairman of the Directorate | |
In office 11 February 1919 – 25 May 1926 (In exile from 18 March 1921) | |
Prime Minister |
|
Preceded by | Volodymyr Vynnychenko |
Succeeded by | Andriy Livytskyi1 |
Secretary of Military Affairs | |
In office 28 June 1917 – 6 January 1918 | |
Prime Minister | Volodymyr Vynnychenko |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Mykola Porsh |
Personal details | |
Born | Poltava, Russian Empire | 22 May 1879
Died | 25 May 1926 Paris, France | (aged 47)
Political party | RUP (1900–1905) USDLP (1905–1919) |
Spouse | [1] |
Children | Lesya (1911–1941) |
Alma mater | Poltava Orthodox Seminary |
Occupation | Politician and statesman |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Ukrainian People's Republic |
Branch/service | Ukrainian People's Army |
Years of service | 1914–1922 |
Rank | Chief Otaman |
Commands | Haidamaka Kish of Sloboda Ukraine |
Battles/wars |
|
1As President of Ukraine in exile | |
Symon Vasyliovych Petliura[a] (Ukrainian: Симон Васильович Петлюра; 22 May [O.S. 10 May] 1879 – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a part of the wider Russian Civil War.
Petliura was born to a family of Cossack heritage in Poltava. From an early age he embraced socialism and Ukrainian nationalism, which he advocated through his highly prolific career as a journalist. After the 1917 February Revolution overthrew the Tsarist monarchy, the Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed and Petliura was elected head of its military. The Republic was briefly interrupted by the pro-German Ukrainian State, but in late 1918 Petliura, along with other members of the socialist Directorate of Ukraine, organised a revolt and overthrew the regime, restoring the Republic. He became the leader of the Directorate in early 1919, after the Bolsheviks invaded Ukraine and drove the UNA to Galicia. Facing imminent defeat, Petliura entered an alliance with Józef Piłsudski's Poland. The Polish–Soviet War concluded with Polish victory but Ukraine remained under Soviet control, forcing Petliura into exile. He initially directed the government-in-exile from Poland, but eventually settled in Paris.
During the Civil War, the UNA were responsible for the
Career to 1917
Born on 22 May [
Petliura studied in the Russian Orthodox Seminary in Poltava from 1895 to 1901.[5] While there he joined the Hromada society in 1898.[5] When his membership in Hromada was discovered in 1901, he was expelled from the seminary.[5] In 1900 Petliura joined the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party (RUP).[5] In 1902, under threat of arrest, he moved to Yekaterinodar in the Kuban, where he worked for two years – initially as a schoolteacher and later as an archivist for the Kuban Cossack Host[5] helping to organize over 200,000 documents. In December 1903 he was arrested for organizing a RUP branch in Yekaterinodar and for publishing inflammatory anti-tsarist articles in the Ukrainian press outside of Imperial Russia (in Austrian-controlled Lemberg, currently named Lviv, in Galicia).[5] Released on bail in March 1904, he moved briefly to Kyiv and then to Lemberg.[5]
In Lviv, Petliura lived under the name of Sviatoslav Tagon,
At the end of 1905, after an nationwide amnesty was declared by the authorities, Petliura returned briefly to Kyiv, but soon moved to the Russian capital of Petersburg in order to publish the socialist-democratic monthly magazine Vil’na Ukrayina ("Free Ukraine") along with Prokip Poniatenko and Mykola Porsh.[5] After Russian censors closed this magazine in July 1905, he moved back to Kyiv where he worked for the newspaper Rada ("The Council"). In 1907–09 he became the editor of the literary magazine Slovo (Ukrainian: Слово, The Word) and co-editor of Ukrayina (Ukrainian: Україна, "Ukraine").
Because of the closure of these publications by the Russian Imperial authorities, Petliura had once again to move from Kyiv. He went to Moscow in 1909, where he worked briefly as an accountant. There in 1910 he married Olha Bilska (1885–1959), with whom he had a daughter, Lesia (1911–1942). From 1912 until May 1917, he served as a co-editor of the influential Russian-language journal Ukrayinskaya Zhizn (Ukrainian Life).
Journalism and publications
As the editor of numerous journals and newspapers, Petliura published over 15,000 critical articles, reviews, stories and poems under an estimated 120 noms-de-plume. His prolific work in both the Russian and Ukrainian languages helped shape the mindset of the Ukrainian population in the years leading up to the Revolution in both Eastern and Western Ukraine. His prolific correspondence was of great benefit when the Revolution broke out in 1917, as he had contacts throughout Ukraine.
Publications before 1914
As the Ukrainian language had been outlawed in the Russian Empire by the Ems Ukaz of 1876, Petliura found more freedom to publish Ukraine oriented articles in Saint Petersburg than in Ukraine. There, he published the magazine Vilna Ukrayina (Ukrainian: Вільна Україна, "Independent Ukraine") until July 1905. Tsarist censors, however, closed this magazine, and Petliura moved back to Kyiv.
In Kyiv, Petliura first worked for Rada. In 1907 he became editor of the literary magazine Slovo. Also, he co-edited the magazine Ukrayina.
In 1909, these publications were closed by Russian imperial police, and Petliura moved back to Moscow to publish. There, he was co-editor of the Russian-language journal Ukrayinskaya Zhizn to familiarize the local population with news and culture of what was known as Malorossia. He was the chief editor of this publication from 1912 to 1914. In Moscow, he married his wife Olha Bilska in 1915 (later she was also known as her husband under the surname of Marchenko). There, in Moscow was born the daughter of Petliura, Lesia (Olesia).
Publications after emigration
In Paris, Petliura continued the struggle for Ukrainian independence as a publicist. In 1924, Petliura became the editor and publisher of the weekly journal Tryzub (Trident). He contributed to this journal using various pen names, including V. Marchenko, and V. Salevsky.[citation needed]
Revolution in Ukraine
Rise to power
In May 1917 Petliura attended the First All-Ukrainian Congress of Soldier Deputies held in
Disagreeing with the politics of the then chairman of the
After the April 1918 Ukrainian coup d'état, Pavlo Skoropadskyi's government arrested Petliura and incarcerated him for four months in Bila Tserkva.
Petliura participated in the
1919
With the outbreak of hostilities between Ukraine and Soviet Russia in January 1919, and with Vynnychenko's emigration, Petliura ultimately became the leading figure in the Directorate. During the winter of 1919 the Petliura army lost most of Ukraine (including Kyiv) to Bolsheviks and by March 6 relocated to
1920
On 5 December 1919, Petliura withdrew to
After the revolution
Promoting a Ukrainian cultural identity
During his time as leader of the Directorate, Petliura was active in supporting
Supporting culture in Ukraine
Petliura introduced the awarding of the title "People's Artist of Ukraine" to artists who had made significant contributions to Ukrainian culture. A similar titled award was continued after a significant break under the Soviet regime. Among those who had received this award was blind kobza player Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko.
Promoting Ukrainian culture abroad
He also saw the value in gaining international support and recognition of Ukrainian arts through cultural exchanges. Most notably, Petliura actively supported the work of cultural leaders such as the choreographer
Life in exile
In Paris, Petliura directed the activities of the government of the Ukrainian National Republic in exile. He launched the weekly Tryzub, and continued to edit and write numerous articles under various pen names with an emphasis on questions dealing with national oppression in Ukraine. These articles were written with a literary flair. The question of national awareness was often of significance in his literary work.
Petliura's articles had a significant impact on the shaping of Ukrainian national awareness in the early 20th century. He published articles and brochures under a variety of noms de plume, including V. Marchenko, V. Salevsky, I. Rokytsky, and O. Riastr.[9]
Role in pogroms
Part of a series on |
Antisemitism |
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Category |
Petliura is considered a controversial figure connected with the
It is time to realize that the world Jewish population—their children, their women—was enslaved and deprived of its national freedom, just like we were.
It should not go anywhere away from us; it has been living with us since time immemorial, sharing our fate and misfortune with us.
I decisively order that all those who will be inciting you to carry out pogroms be expelled from our army and tried as traitors of the Motherland. Let the courts try them for their actions, without sparing the criminals the severest punishments according to the law. The government of the UNR, understanding all the harm that pogroms inflict on the state, has issued a proclamation to the entire population of the land, with the appeal to oppose all measures by enemies that instigate pogroms against the Jewish population...
Chief Otaman Petliura, 26 August 1919[11]
The newly formed Ukrainian state (
Petliura's role in the pogroms has been a topic of dispute since his assassination in 1926 and the succeeding
According to Hunczak, Petliura actively sought to halt anti-Jewish violence on numerous occasions, introducing capital punishment for carrying out pogroms.[26][27] Conversely, he is also accused of not having done enough to stop the pogroms[20] and being afraid to punish officers and soldiers engaged in crimes against Jews for fear of losing their support.[28][29][page needed]
Assassination
On 25 May 1926, at 14:12, by the Gibert bookstore, Petliura was walking on Rue Racine near
Schwartzbard was an anarchist of Jewish descent, born in Ukraine. He participated in the Jewish self-defense of Balta in 1905. The Russian Tsarist government sentenced him to 3 months in prison for "provoking" the Balta pogrom.[33] He was twice convicted of taking part in anarchist "expropriation" (burglary) and bank robbery in Austria-Hungary. He later joined the French Foreign Legion (1914–1917) and was wounded in the Battle of the Somme. It is reported that Schwartzbard told famous fellow anarchist leader Nestor Makhno in Paris that he was terminally ill and expected to die and that he would take Petliura with him; Makhno forbade Schwartzbard to do so.[34]
Schwartzbard's parents were among fifteen members of his family murdered in the pogroms in Odesa. The core defense at the
According to a defected KGB operative
It is claimed that in March 1926, Vlas Chubar (Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine), in a speech given in Kharkiv and repeated in Moscow, warned of the danger Petliura represented to Soviet power. It was after this speech that the command had allegedly been given to assassinate Petliura.[38] Petliura was buried alongside his wife and daughter in the
Petliura's two sisters, Orthodox nuns who had remained in Poltava, were arrested and shot in 1928 by the NKVD (the Soviet secret police).
Legacy
Ukraine
With the
In June 2009, Kyiv City Council renamed Comintern Street (located in Shevchenkivskyi District) as Symon Petliura Street to commemorate the 130th anniversary of his birth.[41]
In modern-day Ukraine, Petliura has not been as lionized as Mykhailo Hrushevsky (who played a much smaller role in the Ukrainian People's Republic), since Petliura was too closely associated with violence to make a good symbolic figure.[42] In a 2008 poll of "Famous Ukrainians of all times" (in which respondents did not receive any lists or tips), Petliura was not mentioned (Hrushevsky came in sixth place in this poll).[43] In the 2008 TV project Velyki Ukraïntsi ("Greatest Ukrainians"), he placed 26th.[44]
A nephew of Symon Petliura,
In December 2022, the city of
Ukrainian diaspora
For part of the Western Ukrainian diaspora, Petliura is remembered as a national hero, a fighter for Ukrainian independence, a martyr, who inspired hundreds of thousands to fight for an independent Ukrainian state.[citation needed] He has inspired original music,[46] and youth organizations.[47]
Petliura in Ukrainian folk songs
During the revolution Petliura became the subject of numerous folk songs, primarily as a hero calling for his people to unite against foreign oppression. His name became synonymous with the call for freedom.[48] 15 songs were recorded by the ethnographer rev. prof. K. Danylevsky. In the songs Petliura is depicted as a soldier, in a manner similar to Robin Hood, mocking Skoropadsky and the Bolshevik Red Guard.
News of Petliura's assassination in the summer of 1926 was marked by numerous revolts in eastern Ukraine particularly in Boromlia, Zhehailivtsi, (Sumy province), Velyka Rublivka, Myloradov (Poltava province), Hnylsk, Bilsk, Kuzemyn and all along the
The Soviets also tried their hand at portraying Petliura through the arts in order to discredit the Ukrainian national leader. A number of humorous songs appeared in which Petliura is portrayed as a traveling beggar whose only territory is that which is under his train carriage. A number of plays such as The Republic on Wheels by Yakov Mamontov and the opera
Petliura continues to be portrayed by the Ukrainian people in its folk songs in a manner similar to Taras Shevchenko and Bohdan Khmelnytsky. He is likened to the sun which suddenly stopped shining.
See also
- List of national leaders of Ukraine
- Ukrainian Civil War
- Anton Denikin
Notes
References
- ^ Biography of Petlura. dead link
- ^ Magocsi, Paul Robert. 2010. A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 538.
- ^ Zamoyski, Adam. 2007. Warsaw 1920: Lenin's Failed Conquest of Europe. London: HarperPress, p. viii.
- ^ Marples, David R. 2008. Heroes and Villains: Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine. Budapest: Central European University Press, p. 57.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hunczak, T. Petliura, Symon. Encyclopedia of Ukraine.
- ^ All pseudonyms and cryptonyms of Symon Petliura Archived December 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (in reference to the Library of S.Petliura and A.Zhuk)
- ISBN 9780974493442.
- ^ Klymkiw, Walter. "Olexander Koshetz Ukraine's Great Choral Conductor." Forum 67, 1986: 15.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Ukraine – Paris–New York 1970, vol 6, (p 2029–30)
- ISBN 978-963-9776-26-5
- ^ a b The Jewish card in Russian operations against Ukraine, Kyiv Post (June 30, 2009)
- S2CID 147673768. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 March 2014.
- ^ P. Kenez (1977), Civil War in South Russia, 1919–1920: The Defeat of the Whites. Berkeley: University of California Press. 378 pp; p. 166.
- ^ "Was Symon Petliura "an antisemite who massacred Jews during a time of war"?". openDemocracy. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Tenorio, Rich. "20 years before the Holocaust, pogroms killed 100,000 Jews – then were forgotten". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Veidlinger, Jeffrey (23 February 2022). "The Killing Fields of Ukraine". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ JTA. "Ukraine honors nationalist whose troops killed 50,000 Jews". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Richard Pipes. A Concise History of the Russian Revolution. Vintage Books. 1996. p. 262.
- ^ a b Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia, Michael Newton, two volumes, ABC-CLIO, 2014, pp. 418–420
- ^ a b Strauss, ed. (1993). pp. 1307–1309.
- ^ "50,000 Jews Killed in Petlura Pogroms, Paris Court Hears". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 July 1926. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- ISBN 978-1442697287.
- JSTOR 4466501.
- JSTOR 4466502.
- JSTOR 4466608. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 August 2016.
- ^ Hunczak, Taras (1985). Symon Petliura and the Jews: A Reappraisal (PDF). Ukrainian Jewish studies. Toronto: Ukrainian Historical Association. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2018.
- ^ Hunczak, Taras (1993). "Symon Petliura". Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Strauss, ed. (1993). p. 1321.
- ^ a b Friedman (1976).
- ^ "FRANCE: Petlura Trial". TIME.com. 7 November 1927. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- Jewish Daily Bulletin. No. 483. New York. Jewish Telegraphic Agency(JTA). 27 May 1926. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Tragedy Leading to Schwartzbard's Act in Shooting Petlura, Is Described". Jewish Daily Bulletin. No. 484. 28 May 1926 – via JTA.
- ^ Friedman (1976). p. 58.
- ^ a b Nestor Makhno forbade Schwartzbard to Shoot Petlura (in Ukrainian), at www.gpu.ua.
- ^ "FRANCE: Petlura Trial". Time. 7 November 1927. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ^ UNP requests Chernomyrdin to hand over archive documents about the assassination of Petliura Archived 2020-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, Newsru.ua, May 22, 2009
- ^ "Convenient" assassination, "Tyzhden.ua", June 15, 2011
- ^ Ukrainian: Shelest, V. Symon Petliura – Liudyna i derzhavnyk [Symon Petliura - a man and a statesman] Toronto, 1997, p.47.
- ^ Ukraine Unveils Statue Honoring Nationalist Leader Behind Regime That Killed Up to 50,000 Jews, Haaretz (17 October 2017)
"WJC denounces 'disgraceful and deplorable' Ukrainian monument honoring anti-Semitic nationalist leader". World Jewish Congress. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017. - ^ "Симон Петлюра". Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ Kyiv Council Renames Kominterna Street Into Petliura Street, Ukrainian News Agency (June 18, 2009)
- ISBN 978-0-19-530546-3.
- Sociological group "RATING"(2012/05/28)
- ^ Top 11–100 Archived 2013-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, Velyki Ukraïntsi.
- Ukrayinska Pravda(in Ukrainian). 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ Melnyk, Lubomyr[dead link]
- ^ Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM) – US Archived October 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Danylevsky (1947). p. 3.
- ^ Danylevsky (1947). p. 6.
- ^ Danylevsky (1947). p. 8.
Bibliography
- Danylevskyi/Danylevsky, Rev. Prof. K. (1947). Petliura v sertsiakh i pisniakh svoho narodu. Regensburg: Nakladom filii Tovarystva ukrayinskykh politychnykh v’iazniv v Regensburzi. P. 11.
- Danylevskyi/Danylevsky, Rev. Prof. K. O. (1951). Petliura v sertsiakh i pisniakh svoho narodu. Pittsburgh, USA: Vidbytka z Narodnoho Slova. P. 24.
- Encyclopedia of Ukraine – Paris-New York 1970, Volume 6, pp. 2029–30.
- ISBN 0805511628.
- Schwartzbard, Sholom: Over The Years (Inem Loif Fun Yoren). Excerpt from a book by Petliura's assassin explaining his actions.
- ISBN 3110137151.
External links
English
- (in English) Symon Petliura, Yevhen Konovalets, Stepan Bandera - Three Leaders of Ukrainian Liberation Movement murdered by the Order of Moscow (audiobook).
- Biography of Petliura on website of the Ukrainian government
- Petliura site in Poltava (Documents, articles and photographs)
- "Petlura Trial". Time. 7 November 1927. Archived from the original on 14 April 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2008. (Time magazine on the Petlura trial)
- Turning the pages back...May 25, 1926[permanent dead link] (Ukrainian Weekly account of shooting of Petliura)
- Review of books on Petliura[permanent dead link]
- Review of Henry Abramson's A Prayer for the Government: Ukrainians and Jews in Revolutionary Times
- The Odyssey of the Petliura Library and the Records of the Ukrainian National Republic during World War II
- Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. .
Non-English
- "Symon Petliura. Facts against myths" by Alik Gomelsky.
- "Unknown Symon Petliura: history of an interview," Zerkalo Nedeli (Mirror Weekly), July 7–13, 2001. Available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.
- "A Belated Idealist," Zerkalo Nedeli (Mirror Weekly), May 22–28, 2004. Available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.
- "Symon Petliura as opponent of Jewish pogroms," Zerkalo Nedeli (Mirror Weekly), 25–31 July 1996. Available online in Russian.
- Article published in the "Archives of the Ukrainian Security Service" on Petlura and the GPU re his assassination based on recently discovered materials from the vaults of the Ukrainian Security Service in Ukrainian.
- Symon Petliura in opposition to Jewish Pogroms (in Russian)
- Petliura web site in Poltava Web site of documents pertaining to Symon Petliura in Ukrainian, Russian and English.
- Newspaper clippings about Symon Petliura in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW