Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party
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Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party Українська Партія Соціалістів-Революціонерів | |
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Political position | Left-wing |
Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party (Russian: Украинская партия социалистов-революционеров Ukrainian: Українська Партія Соціалістів-Революціонерів) was a political party in Ukraine and the Russian Republic founded in April 1917,[1] based on separate groups and circles of SRs that existed on the territory of Ukraine since 1905.[1] The left faction of the party dissolved it in 1918 forming a new party, while the Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party was recreated in January 1919 by its moderate faction members.[1]
General outlook
It was one of the most influential political parties in Ukraine as it was representing the interest of the major social class of Ukraine - peasants and in some extent soldiers.[1] It closely cooperated with the All-Ukrainian Peasants Society (Spilka) on which the party relied its activities among farmworkers.[1] The party's program was based on unifying principles of national interests and ideas of liberal populism.[1] The determining issue of revolutionary change, it considered the national question, and its ultimate goal was to build a sovereign Ukrainian independent state.[1] In November 1917 the Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party consisted of 75,000 members.[1]
Ideas and principles
- National personal autonomy for minorities
- Classless Ukrainian nation
- Communization of great arable lands
- Promoting principles of tenant farmers and farmworkers
History
In the fall of 1906 the Simferopol circle of the Party established its new affiliations in
The First Party Conference took place in
First steps
The Party officially was established on April 17, 1917 in
The Party had several of its ministers in the
Parliamentary life
A crisis arose in December 1917 during one of the sessions of the Central Rada (7th and 8th (December 1917)) where the parliamentarians could not agree on the agrarian question. The majority of agrarian deputies were absolutely against the conservative agrarian law projects of the social-federalists K.Matskevich and SDPist Borys Martos, who were supported by part of SRs.
At the 3rd Party Congress in December 1917 the left SRs, with the support of deputies from the military political organizations, requested the Central Rada to promptly issue laws about the liquidation of private property (estates in particular), communization of series of various industries, and several other reforms that were part of the Party's program. Soon 12 members of the Party CC composed the nucleus of the left opposition in the Rada.
After the Declaration of Independence a SR-government was formed (the Council of People's Ministers) headed by Vsevolod Holubovych. On January 18, 1918 under the influence of the Left-wing of the Party headed by O.Shumsky the Central Rada finally accepted a provisional decree about the socialization of estates. However, on January 26, 1918 Kiev was taken by the army of Mikhail Muravyov and the members of the Rada relocated to Zhytomyr.
There the Ukrainian left SRs were publishing their newspaper Molot (Hammer). With the support of the Germany Ukraine was liberated from the Russian occupation by March 1918. However, on April 29 the German military administration dispersed the Rada and arrested the Prime Minister of Ukraine Vsevolod Holubovych accusing him in setting up a conspiracy by kidnapping a financial official on April 25, 1918.[2]
Split
At the 4th Party Congress on May 13–16, 1918 the party split into a left faction (Borbysts) and a right faction.
Exile
The party supported the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence. After the Bolshevik victory and the establishment of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, most of its members went into exile in Vienna and then Prague, where they published the newspaper Trudova Ukraina. In 1948, it took part in the establishment of the National Rada in Exile.
On 26 March 1950 it merged with the Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party and the Ukrainian Radical Socialist Party to form the Ukrainian Socialist Party .
Notable members
- Central current
- Central Rada, member of the Mala Radaand the CC of the UPSR.
- Vsevolod Holubovych
- Pavlo Khrystiuk
- Mykyta Shapoval
- Fedir Shvets
- Oleksandr Sevriuk
- Left faction (Borotbists)
- Oleksandr Shumskyi
- Hryhoriy Hrynko
- Vasyl Ellan-Blakytnyi
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries. Handbook on the History of Ukraine
- ^ S. Reshetar Jr., John (2011). The Ukrainian Revolution, 1917-1920: A Study In Nationalism. Literary Licensing, Llc.
- ^ Maistrenko, Ivan (2019). Borot'bism: A Chapter in the History of the Ukrainian Revolution. ibidem Press.