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The Ukrainian State, or Ukraine, is a country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the northeast, Romania to the southwest, the Austria-Hungarian crown land of Galicia-Lodomeria and the Kingdom of Poland to the west along with White Ruthenia and Lithuania to the northwest. Under the authoritarian, semi-democratic rule of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi and his loyalist Otaman-Ministers, it has been closely aligned with Germany as a critical part of Mitteleuropa and the Reichspakt to which it provides vast quantities of grain, for almost two decades.
Lack of political representation, failed land reform efforts and anti-government resistance, stemming both from the old Republican elites that have mostly left the country for a life in exile in neighboring Galicia and from the far-left rural Borotbist movement, have contributed to the Hetmanate's frail political stability in the recent past.
History[]
Formation of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917-1918)[]
On 10 June, 1917, the Central Council of Ukraine declared the autonomy of Ukraine as a federal part of the Russian Republic in the First Universal at the All-Ukrainian Military Congress, ending centuries of direct rule over Ukrainian territory by Russia. Famed Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, associated with the agrarian socialist Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (UPSR), was elected as autonomous Ukraine's first President, while moderate social democrat Volodymyr Vynnychenko of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (USDRP) formed the first government - a coalition of Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Liberals and Jewish activists - as Ukrainian Prime Minister. Further concessions of the Provisional Government in Petrograd to the Central Council in Kyiv, manifested in the Council's Second Universal, led to coalition-internal conflicts and eventually caused the Kadets to exit the Kerensky cabinet in the summer of 1917.
After further violence spread throughout Russia and Ukraine, the Central Rada published the Third Universal, which officially turned the Ukrainian autonomy into the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) on 7 November 1917 and saw all power inside their de jure territory transferred to the Ukrainian authorities. Despite the Third Universal, Ukraine remained still nominally a part of the Russian Republic, albeit with a very high degree of autonomy. A few days later, elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly occurred, which saw the Ukrainian left-leaning National Autonomist parties, led by the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries, dominate the electoral politics within the Ukrainian territories on such a high scale that the association of Ukrainian parties (“Ukrainian Socialist Bloc”) became the third largest bloc in the entire assembly.
Signing of the German-Ukrainian cooperation treaty during the night between 9 and 10 February 1918.
It wasn't until the Fourth Universal, published on 22 January 1918, that Ukraine officially declared its independence from Russia. Following failed negotiations with the Bolsheviks in Petrograd, who had attempted to subvert the authority of the UPR across the urban centers of Ukraine and even eventually launched a full-blown invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv decided to secede, realizing there was no room for compromise with the communist regime. By late January, however, large parts of the country were under Bolshevik control, with Kyiv falling in early February after a pro-Bolshevik uprising in the capital. Forced to relocate to nearby Zhytomyr, the Ukrainian government realised that external support was required to regain control over the country.
On 9/10 February 1918, the Ukrainian government, now under the lead of Prime Minister Vsevolod Holubovych, signed a treaty with the Germans and Austro-Hungarians at Brest-Litovsk that provided them with military support against the Bolshevik invaders in return for far-reaching concessions for the Central Powers, such as valuable grain deliveries. Merely a week later, German and Austrian forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine known as Operation Faustschlag, eventually advancing as far as Rostov, and pushed the Bolsheviks back into the Russian heartland, eventually forcing them to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In Kyiv, the Ukrainian People's Republic was reinstated, but from then on remained mostly dependent on the Central Powers, who occupied the entirety of the country which they hoped to exploit for their own interests as much as possible. The Republic, however, soon turned out to be corrupt, inefficient and poorly governed. The Germans started to become increasingly frustrated with the Central Rada, as the Ukrainian government was unable to supply them with the amounts of grain they were promised in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In addition, most territory outside of Kyiv was practically free from government influence, which lead to Bolshevik agitation all over the country.
Formation of the Hetmanate (1918)[]
Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi and his associates shortly after the coup, early May 1918
Thus, despite its notable success, the German-Austrian intervention came at a cost. On 29 April, 1918, the All-Ukrainian Union of Landowners, with German support, elected Cossack aristocrat Pavlo Skoropadskyi as the Hetman of Ukraine, which occured just hours after the adoption of the constitution of the independent Ukrainian People’s Republic. With the establishment of this new so-called "Ukrainian State", the Central Rada and Ukrainian People's Republic itself were dissolved, and the Hetman seized full authority over the country. A new "temporary constitution" was implemented and Skoropadskyi assumed the office of Commander-in-Chief of the military. Censorship of the press was instituted, a new supreme court was established, and all the reforms of the Central Rada were undone. The Hetman's decree became the highest law of the land, but he declared his intentions to hold elections to the newly constituted Sojm as soon as the "political and financial situation in Ukraine stabilizes." Skoropadskyi continued to consolidate state control by utilizing the “temporary constitution”. Laws on the revival of the Cossack class were passed, as were laws on land reform proposals and local elections. Many such laws were put aside for future implementation, however.
While the Russian Civil War was being fought across the border, Ukraine itself appeared to be relatively stable. The country therefore turned into a temporary safe haven for all kinds of White activists, conservative army officers and political figures of the former Russian Empire, such as Mikhail Drozdovsky and Fyodor Keller. Many of these officers decided to create state-sanctioned and German-equipped volunteer battalions, which began departing for Southern Russia from Ukraine. With German backing, the so-called "Southern Army" was established in late 1918 under General Nikolai Ivanov which departed for the Northern Caucasus to support Pyotr Krasnov's men in the neighboring Don Host and the Volunteer Army of Lavr Kornilov and Anton Denikin. Despite this, however, Skoropadskyi was unwilling to commit his own troops to helping the White Movement, preferring instead to focus on lowering instability in Ukraine, especially as peasant uprisings grew more frequent in the countryside, often being waged for months on end. During this period of instability, both Hermann von Eichhorn (the German official in charge of the occupying forces in Ukraine) and Fyodor Keller (the highest ranking White Russian general in Ukraine and the designated commander of the North-Western Army) were assassinated by Russian Left SR Revolutionaries and low-ranking Ukrainian Nationalist combatants, respectively.
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Ukranian troops prepare for an offensive against the Makhnovites near Olexandrivsk, October 1919
Attempting to form a big-tent government, Skoropadskyi failed in uniting the various moderate parties of Ukraine under his rule, with the most notable party being the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Federalists. In an attempt to form a new government, Skoropadskyi appointed a cabinet consisting primarily of independents and conservatives under the premiership of Otaman-Minister Fedir Lyzohub. Conversely, as the regime continued to stabilize its rule, the ever-present issue of Nestor Makhno’s Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine (RIAU) in the rural Eastern parts of the country became more than a local concern.
Combatting Nestor Makhno and Stabilizing the Regime (1918-1921)[]
Bolstered by German military equipment, and with the first wave of German trained recruits on the field, Skoropadskyi and General Kostyantyn Prisovskyi announced an offensive to “rid the nation of anarchist terrorists" in early 1919. Operations began slowly, with numerous raids on Ukrainian troops being made by Makhno himself. The raids were done with the goal of capturing German and Austrian supplies such as artillery and machine guns. However, the results of said raids turned out to be rather unsuccessful for the Anarchists, and Prisovskyi’s offensive began on March 2nd, resulting in the forces of the RIAU being beaten back. It took until the end of the year for the Black Army to be reduced to a low-level insurgency. Following several defeats, Makhno fled into exile before the last offensives against the RIAU could take place and eventually settled in the newly established Commune of France.
During the combat against the insurgency, Skoropadskyi's regime continued to restore order to the rest of the Ukrainian countryside. In other areas, insurrections were more localized, with many having been organized by the radical agrarian socialist Borotbist movement of Oleksander Shumsky. Meanwhile in Russia, around late summer of 1919, Aleksander Kolchak, the informal leader of the White Movement, called a grand conference in Ufa to decide the future of the Anti-Bolshevik forces. Despite initial skepticism, the Ukrainian State requested the ability to send delegates to the conference, partially to be a proxy for the German Empire. At the end of the conference, the Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Dmytro Doroshenko came to an agreement with the leaders of the White Movement, which entailed an informal recognition of independence of the newly formed Eastern states as well as continued material support from the German Empire through Ukraine and the Baltics to the Southern and North-Western armies, respectively. Russia would, however, only fully renounce their claims on their former Western territories as part of the Treaty of Minsk with Germany few months later, after the end of the civil war.
Preparing for elections (1921-1924)[]
As the Civil War in Russia drew to a close and the peasant uprisings dissipated, Ukraine set out for a period of relative stability. The Council of Ministers passed a new constitution, which carried over many aspects and legal concepts from the prior "temporary constitution". The new constitution granted the Hetman expansive powers, including the ability to appoint the Otaman-Minister, remove the ruling cabinet, and dissolve the Sojm, which would trigger new elections. Despite this, the State Sojm and the State Senate remained the foremost legislative and judicial institutions of Ukraine, respectively. In addition, Skoropadskyi eventually followed through on his promise of holding elections to the Sojm and set up a commission, chaired by Mykola Vasylenko, to work out the details of the upcoming election. During this time, the major political organizations consolidated their presence in the political landscape, as most of the minor Russian Menshevik, Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs), and Left SR formations got absorbed by the USDRP, UPSR and the Borotbists, respectively. The latter merger led to an influx of Revolutionary Syndicalist thought into the movement.
Eventually, the Russian Kadets, primarily active within the government established by Skoropadskyi, carved out a position in the evolving political landscape as well. Whatever remained of the left-wing elements of the Kadets eventually joined the UPSF, which moderated certain aspects of its party program, especially in regards to private property. The party also changed its name to distance itself from "socialistic" ideas in order to establish itself in the conservative political climate of Ukraine. Alongside this, two minor parties, generally center left or centrist in nature, joined the Socialist-Federalists in forming the Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party (URDP), with those two parties being the Ukrainian Labour Party and the Ukrainian People’s Republican Party. To the right, various factions sought to unify with the Ukrainian Democratic Agrarian Party (UDKP). Eventually, decrying the radicals and socialist politicians and the policies they enacted within the UPR as being responsible for the anarchy which had once enveloped Ukraine, Lyzohub's government, at the direction of Skoropadskyi, issued an ultimatum to the USDRP and UPSR to expel all radical politicians within the two parties and to remove provisions within their party platforms on the recession of private property.
Although the first demand found some support within the two parties, the second demand was deemed unacceptable and was rejected by both parties. Declaring the rejection unconstitutional, the Lyzohub government barred all socialists from running in elections to the Sojm, the first of which were finally held in July 1924. In response, widespread anti-government protests were organized, but did not accomplish much as the socialists failed to find an opportunity to offer an alternative against the government. On the other hand, some officials, with close ties to both the All-Ukrainian Union of Landowners and the Union of Industry, Trade, Finance and Landowning (Protofis), were not able to find common ground with the more interventionist Democratic Agrarians and Radical Democrats. As such, they attempted to form a semi-official lobbying position in the Executive Office, with official ties to the All-Ukrainian Union of Landowners and Protofis. Although the attempt was rather controversial, with major inter-government pushback from the Radical Democrats and numerous Agrarian Democrats (as well the “outer-government” Socialists), the motion gained traction in time for the elections.
The results turned out to give a near even result to both the progressive Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party (URDP) and the conservative Ukrainian Democratic Agrarian Party (UDKhP). At this point in its history, the latter party still harbored both Mykola Mikhnovskyi, Ukraine’s oldest rightist nationalist, Viacheslav Lypynskyi, and a recent entree, the notable conservative and current cabinet member Ihor Kistiakivskyi. Dmytro Doroshenko, then a minister of the Lyzohub government, was elected as an independent who held ties to both the URDP and UDKhP. A fair amount of independents, minority representatives and regionalists gained representation in this election as well. Following the elections, Skoropadskyi requested Fedir Lyzohub, then the acting Otaman-Minister, to form a non-transitional government. As a result, a cabinet was assembled that consisted of Democratic Agrarians, numerous independents, minority representatives and a parliamentary group of conservative Radical Democrats with ties to Doroshenko, Fairly conservative himself, Lyzohub saw the request of the Landowning Union and Protofis-aligned officials as a necessity, to ensure Ukraine's prosperity in the future. As such, he allowed them to hold a semi-permanent spot in the government.
Political schisms[]
In the lead up to the 1924 Sojm elections, Viacheslav Lypynskyi, a noted political theorist and one of the founders of the Democratic Agrarian Party, actively attempted to incorporate much of his neo-monarchist, corporatist, classocratic ideas into the official platform of the Democratic Agrarian Party. His efforts saw lukewarm support at best and, when the all-party congress convened to set up an official electoral program, Lypynskyi and his supporters were sidelined by the party mainstream. In response, Lypynskyi himself was removed from party leadership. As a result, he and his followers left the party to form a new organization: The Union of Agrarian-Statists. During the elections they saw a generally poor performace, but ultimately were successful in splitting the vote of the conservative base of the two parties. As a result, the opposition Radical Democratic Party gained a comfortable plurality. This plurality gave many politicians the impression they would be able to form a coalition around itself or in cooperation with the Democratic Agrarians. However, Skoropadskyi opposed this arrangement and intervened to force the creation of a coalition between the Democratic Agrarians and numerous independents. This created the Hetman's Coalition, which helped preserve conservative control of the Sojm. Infuriated at the intervention of the Hetman, the Radical Democrats saw the maneuver as deeply undemocratic and the Hetman as vastly overstepping his constitutional authorities.
Borotbist peasant partisans in the forests near Birzula, circa 1933
During the height of the British Revolution the following year, numerous underground cells of Borotbists decided to show that the struggle for the liberation of peasants and workers in Ukraine was far from over. Numerous strikes were called, some "acts of sabotage" against large and wealthy landowners were performed, police stations and government buildings were attacked. The violence found its culmination with the assassination of Otaman-Minister Fedir Lyzohub by a Borotbist militia at his summer estate in Chernihiv Governorate in October 1925.
Lyzohub was replaced with technocratic non-partisan economist Volodymyr Kosynskyi, and as a result of Lyzohub's assassination, the government crackdown on everything vaguely perceived as Borotbist-aligned was harsh and rarely ended up targeting people with real connections to the socialist underground, mostly causing harm to uninvolved civilians. The harsh response only served to agitate further strikes and demonstrations, which would dissipate over the course of several months. The waves of government-sponsored violence throughout the country caused a split within the Ukrainian left-leaning emigre community, a majority of which was based in Austrian Galicia at the time, to overthink their stance on violent revolution or peaceful reform. Radicals such as Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Nykyfir Hryhoriiv, and Pavlo Khrystiuk called for an official endorsement of a revolutionary struggle, while among more moderate politicians such as Isaak Mazepa, Opanas Fedenko, and Symon Petliura, the preference was to remain silent on the matter, deem the violence to be senseless terrorism and only agree to condemn the government response.
Expansion of the League of Ukrainian Nationalists[]
In 1928, relatively unknown civil servant and publicist Dmytro Dontsov published a series of articles, in which he argued that recent political developments clearly showed inherent flaws of democratic parliamentarism and in the coming time of great catastrophes only the will and dedication of prominent “caste” gathered around ruthless supreme ruler will purge Ukraine from its weaknesses and save it from destruction. These articles went relatively unnoticed, save for the journalist and author of a magazine associated with the right wing of Democratic Agrarian Party, Yevhen Onatskyi. He wrote a series of articles in response, in which, analysing Dontsov’s works, he concluded that while the malady of Ukrainian state and society was identified more or less correctly, the cure should be different. A revolutionary nationalist, populist mass organisation permeating every aspect of society and human life should take full control of the state, reawaken dormant national energies and guide them towards regeneration of the Ukrainian Nation. This New Order, brought forth by such an organisation, obviously had no place for outdated institutions such as the Hetmanate.
This rather seditious discourse brought unwanted attention of the authorities to the magazine and Onatskyi was promptly removed. But, still, his words managed to gather a small, but dedicated audience. After a short time he was contacted by, among the others, colonel Mykola Stsiborskyi and another publicist, close to radical student organisations, Dmytro Andriievskyi. Together they founded a new radical revolutionary right-wing magazine. Soon a new political organisation formed around it: the League of Ukrainian Nationalists (LUN). The young publicist and author Yurii Lypa went on to align with the movement soon afterwards. Membership was small, but tightly knit, dedicated and disciplined. The failure of land reform efforts opened a new venue for organisation among destitute peasantry, tired of the constant promises of mainstream politicians. Groups of radical youth traveled through the countryside, aiding peasants and organising ad-hoc literacy courses. Lawyers associated with the organisation were ready to take grievances of poor farmers to the courts for very low costs.
Formation of the Doroshenko government[]
After the failure of the Kosynskyi government to implement the grand land reform project due to infighting between the Sojm and Lobbyists, as well as difficulty of clamping down on local corruption in such a large country, the 1932 elections proved to be a striking failure for the Conservatives. Seeing that an interventionist move was improbable, the Hetman decided to nominate an Otaman-Minister that would have the broadest possible appeal in the Sojm, with ties to the Radical Democrats. Skoropadskyi settled on the former Foreign Minister, Dmytro Doroshenko. Although many of the more leftist and far-right figures protested against Doroshenko’s nomination, the centrist majorities in all three parties agreed to support him. Doroshenko entered office promising to continue implementing the land reform program, as well as making sure Ukraine remained strong and vigorous.
Meanwhile in exile, the Ukrainian socialist emigre community began to realize the necessity of solidarity. As the years went by and the forces of conservatism became more and more entrenched in Ukraine, they came to the conclusion that their best chance at achieving their vision would come in a moment of weakness; every single misstep and mistake of the Hetmanate they would be forced to capitalize on. To ensure they were prepared for such that hypothetical moment, the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers’ Party, the Ukrainian Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Council-Revolutionary Bloc gathered together with the West Ukrainian Socialist Parties active in the Habsburg’s realm, the Ukrainian Radical Party and the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party. In a bid for consolidation, the Ukrainian Socialist Bloc arose in 1932, both with its Western and Eastern (exiled) counterparts. The fact that this consolidation coincided with the 15 year anniversary of Ukrainian independence was deemed to not be a coincidence.
In 1934, the election of the openly revanchist Boris Savinkov in Russia provided another boost to the membership of LUN and brought more attention to its ultra-nationalist message, especially among younger army officers. Socialist-aligned local actors held very short-lived protests, doomsaying about imminent invasion and oppression of Ukraine’s peasants and workers. The protests ultimately died out as the months dragged on.
Politics[]
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Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky in his office at the former Governor-General Palace in Lypky, early 1919
Hetman of Ukraine: Pavlo Skoropadsky
Head of the Rada of Ministers: Dmytro Doroshenko
Foreign Minister: Serhii Shelukhyn
Economic Minister: Anton Rschepezky
Minister of the Interior: Ihor Kistyakovsky
Office of Hetman[]
Ukraine is dominated by what is essentially a quasi-military dictatorship bordering pseudo-monarchy, with Skoropadskyi's ambitions for a hereditary rule with all the trappings of a European style monarchy an open secret. As Hetman of Ukraine, Pavlo Skoropadsky has assumed a number of prestigious roles. By law, Skoropadskyi is the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the cultural head of Ukraine, and Ukraine’s top legislator. While offically an elected position, Skoropadskyi gets to enjoy the role of Hetman until either his resignation or death. While Ukrainian law allows for the impeachment of an elected Hetman, the sheer number of loyalists Skoropadsky has packed the courts and the Rada render that all but impossible.
Political Parties[]
The official party of Ukraine is the Soiuz Hetmantsiv Derzhavnykiv (SHD), or United Hetman Organization. The SHD was established by Skoropadsky shortly after his ascension to power and revolves around him entirely. Loyalty to the SHD and Skoropadsky is often rewarded handsomely and is taken into consideration in the military, courts, legislature, and even in business.
However, some dissent still lies in the SHD itself. Many believe the powers of the Hetman to be too absolute, and have begun to push for minor democratic reforms while still trying their best to toe the party line. While these SHD reformers would never try to challenge the rule of Skoropadsky himself, many wish to open up more local elections and lift restrictions on other political parties. These reformers are usually involved with either the Socialist-Federalist caucus or the Democratic Agrarian caucus. While both agree on initial reforms, they sharply veer away from each other alter on with the SFs taking a more liberal approach in line with their old party. The main outlier of the Reformists are the Agrarians-Statists, a pro-constitutional monarchy political clique within the party that mainly survives due to Danylo Skoropadsky's personal interest but lacks any real relevancy in the grand political machine and is marred by internal conflicts.
Economy[]
Modern sugar refinery in Kyiv owned by the influential Jewish Brodsky family, 1930
The third strongest economy in the Reichspakt, Ukraine has enjoyed a higher level of autonomy over her own affairs than her Eastern European neighbours. Considered the breadbasket of Mitteleuropa, Ukraine produces the majority of the alliances’ grain. Exported on ships built in its large shipyards, Ukraine also enjoys a profit from shipbuilding. These ships are destined both for her own export market, as well as others.
Thanks to this flourishing export market, Ukraine has received a large amount of assistance from Germany to expand her economy, which still remains strongly agrarian. Under the Lyzohub government during the early 1920s, several economic treaties were signed with Berlin, granting Germany far-reaching concessions. At the same time, to ensure goodwill with Ukraine, Germany released a significant amount of foreign aid to Kyiv, which was swiftly utilized. Industry has begun to grow in major cities like Kyiv and Odesa, and plans to continue industrial expansion in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea have been drawn up.
The Lyzohub Otaman-Ministership also used the German funds to enact a campaign of rural modernization as a prelude to proper land reform. The campaign by the government saw notable success, as farming output significantly increased across the country. A true land reform as envisioned by more progressive forces, however, has not taken place yet, despite grand promises since the end of the Weltkrieg. Lyzohub's plans eventually turned out to be unsatisfactory for both the progressive pro-land reform proponents and for the old agrarian conservative elites, and thus, the finalization of the project has been stuck in a limbo for years; a final solution still needs to be drawn up eventually.
Military[]
Army[]
Among the countries of the Reichspakt, Ukraine has the largest army, after the German Reichsheer. Germany has spent a considerable amount of time meticulously grooming the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian State (Zbroyni Syly Ukrayinskoyi Derzhavy or ZSUD) with the goal of modernizing it. Following the establishment of the ZSUD, the German Empire has flooded the nation with German-made equipment. Rifles, trucks, and even German-produced tanks increasingly replaced the Russian and Austrian equipment originally used by the rag-tag forces of the ZSUD. Now, by the mid-1930s, Ukraine is producing its own rifles, trucks, and even tanks.
[]
The Ukrainian Navy, stationed in Sevastopol, consist mainly of old and outdated Russian ships. It comprises one battleship, one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers, one destroyer and three submarines and finds itself mostly in coast guard duties so as not to break the gentleman's agreement with the Ottoman Empire guaranteeing it naval supremacy in the Black Sea.
Air Force[]
The Ukrainian Air Force was already established in 1917 by Kuban military officer Viktor Pavlenko, and Kyiv had been home to various prototype plane manufacturers since the early 1900s. Currently, the Ukrainian Air Force consists of only one squadron of interceptors, but Skoropadsky has shown an interest in its expansion with the support of German aviation specialists.
Culture[]
After the Weltkrieg, Ukraine started to promote Ukrainian language and culture as an attempt to solidify their national identity - as well as loyalty to the institutions of the Hetmanate. Literacy grew very substantially, as did the Women’s Rights’ Movement, spearheaded by the National Council of Ukrainian Women (NRUZ) under its first president Sofia Rusova. In spite of their skepticism of the Hetman’s government, many intellectuals went on to gravitate towards Ukrainian cultural institutions, like museums, universities, and archives. Even formerly URP-aligned intellectuals like Serhii Yevremov and ex-Chairman of the Central Rada Mykhailo Hrushevskyi started to grow more ambivalent towards the Hetmanate; the latter was eventually able to gain an official pardon from Skoropadskyi. As part of this national renaissance, the Cossack class was revived - a personal pet project of the Hetman - and was intended to serve as a patriotic-martial landowner class embodying the virtues of the Hetmanate.
While Ukrainian was elevated to the primary language of instruction throughout the country, minority languages (most notably Russian, but also Yiddish and Polish) remained powerful influences, especially in the Urban centres and along the periphery. Ukrainian linguistic-cultural initiatives gained far-reaching support from the state, as various All-Ukrainian Societies like the Prosvita or Hromada became entrenched in various major cities. Following the end of the Russian Civil War, most pro-White Russian officers, alongside radically Russophile political activists who had fled the Bolshevik forces, returned to the now victorious Russian Republic, disappointed with the established independence of Ukraine. The moderate Russophiles remained, however, and attempted to court influence in the Hetman’s government ever since. Formally organized into the “Russian Union in Ukraine”, the organization officially sought to defend Russian language and culture in Ukraine. However, it’s been often accused of merely acting as a front for Pro-Russian Political Realignment.
In 1920, autocephaly (independence) of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was proclaimed at the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Council. At this point however, the declaration was more or less de jure, as the newly independent Church struggled to establish a hierarchy with a Bishop willing to assume spiritual leadership or one willing to consecrate a new hierarchy. The issue could be resolved in 1921 at the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Sobor (Synod), wherein the delegates chose Metropolitan Vasyl Lypkivskyi as their nominal leader, much to the chagrin of Patriarch Tikhon of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The region of Crimea has status as an autonomous region, with Crimean Tartar as an official language.
In 1927, the All-Ukrainian Orthographic Conference was held in Kyiv, with participation from linguists, intellectuals and educators. The famed Serhii Yefremov opened the Conference and the project to unite the Western and Eastern Ukrainian Orthographic Proposals began in ernest. After much deliberation, Hryhorii Holoskevych proposed an orthographic project that gained overwhelming approval amongst all attending delegates. Afterwards, it was swiftly adapted as the official Ukrainian Orthographic Project, with Ukrainians from Manitoba to Vladivostok starting to adopt it in their daily life. This specific type of Orthography began to be colloquially titled the “Kyiv Orthography” or the “Kyivan Orthography”. Although the Orthography settled on utilizing the Cyrillic script, significant proposals from “Latin-positive” figures such as Maik (Mykhailo) Yohansen forced the Conference to adopt an Official Latinization Orthography, as well. Said Orthography is utilized only in certain cases, while Cyrillic retains the “chief form”.
Foreign relations[]
Ukraine is part of the Reichspakt military alliance and the Mitteleuropa economic block.
Germany: On the world stage, the German-Ukrainian Alliance seems to be one of the strongest in the world. The two mingle in almost all affairs. Trade flows freely between the two, their militaries drill together often, and there is even a law in the Ukrainian Rada currently going around to declare “Ukrainian-German Friendship Day” to be a national holiday! However, behind the curtain, Skoropadsky is nothing more than a puppet of the Kaiser. A puppet with loose strings, but a puppet nonetheless.
Two camps exist in the mind of the Ukrainian peasantry. Some see Germany as the saviour of Ukraine; that without them, a Ukrainian state wouldn’t exist. The Entente would’ve rather Ukraine stay a subject of Russia, and the Bolsheviks were not to be trusted. However, another mindset in the nation is that Germany is simply another master to serve, and that Ukraine is not truly free.
Belarus: A common thread can be found between Ukraine and her northern neighbour. The two nations maintain friendly dispositions, with all the perks that come with such a relationship. Trade is active and people can travel between the two nations with ease. There are nonetheless worries that tensions could ignite over the contested town of Gomel and Ukrainian claims in the south.
Poland: As the two major Reichspakt nations in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Poland have been stuck in a cycle of political one-upmanship for years, specifically over the future of Galicia. While this feud is not violent, it has caused many headaches for the German Empire. However, Ukraine and Poland have greater enemies to worry about and are more than willing to work together against them. Because of Poland's light industry and Ukraine's lack of it, the two often engage in mutually-beneficial economic projects in the border regions.
Lithuania: A frequent purchaser of Ukrainian crops, and another member of the Reichspakt alliance, Lithuania has kept good relations with Ukraine and has no contested land to bicker over.
Russian Republic: Since the end of the Weltkrieg, tensions have cooled between the Ukrainian State and the Russian Republic. However, many factions in the Russian Republic have the citizens of Ukraine very worried about the future and conflict is likely to arise.
Kingdom of Romania: While peace was maintained between the two nations, the issue of Bessarabia is still a hot button topic in both Ukraine and Romania. Both claim the territory, but due to the Treaty of Bucharest, Romania has de jure power over the region. At the moment, both nations have agreed to demilitarize the border, hopefully preventing any future conflict.
Ottoman Empire: There is very little conflict between Ukraine and the Ottoman Empire. While the London Straits Convention still stands, Ukraine is allowed to have its Navy in the Black Sea. However, if this fleet were to grow too large, it may begin to worry about the Ottomans. In addition, the Ottomans historically have been concerned for the status of Tatars in Crimea, but the Ukrainian State has given them little reason to worry. A gentleman's agreement currently exists between the two with the Ottoman's being guaranteed naval supremacy in exchange for maintaining safe conduct in the Black Sea.
Commune of France: Ukraine, as a member of the Reichspakt, shares an animosity of France with Germany, but this hatred is further deepened by their harbouring of Nestor Makhno, the “bandit leader of the Black Army”, currently wanted in Ukraine.