Historical Background to the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict and the Donbas War Episode-2
On July 26, 1914, the First World War broke out between the Allies and the Central Powers, and the Central Powers, Germany, and Austria-Hungary declared war on the Allies. The territory of present-day Ukraine (then divided into Russian-controlled ‘Little Russia’ and Austro-Hungarian-controlled ‘Western Ukraine’) became one of the war’s most essential and bloody battlefields. In Russia and Austria-Hungary, men needed to join the armed forces, so both countries had large numbers of ‘Ukrainian’ (i.e., Ukrainian) troops in the armed forces. During World War I, at least 3.5 million “Ukrainian” soldiers fought for the Russian Armed Forces, and at least 2.5 million “Ukrainian” soldiers fought for the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces.
In the years leading up to World War I, Ukrainian nationalist ideology spread throughout present-day Ukraine (especially in western Ukraine). Nevertheless, at that time, Ukraine was only the name of a geographical region, and ‘Ukrainian’ meant not only ethnic Ukrainians but people of all nationalities living in Ukraine. At that time, the word ‘Ukrainian’ did not refer to national identity but only to regional identity. In fact, until then, the majority of the population in Russian-controlled Ukraine and the majority of the population in Austro-Hungarian-controlled western Ukraine considered themselves to belong to the Russian nation, not to the “Ukrainian” race.
Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany each had their own plans for Ukraine on the eve of World War I. Russia’s goal was to occupy the Austro-Hungarian-controlled western Ukraine, annex it to Russian-controlled Ukraine, and thereby complete the unification of the territories of the “ancient Russian” state. Austria-Hungary’s purpose was to expand its territory by occupying the whole or part of Russian-controlled Ukraine. Germany’s objective was to occupy Russian-controlled Ukraine, known as the “Russian granary,” turn it into a German colony and resolve Germany’s food and land crisis.
Ukraine in World War I: Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany’s power test
After the outbreak of World War I, Russia defeated Austria-Hungary in the Battle of Galicia in 1914, which resulted in the annexation of much of western Ukraine under Austro-Hungarian control. But in 1915, Russia was defeated by Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Gorlitz-Tarnov offensive, and Russian troops were forced to withdraw from western Ukraine. In 1918, Russia defeated Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Brussels invasion and recaptured parts of western Ukraine. But a revolution/coup d’etat in Russia in March 1917 overthrew the Romanov dynasty and established a “provisional government” in Russia.
At the same time, in Ukrainian-controlled Ukraine, the “Central Council of Ukraine” or “Ukraineinscentralana Rada” (Ukrainian: Українська Центральна Рада) was formed. By April 1917, it had become the de facto ruler of Russian-controlled Ukraine. In June 1917, Tsentralna Radha declared Ukraine an autonomous territory within Russia. Meanwhile, various measures taken by the Russian ‘Provisional Government’ resulted in severe chaos in the Russian Armed Forces and resulted in Russia’s defeat to Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Kerensky invasion in July 1918. As a result, Russian troops were driven out of western Ukraine, and German and Austro-Hungarian troops entered Russian-controlled Ukraine.
The creation of an independent Ukrainian state: the war against the Bolsheviks and the occupation of the central power
Another revolution/coup d’etat in Russia in November 1917 overthrew the Russian ‘Provisional Government,’ and the Bolsheviks (the extremist wing of the ‘Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party’) came to power in Russia. The rise of the Bolsheviks led to a full-blown political crisis in Russia. Shortly after the rise of the Bolsheviks, Tesentralna Radha declared Ukraine an “autonomous republic” under Russia, known as the “People’s Republic of Ukraine” (Ukrainian: Українська Народня Республіка, “Ukraine Narodnia Respublika”). But they did not recognize the Bolshevik government, and this soon led to conflict and an armed conflict between Bolshevik-controlled Russia and the “People’s Republic of Ukraine”. On the other hand, Bolshevik-ruled Russia and the ‘People’s.”epublic of Ukraine’ both separately established a truce with the central power and engaged in peace talks. At the same time, France, Allie’s ally, invaded Ukraine and fought against Bolshevik-controlled Russia.
Meanwhile, after sporadic clashes, in December 1917, Bolshevik-controlled Russia declared war on the “People’s Republic of Ukraine.” Within a week, in Kharkiv (now Kharkiv, Ukraine), Ukrainian Bolsheviks supported Bolshevik-controlled Russia in the form of ‘The Soviet People’s Republic of Ukraine’ (Russian:: Народная Республика Советов, ‘Ukrinskaya Narodnaya Republic of Sovika, Ukraine’; Ukraine: Ukraine. ‘) Established a Bolshevik state and in January 1917 the state declared war on the People’s Republic of Ukraine ‘. The ‘People’s Republic of Ukraine’ then formally declared independence from Russia.
By February 1917, troops from Bolshevik-controlled Russia and the Soviet People’s Republic of Ukraine occupied most of the People’s Republic of Ukraine, and Kiev, the capital of the People’s Republic of Ukraine, was captured. In this situation, the “People’s Republic of Ukraine” government retreated to Zhitomir and signed the “Brest-Litovsk Treaty” separately with the Central Powers. With the signing of this agreement, the People’s Republic of Ukraine became a de facto “dependent state” of the Central Powers. They sought the help of the Central Powers to prevent the advance of the troops of Bolshevik-controlled Russia and the Soviet People’s Republic of Ukraine. Bolshevik-controlled Russia, meanwhile, rejected the terms offered by the central powers for peace. In the 11-day war, Bolshevik-controlled Russia was completely defeated.
Defeated Bolshevik-controlled Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with the Central Powers on March 3, 1917. The treaty terms forced Bolshevik-ruled Russia to recognize the People’s Republic of Ukraine as an independent state. But the agreement did not define the border between Bolshevik-controlled Russia and the People’s Republic of Ukraine. As a result, other Bolshevik republics on Ukrainian territory annexed the Soviet People’s Republic of Ukraine at the behest of Bolshevik-controlled Russia, and the Soviet People’s Republic of Ukraine declared independence. But by April 1918, the combined forces of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Central Power-controlled People’s Republic of Ukraine occupied the Soviet People’s Republic of Ukraine and ended the state.
A coup backed by German and Austro-Hungarian troops was overthrown on April 26, 1917, and Tesentralna Rada was ousted. On April 29, the People’s Republic of Ukraine was renamed the “Ukrainian State” (Ukrainian: Українська Держава, “Ukraine Derzhva”). The Hetman-ruled dictatorial state of Ukraine was essentially a haven of central power. There was widespread anarchy and subversive activities in the state. At the same time, ethnic minorities under Austrian-Hungarian control gradually drifted out of Vienna’s control, and the state began to crumble. On November 1, 1917, Ukrainian nationalists established an independent state in western Ukraine called the “People’s Republic of Western Ukraine” (Ukrainian: Західно-Українська Народна Республіка, ‘Zahidno-Ukraine Narodna Respublika’).
By November 11, 1918, the Central Powers had been defeated in World War I. There were virtually two independent Ukrainians at the time – the former Russian-controlled Ukraine-based “Ukrainian state” and the former Austro-Hungarian-controlled western Ukraine-based “People’s Republic of Western Ukraine.” But the first state was de facto dependent on the central power, and the defeat of the central power in World War II greatly weakened its position. After the defeat in World War II, the Central Powers began withdrawing troops from the “Ukrainian state.” On the other hand, the second state has been at war with neighboring states since the beginning, and neighboring Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia have occupied parts of the state’s claimed territory.
Multilateral war in Ukraine and the partition of western Ukraine
On November 13, 1917, Soviet Russia annulled the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, paving the way for renewed Soviet intervention in Ukraine. On November 16, the ‘Directory’ of the ‘People’s Republic of Ukraine’ (a new version of the ‘Tesentralna Rada’ of the defunct People’s Republic of Ukraine) revolted against the Ukrainian state. On November 26, the Ukrainian Bolsheviks, in support of Soviet Russia, established a “temporary government of Ukrainian workers and peasants” in Kursk (now a city in Russia). The Ukrainian state began to clash with its troops. By December 14, the directorate’s troops occupied Kiev, overthrew the Ukrainian state, and re-established the “People’s Republic of Ukraine,” but their conflict with the Bolsheviks continued.
On January 17, 1919, the People’s Republic of Ukraine declared war on Soviet Russia. On January 22, the People’s Republic of Ukraine and the People’s Republic of Ukraine merged. Still, Western Ukraine remained largely autonomous, with the name “Western Province of the People’s Republic of Ukraine.” The People’s Republic of Ukraine was at war with Soviet Russia and the Soviet Russian-backed Ukrainian Soviet government, while western Ukraine was at war with Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. By February 1919, the Bolsheviks had occupied Kiev, and on March 10, the Ukrainian Bolsheviks occupied the ‘Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic’ (Russian: Украинская Социалистическая Советская Республика, ‘Ukraineskaya Sotsialisticheskowa Sovietetskruya Respublika’).
By March 1919, a small part of the territory of former Russian-controlled Ukraine was under the control of the People’s Republic of Ukraine, and Soviet Ukraine had annexed the rest. In this situation, France was forced to withdraw its troops from Ukraine by April 1919. On the other hand, by July 1919, the whole of the former Austro-Hungarian-controlled western Ukraine came under the occupation of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. By the end of 1919, the ‘Western Province of the People’s Republic of Ukraine’ was officially dissolved.
Meanwhile, by mid-1919, the Allied-backed “White Army” invaded former Russian-controlled Ukraine and, by November 1919, had occupied almost all of the territory controlled by the two states. But in December 1919, Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine launched a full-scale counter-attack, and by February 1920, the White Army was forced to withdraw from Ukraine. At this stage, almost all of former Russian-controlled Ukraine came under Soviet control. The People’s Republic of Ukraine, on the other hand, had no territory under its control, and by 1920 the state government had become virtually a “protectorate” of Poland.
The Polish-Soviet War and the partition of Soviet Ukraine
For various reasons, from the beginning of 1919, Soviet Russia and its allies were at war with the newly independent Poland. Poland invaded Soviet Ukraine in April 1920 and occupied Kiev by May, but the Soviet counter-attack forced them to retreat from Kiev and take a position in western Ukraine. But on other battlefields, Soviet Russia and its allies were defeated by the Poles, and the Polish-Soviet War ended with the signing of the Riga Peace Treaty of March 16, 1921. With this agreement, the western part of Soviet Ukraine was annexed by Poland.
This created a relatively peaceful situation on the territory of present-day Ukraine. From the beginning of World War I until the end of the Polish-Soviet War, the territory of present-day Ukraine became a major battlefield, and the rise of the Bolsheviks led to widespread anarchy in that territory. During this time, armies of various factions engaged in bloody clashes against each other in the territory of Ukraine. In addition to the war, widespread political oppression, genocide, religious riots, and genocide were carried out throughout Ukraine. After the end of the Polish-Soviet War, the territory of Ukraine became relatively stable, but the events of the previous years had a profound effect on the people there.
At this stage, the territory of present-day Ukraine was virtually divided into four states. Soviet Ukraine was an independent state, and much of former Russian-controlled Ukraine was part of Soviet Ukraine. It was known as ‘Eastern Ukraine’ between the First and Second World Wars. On the other hand, Poland includes much of the former Austro-Hungarian-controlled western Ukraine (mainly Galicia) and the western part of former Russian-controlled Ukraine (mainly Volyn). Between World War I and World War II, the Polish-controlled territory of Ukraine was known as ‘Western Ukraine.’ In addition, the former Austro-Hungarian-controlled Ukrainian-occupied northern Bukovina was annexed by Romania, and Transcarpathia or Zacarpathia (Ukrainian: Закарпаття) became part of the then Czechoslovakia.
Soviet Ukraine: Cornelizatsia, Ukrainianization and Geographical Expansion of Ukraine to the East
In December 1922, Soviet Ukraine joined the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union became a republic. The Bolsheviks introduced the policy of ‘localization’ (Russian: коренизация, ‘Kornizatsia’) in the ethnic minority-inhabited republics of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union and the pioneer of Marxism-Leninism, believed that every nation should have the opportunity and equal rights to develop its own language and culture fully. In addition, one of Lenin’s goals was to ensure that the Russians, the majority nation in the Soviet Union, did not allow ethnic, linguistic, economic, cultural, or any other form of domination over the other nations of the Soviet Union. From this ideological thought, the principle of ‘localization’ originates.
The essence of the policy of localization was: to give each nation of the Soviet Union the highest territorial autonomy and economic sovereignty in their own territory; Priority will be given to the people of each nation in all other areas, including administration in its own autonomous region; Necessary steps will be taken for the full development of each nation’s own language and culture and to ensure that members of any minority nation do not become fully integrated with the majority nation (ie, the Russian nation). Not only that, according to Lenin’s policy, every republic of the Soviet Union was granted the right to declare independence from the Soviet Union. That right was explicitly enshrined in the Soviet constitution.
However, in the virtually every union republic of the Soviet Union, the local Bolsheviks / Communists held power and connected through the Soviet Union Communist Party. So in practice, the Union Republics wanted to secede from the Soviet Union, a possibility that did not exist then. Moreover, communist theorists believed that if the “working masses” (ie workers, peasants, and other working classes) of the republics began to reap the benefits of communism, they would never develop separatist thinking.
In Soviet Ukraine, as in other republics of the Soviet Union, the local Bolsheviks enthusiastically applied the policy of “localization” and began the process of “Ukraineinization” of Soviet Ukraine. As part of this process, Ukrainians began to be given priority in the administration and other areas of Soviet Ukraine, and the education system was almost completely Ukrainianized (ie, Ukrainian language teaching was introduced at all levels, and learning the Ukrainian language was made compulsory for all students living in Soviet Ukraine). Extensive steps are taken for. Not only that, the Russians and Ukrainians are part of the same nation. If anyone preaches such a doctrine, the Soviet government accuses them of pursuing “Greater Russian Extremist Nationalist Thoughts.”
In the 1920s, the Soviet Central Government annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Mikolaev, Odessa, etc., to Soviet Ukraine. These territories were not historically part of former Russian-controlled Ukraine, but were part of another historical region called ‘New Russia’ or ‘Novorosia’ (Russian: Новороссия) and were more closely associated with the territories of present-day southern Russia. But the Soviet central government transferred these territories from Soviet Russia to Soviet Ukraine for various reasons. No such adverse effects were observed at the time, as virtually both Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine were part of the same state. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine became two separate states, and this led to disputes between the two states over the territories.
Overall, the territory of Soviet Ukraine, which had long been under Polish-Lithuanian rule, gave the Russians a distinct identity from the rest of the Russian nation. Still, it did not become a full-fledged national identity until the end of the nineteenth century. The fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 and the bloody political upheaval in present-day Ukraine accelerated this process. As a result of the subsequent policy of “localization” adopted by the Soviet Union, this process took shape, and Ukrainian nationalism became widespread in Soviet Ukraine.
Famine and cleansing operations in Soviet Ukraine
The 1930s saw the beginning of massive industrialization and the “collectivization” of agriculture in the Soviet Union. The ‘collectivization’ process aimed to abolish private ownership of farmers’ land and consolidate them into large-scale ‘collective farms’ and’ state-controlled farms.’ The idea of the Soviet central government was to increase the production of food and other agricultural products. But a significant portion of the peasantry throughout the Soviet Union (including Soviet Ukraine) was opposed to consolidation and vehemently opposed it. This situation led to severe famine throughout the Soviet Union in 1930–1933 due to the Soviet government’s attempts at forced consolidation, natural disasters, and other reasons. The actual death toll from the famine has never been calculated, but according to current data.
The famine also hit Ukraine, killing at least one million to three million people. However, according to Ukrainian nationalists, the famine killed between 6 million and 10 million Ukrainians. It should be noted that no one has counted the number of famine victims during the famine, so it is never possible to accurately determine the actual number of victims of the famine. Therefore, the number of deaths reported in the famine is speculative, and none is entirely reliable. Naturally, supporters of the Soviet government have downplayed the death toll from the famine. Opponents of the Soviet government and Ukrainian nationalists, on the other hand, have exaggerated the numbers.
In addition, a significant portion of Ukrainian nationalists and anti-Soviets claim that the Soviet government deliberately created the famine in order to wipe out the Ukrainian nation and that the famine should therefore be considered a “genocide” against the Ukrainian nation. But in fact, the famine killed millions of people in Ukraine and Russia, Belarus, Kazakh, and other nations, so this famine cannot be called a premeditated genocide against the Ukrainian nation. In addition, a significant portion of the Ukrainian nation was involved in the formulation and implementation of the ‘collectiveization’ policy that led to the famine.
But it goes without saying that the initial failure of the Soviet government to deal with this terrible famine and famine created a strong anti-Soviet sentimentcollectivizationof the Ukrainian population. In addition, a bloody cleansing campaign was launched across the Soviet Union in 1936–37, killing at least 600,000 people. Naturally, the cleansing campaign also ignited in Soviet Ukraine, where thousands of Ukrainians were accused of being ‘enemies of the people and lost their lives. The effects of the famine and the cleansing campaign on the Ukrainian people were far-reaching.
Polish Ukraine: Policing Efforts and the Creation of the EUN
Western Ukraine, ruled by Poland, had two main parts – Galitsia and Volin. Galicia was formerly under Austria-Hungary, where many of the ‘Ukrainians’ were followers of Greek Catholic Christianity. The steps taken by the Austro-Hungarian government there led to the spread of Ukrainian nationalism. On the other hand, Volin was already under Russian rule, a significant part of the Ukrainians there were followers of Orthodox Christianity, and Ukrainian nationalism was not yet widespread there. In this situation, the nationalist government of Poland took various measures to isolate the Ukrainians of Galitsia and Volin, severely suppressed the Ukrainian language, culture and nationalism, and prevented them from granting any kind of autonomy. In addition, they are forcing the Ukrainians to ‘polarize.’
In response to the Polish government’s actions in western Ukraine, especially in Galicia, extremist nationalist ideas spread widely among Ukrainians. In 1929 there was an extreme right-wing, nationalist, and racist organization called the OUN, or “Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists” (Ukrainian: Організація Українських Націоналістів, “orhanizatsia ukrinskikh nazionalistiv”). Identify themselves as enemies. Throughout the 1930s, they carried out a wide range of terrorist activities in Poland.
Romanian, Czechoslovak and Hungarian territories of Ukraine
Bukovina, under Romanian rule, was formerly Austria-Hungary. Ethnic Romans were in the majority in the south of Bukovina and ethnic Ukrainians in the north. The Romanian government severely suppressed the Ukrainian language and culture in northern Bukovina, closed Ukrainian educational institutions, and abolished local autonomy for Ukrainians. In addition, they attempted to forcibly “Romanianize” the Ukrainians in northern Bukovina.
In Czechoslovakia, on the other hand, ethnic Ukrainians were in the majority. The Czechoslovak government generally refrained from granting local autonomy to Zakarpatia, but unlike Poland or Romania, they did not attempt to integrate its inhabitants forcibly. The political class of Jakarpatti was mainly divided into three parts. Some of them considered themselves part of a larger Russian nation, others considered themselves part of the Ukrainian nation, and others wanted to spread a national identity that was local and distinct.
The Munich Agreement of 1937 between Germany, Italy, Britain, and France forced Czechoslovakia to cede the German-occupied Sudetenland or German territory to Germany. As a result, Jakartapatia gained autonomy in October 1936, but under the Vienna Agreement of November 1936, Hungary annexed parts of the region, including Uzhhorod, the capital of Jakartapatia. In December 1939, Zakarpatia was renamed “Carpathian Ukraine” or “Karpatska Ukraine” (Ukrainian: Карпа́тська Украї́на). In March 1939, due to German tactics, Slovakia declared independence from Czechoslovakia, and Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia without a fight. In this situation, Carpathian Ukraine also declared independence from Czechoslovakia. But Hungary invaded the newly formed state and settled it after a brief war. They began efforts to ‘Hungarianize’ the territory.
Soon, however, World War II broke out, and Ukraine again became a bloody battlefield. Like World War I, World War II permanently changed all equations concerning Ukraine.