This narrative of the life of the last Hetman of Ukraine gives a graphic account of the turmoil in eastern Europe at the beginning of the 20th century which lead to the rise of the Soviet Union and the tragic setback for Ukrainian independence.
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Pavlo Skoropadsky was born on May 16, 1873 in Wiesbaden, Germany, where his parents, Petro and Mariya Skoropadsky, were staying at the time. Mariya was descended in direct line from Hedemin, the founder of a Lithuanian-Ukrainian dynasty, and from Mstyslav I the Great, Grand Prince of Kyiv. Thus, the family of the Skoropadskys was related to the dynasties of the Kyiv rulers and the Lithuanian Empire, and through these to the royal dynasties of Byzantium and of Central and Western Europe.
Skoropadsky built on these illustrious connections by pursuing a brilliant military career. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, he earned a reputation as a courageous combat officer when he insisted on being sent where the fighting was heaviest. For his bravery, he was awarded the Order of St Volodymyr and the Gold Sword of St George, among the most prestigious awards in the Imperial Army. After that war, he became a member of the prestigious Imperial Cavalry Guards. Later, he rose to the rank of general and fought in the Great War as a commander of the elite First Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Guards Division.
Pavlo Skoropadsky could have stayed at the Imperial Court but he preferred to be with the army at the front. In St Petersburg he was very popular in high society thanks to his aristocratic lineage, his polished manners and elegant dress. His courage on the battlefields of the Great War also earned him several outstanding awards. Although a career officer devoted to the service of the Russian Empire he soon tired of dreary northern Moscovy and longed to return to his "dear, cheerful Ukraine." But it was only after the abdication of Nicholas II that he felt himself freed from his obligations to the throne.
In this respect he was not alone. Another such was Baron Carl von Mannerheim, an aristocrat of Finnish descent, who served in the Russian Army and distinguished himself in the Russo-Japanese War. After the Tsar's abdication, Mannerheim resigned and returned to Finland where he helped win Finnish independence. Ironically, in the late 1930s, Mannerheim led the Finnish defense when the Soviets invaded, stopping the Red Army in its tracks along the fortified Mannerheim Line for months.
However, Skoropadsky would have poorer results in Ukraine. The political situation and the attitude towards the Russian Empire were different in Finland and Ukraine. While Finland was a fairly new conquest still smoldering with independence ferment, Ukraine had been part of the Empire much longer. Its people were more integrated into the Tsarist court, serving as generals, governors and legislators. Countless nameless Ukrainians toiled for Russia as workers and laborers, and Ukrainian soldiers fought for Imperial glory.
In 1917, with the Tsarist throne tottering, a Ukrainian national government, the Central Rada, was formed. The Central Rada was composed mostly of intellectuals: professor Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, writer Volodymyr Vynnychenko and journalist Symon Petlyura. (Revered even now, so many years later, for their selfless efforts for Ukrainian independence.) Unfortunately, they had no previous experience in realpolitik, and soon became victims of intrigue and Bolshevik military pressure.
When the revolution in Russia broke out, Pavlo Skoropadsky realized that the time had come for Ukrainian independence. In August, 1917, he reorganized the remains of the Tsarist army corps he commanded into the 1st Ukrainian Corps. Two months later his troops saved the Central Rada from military defeat by stopping the Bolsheviks on their way to Kyiv.
But the Central Rada was not pleased with this former Tsarist general. Amazingly, considering the turbulent times, some members argued that there was no longer any need for a regular army. Skoropadsky's popularity was rapidly growing, with wild speculation of a potential coup. In December, 1917, the Central Rada forced him to resign as commander of the Ukrainian Corps; which proved to be a disaster. On February 9, Bolshevik forces commanded by Muravyov, finally captured Kyiv and many supporters of independence died in the carnage that followed.
Things were not going well for Moscovy, however. An alliance of foreign powers (including the United States) intervened in hopes of restoring the Monarchy and suppressing the dreaded Bolsheviks. In order to save their newly established regime, the Bolshevik leaders signed a treaty in which the Russian Federation recognized the authority of the Central Rada in Ukraine and withdrew the Red Army forces. At the same time, Germany and Austria (not welcomed into the western alliance) sent troops to oversee the removal of Bolshevik forces and to help maintain order.
The fact that the Central Rada was backed by the foreign troops was not well received by the Ukrainian people. The Central Rada did not have enough power to sustain law and order. Many parts of Ukraine were soon in anarchy and the situation was ripe for civil war. As dissatisfaction with the Central Rada kept growing, a stronger power was urgently needed.
In March, 1918, a Ukrainian National Union was formed by the main opposition parties and civic organizations, with Skoropadsky one of the founders. On April 29, Skoropadsky was elected to the ancient office of Hetman of Ukraine at the Congress of Land Tillers. This was tantamount to a coup. Later in the day, the ceremony of consecration of office was held in the Holy Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv. The Germans did not interfere and did not take any sides. There is some reason to believe that the German governor of Ukraine would have staged his own coup if Skoropadsky had not done so first.
The coup was peaceful enough with no lives lost, but the new Hetman inherited a host of problems. The economy was a shambles; the peasants were rising in rebellions and partisan warfare; public institutions were completely disrupted; and the occupation forces were likely to interfere in political developments at any moment.
One of Skoropadsky's first moves was an attempt to unite all the Ukrainian political parties, particularly the Central Rada, by inviting them to join the government. But a government created by a former Tsarist aristocrat was more than the Central Rada intellectuals, most of whom were socialists, could bear. Tragically, personal ambitions prevented them from supporting the one organization which could effectively secure an independent Ukraine.
The situation all through 1918 was extremely precarious, but Skoropadsky was able to use that relatively stable summer to good effect. In contrast to the well-meaning but politically inept Central Rada, Skoropadsky took practical steps to establish the foundation of a fully self-sustained modern state. A new financial system was established: based on the country's gross national product rather than on the amount of gold reserves possessed. (A similar system was established in Western Europe and America after the financial crisis of 1929.) Diplomatic relations were established with Germany, the Austro- Hungarian Empire, France, England and several smaller European states. Bridges and railroads were repaired and the railroad system began operating reliably for the first time in months.
Skoropadsky initiated a new system of education based on the Ukrainian national values. Dozens of new schools and two new universities were established. Nor were public institutions overlooked. A Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, National Archives, a National Library, a National Gallery of Art, a Museum of History, a National Opera, a State Drama Theatre and a National Symphony Orchestra were all founded under Skoropadsky. The number of books published in the Ukrainian language increased dramatically.
Skoropadsky did manage to establish at least some order and peace which Ukraine urgently needed. In the short seven and a half months of Skoropadsky's government, an impressive amount was done. But the Hetman was unable to achieve unity in Ukraine. The former members of the Central Rada, whom Skoropadsky had been careful not to take any repressive actions against, continued to oppose the Hetman's policies, labeling him "an imperialist" and undermining his regime whenever possible.
In the fall of 1918, the situation began to deteriorate. Austria-Hungary and Germany collapsed, removing the last prop holding the Ukrainian government up. The western part of the state split off in a political feud and set itself up briefly as the state of Western Ukraine. Poland, itself newly liberated from centuries of Russian and German control, promptly invaded Western Ukraine. The Bolsheviks were again militarily active.
The western allies who opposed the Bolsheviks remained the only force that could support an independent Ukraine. But those allies, France in particular, chose to support the White Movement in Russia. Ukraine was promised military help only in exchange for forming a federation with Russia.
With no other alternative, Pavlo Skoropadsky announced his intention to join in federation with a future non-Bolshevik Russia. This announcement, on November 14, triggered an uprising led by a Directory of former members of the Central Rada and other opposition forces. The western Allies, for whose support Skoropadsky had compromised Ukrainian independence, did nothing.
On December 14, Pavlo Skoropadsky abdicated and fled to Switzerland and later to Germany. The Directory, wallowing in its own politically inept rhetoric, soon fell to the Third Ukrainian Soviet. In short order, Ukraine was again absorbed by Russia as a puppet state in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
In Berlin, Skoropadsky was fairly active in the immigre community of displaced politicians, members of the overthrown dynasties and journalists. Soon, however, his hope of restoring Ukrainian independence faded, and with it his interest in Berlin intellectual circles. When the Nazis came to power, they approached Skoropadsky as someone who might be able to form a neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine such as they were doing in Austria and France. However, he categorically refused to have anything to do with them and cautioned his fellow Ukrainian exiles against collaborating with the Nazis.
On April 16, 1945, during an Allied bombing raid on a small town near Munich, Pavlo Skoropadsky, the last of the ancient line of Hetmen of Ukraine, was lethally wounded and several days later died in hospital.
Pavlo Skoropadsky remains to be a controversial figure in the Ukrainian history, and there are conflicting assessments of his role in Ukrainian politics. One can't help wondering what would have happened in 1918 if the enthusiastic radicals and politically inexperienced intellectuals of the Central Rada had learned the most vital lesson of Realpolitik: in order to gain and preserve independence, all political parties and walks of life must work in mutual understanding and co-operation. It is at least possible that the cautiously conservative and experienced Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky might today be hailed as the founder of an independent Ukraine.