Political Life
On 29 April 1918, a coup d'etat toppled the Ukrainian People's Republic and Skoropadsky became Hetman (leader) of the Ukrainian State (Ukrayinska Derzhava). The same day he was chrismated by bishop Nykodym in Saint Sophia Cathedral as the Hetman of Ukraine.
The coup d'état had been sanctioned by the Imperial German Army, which in the spring of 1918 had occupied Kiev and other parts of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Republic was intent upon repelling an invasion by the Bolshevik Red Army. In return, the Republican government pledged food stocks, which were to be expropriated from the peasants. The German General Staff was dissatisfied with the inefficiency and incompetence of the Republican government, which repeatedly failed to deliver the supplies on time.
Skoropadsky was accused by other Ukrainian nationalists of being a German collaborator supported by wealthy landowners. He was also considered too pro-Russian and dictatorial. Among other things, Skoropadskyi formed a cabinet of mainly Russian-speakers, Tsarists, and Slavophiles. Similtaneously, he committed Ukraine to federation with restored Russian Empire.
Despite these criticisms, by contrast with the earlier socialist Rada, his government was given credit for having created an effective administrative organization, established diplomatic ties with many countries, concluded a peace treaty with Soviet Russia, and built many schools and universities, including the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
In November 1918 Skoropadsky was removed from power in an uprising led by the social democrat Symon Petliura and the withdrawal of German forces from Kiev. The uprising nominally restored the Ukrainian People's Republic, but power was vested in a Directoria, a provisional government of five directors chaired by Volodymyr Vynnychenko. Skoropadsky abdicated on December 14, 1918 and fled to Berlin.
While living in Weimar Germany, Skoropadskyi maintained close personal friendships with senior government and army officials originating as far back as his military-college days. In later years, however, he consistently refused offers to collaborate with the Nazis. During World War II, Skoropadsky fled before advancing Soviet forces along with the retreating German army. He died in at Metten Abbey in Germany after being wounded by an Allied bombing near Regensburg, and was buried in Oberstdorf.
His movement continued into the early 1980s, influencing a Ukrainian monarchist program based on the Cossack State model. It ended gradually with the aging of eastern-Ukrainian émigré communities. Skoropadsky's daughter, Olena Skoropadska-Ott resides in Switzerland, has visited Ukraine several times and has been honored for her historical writings.
Read more about this topic: Pavlo Skoropadskyi
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