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Negotiations of the UNR Directorate with Wrangel (1920)

In August–October 1920, the Directorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic sent a military delegation to Crimea for negotiations with the "Ruler of South russia," General Pyotr Wrangel, regarding potential joint actions against the Bolsheviks. This was the last attempt of Ukrainian diplomacy during the liberation struggle to find allies in the fight against the Red Army.

Overview

In the autumn of 1920, following the defeat of Denikin, Crimea became the last stronghold of the White movement. On the initiative of the commander of the Crimean Corps, General Yakov Slashchov, Colonel Noha arrived at the headquarters of the UNR Army in Khryplyn with a proposal to cease the hostilities that had erupted after the events of autumn 1919. In response, the civil and military government of the UNR formed a military-diplomatic delegation.

The delegation included Colonel Mykhailo Lytvynenko (head), Colonel Pavlo Krat, Cornet Romensky, Ivan Bludymko, and a representative of the civil government, Levko Chykalenko—son of the patron Yevhen Chykalenko. The delegation traveled through Romania (Galați, Reni) and reached Yalta and Sevastopol aboard the steamship Saratov.

Despite official receptions held by Head of Government Aleksandr Kryvoshein, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pyotr Struve, and Pyotr Wrangel himself, as well as interaction with the local Ukrainian community (Pavlo Horyansky, Chernysh, Vyacheslav Lashchenko), no real military-political alliance was achieved. In November 1920, Wrangel was completely defeated by the Bolsheviks, and the UNR delegation evacuated early aboard an American destroyer via Constanța.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Delegation Composition and Initiators: General Yakov Slashchov initiated the contact. The UNR delegation was headed by Colonel Lytvynenko, while Levko Chykalenko served as a civil advisor on Cossack and political affairs.
  • Slashchov's Disgrace and Changing Constellation: By the time the delegation arrived in Sevastopol, General Yakov Slashchov had been dismissed from service, which complicated the negotiation process.
  • Meetings in Yalta and Sevastopol: In Yalta, the delegation made contact with UNR Consul Pavlo Horyansky and visited the grave of Stepan Rudansky. In Sevastopol, the delegation was looked after by Quartermaster General Vasyl Kyriy, and meetings were held with satirist Arkady Averchenko and insurgents.
  • Official Audiences: The delegation was received by Prime Minister Kryvoshein, Minister Pyotr Struve, and General Pyotr Wrangel. Wrangel declared his intention to involve Ukrainians in an alliance alongside the Kuban Cossacks and Caucasian peoples, but Wrangel's circles conducted "Ukrainization" extremely slowly and reluctantly ("sluggishly").
  • Foreign Missions and Evacuation: The delegation established contact with the French and American missions. US Captain Mark Kelly reported the failure of the White Taman landing and evacuated the Ukrainian mission on an American destroyer a day before the fall of the Crimean front.
  • Skepticism of the Ukrainian Side: In his diary, Yevhen Chykalenko noted that Wrangel would hardly fulfill his promises after defeating the Bolsheviks.