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Government of South russia and Ukraine (1920)

The policy of the White movement administration of General Pyotr Wrangel in Crimea towards Ukraine, Ukrainian linguistic and cultural life, and interaction with the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1920.

Overview

In the spring of 1920, after taking command of the Armed Forces of South russia in Crimea following Anton Denikin's resignation, General Pyotr Wrangel was forced to radically change the chauvinistic course of the Denikin regime towards Ukraine. Aware of the criticality of the military situation in the face of the Bolshevik offensive, Wrangel's government abandoned the repressive slogan of a "united and indivisible russia," ceased the official persecution of the Ukrainian movement, granted the Ukrainian language equal rights with russian in educational institutions, and entered into negotiations with the government of the UNR Directorate and Cossack state formations.

Despite the forced Ukrainization and peacekeeping rhetoric of Wrangel's government, Ukrainian figures treated these concessions with great skepticism, seeing in them only a temporary tactical move in the struggle against communism.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Change of Political Course: Wrangel criticized Denikin's political assessment, noting that the Whites had been fighting simultaneously against the Bolsheviks, Ukrainians, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The official topographical and legal discrimination against the words "Ukraine" and "Ukrainians" was abolished, and in official rhetoric "traitors" came to be called "brothers."
  • Linguistic and Cultural Rights: In the autumn of 1920, Wrangel issued a decree granting the Ukrainian language equal status with russian in all state and private schools. In Crimea, the societies Krymska Osvita ("Crimean Education") and Ukrainska Khata ("Ukrainian House") resumed their activities, and an order was issued prohibiting the propaganda of national enmity.
  • Ukrainian Committee and Rapporteur on Ukrainian Affairs: At Wrangel's headquarters, a Ukrainian Committee was established under the leadership of General Vasyl Kyriy, a descendant of the Chernihiv Cossack starshyna, which oversaw diplomatic relations with Ukraine.
  • Negotiations with the UNR Army: In May 1920, Wrangel received the first diplomatic-military mission of the UNR led by General Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko. In the autumn of 1920, an official UNR delegation visited, headed by Colonel Mykhailo Lytvynenko and Levko Chykalenko.
  • Ukrainian Communities and the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol: Representatives of most Ukrainian parties were active in Sevastopol. In May 1920, the UNR delegation met with nearly 300 naval officers, who greeted the guests by singing "Zapovit" ("Testament") and the anthem "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished").
  • Alliance with Cossack State Formations: On 4 August 1920, in Sevastopol, Wrangel signed an agreement with the governments of the Don, Kuban, Terek, and Astrakhan on their absolute independence, while retaining military and diplomatic leadership in Wrangel's hands. On behalf of the Kuban People's Republic, the agreement was signed by acting Ataman Vasyl Ivanys.
  • Composition of Wrangel's Army: According to historian Andriy Ivanets, in late summer and early autumn of 1920, 70–80% of Wrangel's army consisted of a Ukrainian element; a significant part of the officer corps had previously served in the UNR Army or the Ukrainian State, and a pro-Ukrainian underground operated within the army itself.
  • Evacuation and Emigration: During the evacuation in November 1920, 126 ships departed from Crimea carrying 150,000 evacuees (including 15,000 Kuban Cossacks). In emigration, part of Wrangel's soldiers turned to the UNR government to obtain passports or to join Symon Petliura's Army.

Contradictions and Open Questions

  • Sincerity of Wrangel's Intentions: The official Ukrainization rhetoric and the language decree contradicted the preservation of the monarchist-imperial core of Wrangel's generals. Representatives of the UNR (Yevhen Chykalenko) and the Kuban Rada (Vasyl Ivanys) noted that the Wrangelites carried out gradual reforms reluctantly, and in October 1920 Wrangel directly threatened Kuban activists for their pro-Ukrainian work in Crimea.
  • Modern Commemoration of Wrangel in Crimea: The installation in September 2016 of a monument to Wrangel in Kerch by the russian occupation administration and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) sparked a heated discussion. On the one hand, contemporary russian propaganda portrays Wrangel as a "statesman and administrator," concealing his pro-Ukrainian concessions of 1920; on the other, Crimean-Ukrainian historians (Andriy Ivanets, Serhiy Konashevych) point to the presence of a large number of Ukrainians and the underground in his army.