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Sevastopol Ukrainian Council (1917–1918)

The Sevastopol Ukrainian Council (SUR) of Soldiers' and Workers' Deputies was a civic-political and representative organization of the Ukrainians of Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet, founded in June 1917 to defend national rights and promote the Ukrainization of the naval forces.

Overview

The Sevastopol Ukrainian Council was created on 5–10 June 1917 by decision of the II All-Ukrainian Military Congress. The organization was headed by praporshchyk (ensign) Kostiantyn Velychko. Together with the Black Sea Ukrainian Military Committee and the Ukrainian faction of the Sevastopol Council of Workers' and Sailors' Deputies, the Council served as the principal coordinator of the Ukrainian national-liberation movement in the city.

The SUR advocated for the Ukrainization of the Black Sea Fleet, its subordination to the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR), and took an active part in conducting the elections to the Constituent Assembly of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The Council's editorial office and its governing body were located in Sevastopol at 33 Nakhimov Prospect. In January 1918, during the Bolshevik seizure of power and the advance of left-radicals, the organization was persecuted and disbanded by the Bolsheviks.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Founding and leadership: Created by resolution of the II All-Ukrainian Military Congress (June 1917) under the chairmanship of praporshchyk (ensign) Kostiantyn Velychko.
  • Ukrainization of the Black Sea Fleet: Advanced demands for the subordination of ships to the UCR, and facilitated the raising of Ukrainian flags aboard vessels (in particular, on the destroyer Zavydnyi).
  • Printed organ: Published the "Bulletin of the Sevastopol Ukrainian Council", printed at the printing house of Isaac Neyman.
  • Participation in elections to the UNR Constituent Assembly: Cooperated with the District Commission of the Black Sea Fleet District on elections to the UNR Constituent Assembly (December 1917 – January 1918).
  • Conflict with the Bolsheviks and liquidation: The SUR did not recognize Bolshevik authority. On 26 January 1918, Soviet commissar Volodymyr Antonov-Ovsiienko telegraphed about the dispersal of the Council in Sevastopol.