Destroyed building in Kyiv former UNR Gov Building

The General Secretariat of Ukraine ( uk, Генеральний секретаріат УЦР—УНР) was the autonomous Ukrainian executive government of the

Russian Republic The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic. in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...

from June 28, 1917 to January 22, 1918. For most of its existence it was headed by

Volodymyr Vynnychenko Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko ( ua, Володимир Кирилович Винниченко, – March 6, 1951) was a Ukrainian statesman, political activist, writer, playwright, artist, who served as the first Prime Minister of Ukraine. ...

. The secretariat was created after the

Central Council of Ukraine The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

accepted a proposal of the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries. According to the

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...

, this event took place five days after the proclamation of the 1st Universal of the Central Council of Ukraine, however many contemporary historians have other opinions in that regard. The initial composition of the secretariat included eight General Secretaries (ministers) and one General Scribe (secretary).

Background

The first document of the government that identified its program was the ''Declaration of the General Secretariat''. It was publicly announced at the plenum meeting of the

on June 26 by the head of the Secretariat,

. The document together with the '' First Universal'' caused a lot of worrying in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

as precedent to possible separation. It only took several days when the official delegation led by

Aleksandr Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early Novembe ...

together with the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Tereschenko and Minister of Post and Telegraph Tsereteli arrived to

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

. The Russian delegation and the members of the General Secretariat along with

Mykhailo Hrushevsky Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky ( uk, Михайло Сергійович Грушевський, Chełm, – Kislovodsk, 24 November 1934) was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman who was one of the most important figure ...

after some discussion worked out the new Universal of the UPR and the Declaration of the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...

that were announced on July 3. On July 13, 1917 the

recognized the Secretariat as the highest executive power in Ukraine and requested from the

Tsentralna Rada The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

that the members of the secretariat ought to be confirmed by the Russian Government. The Secretariat would be expanded to include members of minorities and would be responsible to the Rada. By the end of July 1917 five more secretariats were added due to the Provisional Government request. In course of the next round of negotiations now in

the Ukrainian delegation was requesting the acceptance of the General Secretariat Statute by the

, which was approved by the

Central Rada The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

and proclaimed as the first Constitution. Those Negotiations ended with that the

Prime Minister of Russia The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 fo ...

, signed the ''Instruction for the General Secretariat of the Provisional Government in Ukraine'', a legal normative act, that was binding the local government of Ukraine for its execution. According to the Instruction, the General Secretariat had limited powers, but was acknowledged as the highest institution of the Provisional Government in Ukraine and authority of which stretched upon five gubernias

Volyn Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

, Podillia,

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administrativel ...

, and partially

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

. The Russian Provisional Government requested the Secretariat to be reduced to nine members and that all of the members will be appointed by the Russian Government by the recommendations of the

. The secretariats of the military affairs, food and legal affairs, and postmaster-telegraph were to be canceled. After some negotiations the

yielded to the request on August 7, followed by the resignation of

as a sign of protest and pressure from the Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party. Mala Rada has accepted his resignation on August 13.

Dmytro Doroshenko Dmytro Doroshenko ( uk, Дмитро Іванович Дорошенко, ''Dmytro Ivanovych Doroshenko'', russian: Дми́трий Ива́нович Дороше́нко; 8 April 1882 – 19 March 1951) was a prominent Ukrainian political figu ...

( UPSF), a former head commissioner of the Provisional Government of Galicia and Bucovina, was offered to create a new Secretariat. The Mala Rada has confirmed his selections already on August 14, but soon Doroshenko resigned on August 18. Finally Vynnychenko came back to accomplish the task and on September 1 the Provisional Government confirmed the new administration. Until January 1918 the Secretariat conducted 63 meetings where were reviewed 430 various issues of political, economical, military, and diplomatic character. In October 1917, the

stopped the transfer of funds to the General Secretariat and expressed its intentions to file a claim against its members for

separatism Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

and the participation in the All-Ukrainian Constituent Assembly. The Russian government requested an appearance of

personally for the full explanation in that regard. On October 21 at the meeting of the Secretariat was reviewed the issue of sending delegation to

headed by Vynnychenko together with Steshenko and Zarubin for the negotiations with the Provisional Government in reference to the political situation in Ukraine. That intention was ceased due to the change of power in the country with the utilization of the military force. After the

October Revolution of 1917 The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

the Secretariat was forced to expanded once again to supplement the ministries of the collapsed Provisional Government. After the proclamation of the Third Universal on November 20, 1917 number of secretaries have resigned. Later on January 6, 1918 Symon Petliura was commissioned to take the charge of the Haydamaka Kish. By start of 1918 the Secretariat has changed dramatically. On January 25 (dated January 22), 1918 the General Secretariat was transformed into the

Council of People's Ministers The Council of People's Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Рада Народних Міністрів УНР) was the main executive institution of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Its duties and functions were outlined in the Chapter V of the Constitu ...

after the declaration of the IV Universal and independence of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

Location

Initially the government was located at the same location as the

at 54 vulytsia Volodymyrska (Volodymyr Street), however

knew that it could not last for long as it only had two rooms assigned in the mediocre building. The government soon moved to 38 Khreshchatyk Street in the building of former hotel "Savvoi" which has not preserved after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Currently at that location exists the building of the Kyiv City Council (36 Khreshchatyk Street). The first government budget was adopted on August 30, 1917. The proposition to move to the building of "Savvoi" hotel came up on the session of the

on September 13, 1917 with intentions to lease the place from the city government, under jurisdiction of which the hotel was. The General Secretariat was allowed to move to "Savvoi" sometime in late September 1917, however that place was decided to be a temporary due to the physical conditions of the building. Vynnychenko tried to acquire the Mariinskyi Palace from the "Worker's and Soldier's Deputies", but unsuccessfully. Other interests were posed by the hotel "Frantsiya" (corner of Khreshchatyk and Prorizna vulytsia) and the Popov building (22 vulytsia Hrushevskoho). Today in place of the former hotel is located the building of Ministry of Energy and Fuel. The General Secretariat was finally able to move to the former Palace of Governor-General in Kiev at 40 vulytsia Instytutska (Institute Street) in January 1918, while the hotel "Savvoi" after being restored was also secured after the Ukrainian government. Later the Palace has suffered greatly during the military actions in 1920 and was replaced by other building changing the address to 20/8 Institute Street.

List of governments

* First Vynnychenko Government (July 13 – August 13) * Doroshenko Government * Second Vynnychenko Government (September 1, 1917 – January 1918)

References

Bibliography

* Khrystiuk, P. ''Zamitky i materiially do istoriï ukraïns’koï revoliutsiï 1917–1920 rr.'', vol 2 (''Notes and materials to the history of the Ukrainian Revolution 1917-1920, vol.2'')(Vienna 1921, New York 1969) * Zolotarev, A. ''Iz istoriï Tsentral’noï Ukraïns’koï Rady—1917'' (''Out of the history of the Central Ukrainian Council'') (Kharkiv 1922) * Doroshenko, D. ''Istoriia Ukraïny 1917–1923 rr., vol 1: Doba Tsentral’noï Rady'' (''History of Ukraine 1917-1923, vol.1: Times of the Central Council'') (Uzhhorod 1932, New York 1954) *Pidhainy, O. ''The Formation of the Ukrainian Republic'' (Toronto–New York 1966) *Zozulia, Ia. (ed). ''Velyka Ukraïns’ka revoliutsiia: Kalendar istorychnykh podii za liutyi 1917 roku–berezen’ 1918 roku'' (''The Great Ukrainian Revolution: Calendar of historic activities from February 1917 to March 1918'') (New York 1967) *Reshetar Jr, J. ''The Ukrainian Revolution, 1917–1920: A Study in Nationalism'' (Princeton 1952, New York 1972) * Hunczak, T. (ed). ''The Ukraine, 1917–1921: A Study in Revolution'' (Cambridge, Mass 1977) *Verstiuk, V. (ed.) ''Ukraïns’ka Tsentral’na Rada: dokumenty i materiially v dvokh tomakh'' (''The Ukrainian Central Council: documents and materials in two volumes'') (Kyiv 1996–7)

External links

Encyclopedia of Ukraine

Addresses of the first government

Sources to studying of the process of formation of the executive power of Ukraine in time of the Ukrainian People's Republic

Minor Dictionary on the History of Ukraine {{Authority control Ukrainian People's Republic General Secretariat of Ukraine History of Kyiv Government of Ukraine

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...