The Revolutionary Ukrainian Party ( uk, Революційна Партія України) was a Ukrainian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

founded on 11 February 1900 by the

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Hromada A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=terytorialna hromada) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukra ...

History

The rise of the party came about with a successful consummation after other attempts from various public associations, such as the

Brotherhood of Tarasovs Brotherhood of Tarasovs ( uk, Братство тарасівців, ''Bratstvo tarasivtsiv'') was an underground student organization. It was established in 1891 during a visit to the Taras Shevchenko burial grounds near Kaniv. The founders inc ...

and the Social-Democratic Circle of Ivan Steshenko and Lesya Ukrainka, were tried. Originally, the aim of R.U.P. was the independence of all Ukrainian national elements. What made the R.U.P. unique was the willingness to embrace all political philosophies, including

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. The party officially arose at its First Congress in December 1902 when six party communities united into one political party in the following cities:

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.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 administratively ...

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

Nizhyn Nizhyn ( uk, Ні́жин, Nizhyn, ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It ...

Lubny Lubny ( uk, Лубни́, ), is a city in Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Lubny Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does n ...

, and

Yekaterinodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

, as well as some smaller groups representing such cities as Romny,

Pryluky Pryluky ( uk, Прилу́ки ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (Ra ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Saint Petersburg 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 ...

. The congress, also, elected the party Central Committee, Foreign Committee and Publication Committee, with the last two located abroad in

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

and

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

. The Central Committee consisted of

Dmytro Antonovych Dmytro Antonovych (14 November 1877, in Kyiv – 12 October 1945, in Prague) was a Ukrainian politician and art historian. Family Professor Dmytro Antonovych was the son of two Ukrainian historians: his father was Volodymyr Antonovych and his m ...

, Yevhen Holitsynsky (later replaced 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. ...

Mykhailo Tkachenko Mykhailo or Mykhaylo ( uk, Михайло) is a Ukrainian given name, equivalent to English Michael. Notable people with the name include: * Mykhaylo Berkos (1861–1919), Russian and Ukraine artist of Greek origin *Mykhailo Bolotskykh (born 1960), ...

, and V. Kozynenko, while the Foreign Committee was headed by Antonovych and Vynnychenko. In 1903, the party turned away from its original nationalistic program of an Independent Ukraine and changed to a program that was more based on the principals and goals of international social democracy such as the

Erfurt Program The Erfurt Program was adopted by the Social Democratic Party of Germany during the SPD Congress at Erfurt in 1891. Formulated under the political guidance of Eduard Bernstein, August Bebel, and Karl Kautsky, it superseded the earlier Gotha ...

. That same year RUP was joined by the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Socialist Party that mirrored the party programme of the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' P ...

that was created by Kyivan Polish students and Polish Ukrainophiles. Also, in 1903, many members of RUP were arrested, while others fled to Lemberg (

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

). Marian Melenevsky became the head of the Foreign Committee. In 1904,

Mykola Porsh Mykola Volodymyrovych Porsh ( uk, Микола Володимирович Порш) was a political and civil activist of Ukraine, economist, member of the Russian Constituent Assembly. He was a prominent activist of the Revolutionary Ukrainian ...

ascended to be a new party leader. The party shifted its focus away from peasantry, instead concentrating on the Ukrainian urban proletariat. In August, a representative of RUP, Yevhen Holitsynsky, participated at the International Socialist Congress in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

; however, due to a protest by the

RSDLP The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP; in , ''Rossiyskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya rabochaya partiya (RSDRP)''), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a Socialism , s ...

members on a separate Ukrainian delegation, he was forced to join their delegation at the event. In December 1904, the Second Congress of the RUP took place which culminated in a split with Marian Melenevsky, leading the more Marxist members to establishing the Ukrainian Social Democratic Union (Spilka) in January 1905 that later became an autonomous entity of the

and was instrumental during the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

in Ukraine. In December 1905, the RUP was renamed the

Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party The Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party ( uk, Украї́нська соціа́л-демократи́чна робітни́ча па́ртія, ''Ukrayínsʹka sotsiál-demokratýchna robitnýcha pártiya''), also known as Esdeky and SDP ...

(USDLP).

References

External links

Revolutionary Ukrainian Party
at 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 ...

1900 establishments in Ukraine 1905 disestablishments in the Russian Empire Defunct nationalist parties Defunct socialist parties in Ukraine Left-wing nationalist parties Nationalist parties in Ukraine Political parties disestablished in 1905 Political parties established in 1900 Ukrainian political parties in Imperial Russia {{Ukraine-party-stub