Volodymyr Panteleimonovych Oskilko ( uk, Володимир Пантелеймонович Оскілко; 1892? – 19 June 1926) was a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
military activist and administrator. He became famous for the "Oskilko Affair" (see below).
Biography
Volodymyr Oskilko was born January 12, 1892, in the village of Horodok,
Rovno uyezd, in the
Volyn Governorate
Volhynian Governorate or Volyn Governorate (russian: Волы́нская губе́рния, translit=Volynskaja gubernija, uk, Волинська губернія, translit=Volynska huberniia) was an administrative-territorial unit initially ...
. He graduated from a gymnasium, then from a teacher's seminary. Oskilko started to work as a village teacher in Zolote near
Dubrovytsia For other towns with a similar name see Dąbrowica (disambiguation)
Dubrovytsia (, , , ) is a town in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine. It is administrative center of Dubrovytsia Raion, and is the site of the now ruined Jewish shtetl of Dombrovitza. P ...
(today in
Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast ( uk, Рі́вненська о́бласть, translit=Rivnenska oblast), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna ( uk, Рі́вненщина) is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of th ...
).
With the start of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Oskilko was drafted into the
Russian Imperial Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
, where he had a successful career, reaching the rank of
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. After the
February Revolution
The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
in 1917, he was appointed a governorate commissar 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 ...
in
Tula. By the end of 1917 he had returned to his native
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 ...
in
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 inv ...
, where he participated in the formation of the
Ukrainian People's Army
The Ukrainian People's Army ( uk, Армія Української Народної Республіки), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or as a derogatory term of Russian and Soviet historiography Petliurovtsy ( uk, Пет ...
. At the beginning of 1918, Oskilko was appointed a commissar of 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 ...
in
Rivne
Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
. He was a member of the
Ukrainian Party of Socialist Independists, which was critical of the Central Rada's policies. During the time of the
Ukrainian State
The Ukrainian State ( uk, Українська Держава, translit=Ukrainska Derzhava), sometimes also called the Second Hetmanate ( uk, Другий Гетьманат, translit=Druhyi Hetmanat, link=no), was an anti-Bolshevik government ...
of hetman
Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( uk, Павло Петрович Скоропадський, Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, decorated Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian Arm ...
, he was appointed a chief of security of the
Korosten
Korosten ( uk, Ко́ростень, ; historically also ''Iskorosten'' ) is a historic city and a large transport hub in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located on the Uzh River. Korosten serves as the administrative ce ...
Railways, an important railway connection in
Polissya
Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...
.
Oskilko affair
In November 1918, Oskilko led an uprising against the hetman in Volyn. In December he was promoted to colonel of the Ukrainian People's Army. In January 1919 he became a General Khorunzhy (
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
) and a commander of the Northern group of the Ukrainian People's Army (around 40,000 soldiers). On January 5, 1919, his unit, which was passing through
Berdichev
Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...
, perpetrated a pogrom, killing 23 Jews. Oskilko participated in extinguishing the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
-led Polissya Uprising that was directed against the
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory () was a provisional collegiate revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian People's Republic, initially formed on November 13–14, 1918 during a session of the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Ukr ...
and preventing the advancement of the Polish army into Volyn. During that time, Rivne became a temporary capital of Ukraine. Due to the strained situation in the region, Oskilko suspected that the Ukrainian government and army had become infiltrated by the Russian
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
, which sabotaged the front lines of the Ukrainian army. He also did not trust
Petlyura, not because of his suspicions, but rather his belief that Petlyura was weak in character and an unreliable person who became influenced by "deserter generals."
On April 12, 1919, a new government, 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 ...
, was formed, headed by
Borys Martos and replacing the
Ostapenko cabinet. Martos proclaimed the creation of a republic of worker's Councils (Soviets) and the intention to conclude a peace treaty with
Bolshevik Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
. This turn of events had a great impact on the political life of Ukraine. On April 20, 1919, numerous socialist parties of Ukraine (sovereigntists, federalists, and others) entrusted Oskilko to deliver a memorandum to Petlyura demanding the immediate resignation of the Martos government. Oskilko handed over the document to Petlyura in
Zdolbuniv, who publicly tore it apart.
At the end of April 1919, Petlyura twice ordered Oskilko to lead his army to the front against the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s. These orders were never carried out. Petlyura then fired Oskilko's chief of staff,
Vsevolod Agapiev, but Oskilko refused to follow that order as well. On April 28, the Chief Otaman sent him the final order to surrender the command to general Zhelikhovski.
On April 29, 1919, Oskilko led a
coup-d'etat in Rivne supported by members of the
Ukrainian Party of Socialists-Independentists
Mykola Ivanovych Mikhnovsky ( uk, Мико́ла Іва́нович Міхно́вський; – 3 May 1924) was a Ukrainian independence activist, lawyer and journalist who was one of the early leaders of the Ukrainian nationalist movement ...
and the Ukrainian People-Republican Party. The participants of the putsch requested the appointment of
Yevhen Petrushevych
Yevhen Omelyanovych Petrushevych ( uk, Євге́н Омеля́нович Петруше́вич; June 3, 1863 in Busk, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Kronland of Austro-Hungary – August 29, 1940 in Berlin, Germany) was a Ukrainian law ...
as the provisional president of Ukraine until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, the transfer of command to general
Omelianovych-Pavlenko and the dismissal of Petlyura and
Andriy Makarenko from the organization of military affairs, and the creation of a coalition government from the members of both Ukrainian republics. Oskilko also sent his representative to Poland with the intent to conduct peace talks.
Oskilko reentered politics in late 1922 as an agent of the Polish government in Volhynia, during which time he tried to break up a Jewish-Ukrainian coalition in the Polish parliamentary elections of that year. His campaign was criticized for its usage of antisemitic tropes.
Oskilko was assassinated in Rivne in 1926.
References
External links
Mandate on a revolutionref>
Rivne Oblast websiteWebsite of Doctor Historical Sciences of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Pavlo Hai-NyzhnykFight of Otamans. Volodymyr Oskilko against Symon Petlyura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oskilko, Volodymyr
1892 births
1926 deaths
Assassinated Ukrainian politicians
People from Volhynian Governorate
People from Rivne Oblast
Russian military personnel of World War I
Ukrainian generals