The Council of People's Ministers of Ukraine () was the main executive institution of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

. Its duties and functions were outlined in the Chapter V of the Constitution of the Ukrainian People's Republic. It was reorganized out of the

General Secretariat of Ukraine The General Secretariat of Ukraine () was the autonomous Ukrainian executive government of the Russian Republic from June 28, 1917, to January 22, 1918. For most of its existence it was headed by Volodymyr Vynnychenko. The secretariat was cre ...

upon the proclamation of the 4th Universal and Independence on January 25, 1918 after the return of the Ukrainian delegation from the preliminary peace talks from Brest-Litovsk. At the preliminary talks in Brest, Ukraine was recognized as an equal-rightful participant and was scheduled to finalized the treaty on February 9, 1918. Until the end of the month January 1918 the member of the former General Secretariat continued to serve as full pledged ministers.

Scope

The composition of the council was determined by agreement among the major parties (coalition) and confirming by the plenum of

Central Council of Ukraine The Central Rada of Ukraine, also called the Central Council (), was the All-Ukrainian council that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputies as well as few members of political, public, cultural and professional organizations o ...

. The list of proposed members was petitioned by the chairman of the Central Council,

Mykhailo Hrushevsky Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky (; – 24 November 1934) was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman who was one of the most important figures of the Ukrainian national revival of the early 20th century. Hrushevsky is ...

Initial composition

The former members of secretariat continued to serve now as ministers. The major changes was no introduction of the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and the former secretary of Food Supply Kovalevsky was replaced by Dmytro Koliukh (unaffiliated). Also the Commissioner to the Russian Government was abandoned as well. Deputy-Chairman: Ivan Kraskovsky ( UPSF), Oleksandr Karpynsk, and L.Abramovych. The initial coalition was composed Esdeks, SRs, Federalists, and national minorities, however by the end of January a crisis has developed between Esdeks and SRs as the Bolshevik forces of the Soviet Russia were quickly advancing towards Kiev, while the Kiev Bolshevik faction instigated another

disorder Disorder may refer to randomness, a lack of intelligible pattern, or: Healthcare * Disorder (medicine), a functional abnormality or disturbance * Mental disorder or psychological disorder, a psychological pattern associated with distress or disab ...

. Rada issued a note of non-confidence in Vynnechenko's government forcing him to resign on January 30, 1918.

Cabinet of Holubovych (January 31 - April 29, 1918)

A new cabinet was composed mostly out of members of the Socialist-Revolutionary party headed by its leader

Vsevolod Holubovych Vsevolod Oleksandrovych Holubovych (; February 1885 – 16 May 1939) was the prime minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic from January to March 1918. Early period Holubovych was born in the village of Poltavka, Baltsky Uyezd, Podolia ...

. Along with it a special commission was organized to the Brest-Litovsk negotiations. Holubovych's government existed for about three months. One of the major changes to the cabinet was reappointment of the Minister of Military Affairs, with which Mykola Porsh had a lot of trouble. Right before the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

(April 29) all members of the Ukrainian Party of Socialists-Federalists left the council. On April 29 the Central Rada finally adopted its Constitution. In it the Council of People's Ministers was defined as the supreme executive power of the republic. The council was to be formed by the president of the National Assembly in consultation with Council of Starshyna and confirmed by the assembly. The members of the Council of People's Ministers were responsible individually and collectively to the National Assembly.

Council of Ministers (1918)

Hetmanate

On April 29, 1918, what is believed to be as, an anti-socialist coup d'état brought to power a conservative in his political views former Russian General, a well-respected military specialist throughout the region, an elected Hetman of the Free Cossacks Association,

Pavlo Skoropadsky Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi (; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, who served as the hetman of the Ukrainian State throughout 1918 following a coup d'état in April 29 of the same year. Born the son of a n ...

. The Congress of the All-Ukrainian Union of Landowners the same day proclaimed him as the Hetman of Ukraine. A well organized coup was supported by the German Armed forces Command that was stationed in the Kiev-city. The historical evaluation of the Skoropadsky's regime that lasted less than year still requires a substantial analysis and a balanced approach. Nonetheless some important milestones in the Ukrainian State Affairs were reached during that period of time. The same day Skoropadsky issued couple edicts: ''Manifesto to the Entire Ukrainian Nation'' (author Aleksandr Paltov) and ''Laws concerning the Provisional State System in Ukraine''. Both of those documents became a provisional constitution of the new government. All laws and reforms provided by the Central Rada and the Council of People's Ministers were abolished. All legislative and executive powers were transferred to the hetman who also was recognized as the Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces. The mentioned edicts provided the Council of Ministers with the legislative and executive functions, members of which were appointed by the hetman and solely responsible to him. All decrees and orders of the hetman had to be countersigned by an otaman-minister (prime-minister) or another appropriate minister, while the hetman was to ratify all decision of the council. Civil rights were to be guaranteed within the limits of the law. A supreme court was to be created with the hetman retaining the authority to commute sentences. The name of the country was changed to the

Ukrainian State The Ukrainian State (), sometimes also called the Second Cossack Hetmanate, Hetmanate (), was an Anti-communism, anti-Bolshevik government that existed on most of the modern territory of Ukraine (except for Western Ukraine) from 29 April to 14 ...

().

Vasylenko Government (April 30 - May 4, 1918)

Initially Mykola Sakhno-Ustymovych was appointed as the acting Prime-Minister, the very next day (April 30) was replaced with another Ukrainian statesman

Mykola Vasylenko Mykola Prokopovych Vasylenko (; 14 February 1866 – 3 October 1935) was a Ukrainian academician historian and law professor, important public and political figure. He was a temporary Otaman of Council of Ministers (Prime Minister of Ukraine), ...

(

Kadet The Constitutional Democratic Party (, K-D), also called Constitutional Democrats and formally the Party of People's Freedom (), was a political party in the Russian Empire that promoted Western constitutional monarchy—among other policies� ...

) who went on to a compromise with some socialists composing the government out of moderate Ukrainian parties among which were the Ukrainian Party of Socialist-Federalists (UPSF). However UPSF did not seek to cooperate with the conservative regime of Skoropadsky and was boycotting the sessions of the council. Vasylenko who was acting Otaman-minister could not fully organize the cabinet and performed several ministerial roles as a result of that. In less than a week later his attempt was scratched as well. On May 4 the council was replaced with the Government of Lyzohub.

First Cabinet of Lyzohub (May 4 - October 25, 1918)

On May 4 the Otaman-minister Fedir Lyzohub finally was able to compose a working government. During summer some changes were made to the original cabinet. Lyzohub's government lasted for over half a year and was one of the longest existing governments in the revolutionary period. It resigned with the start of the Ukrainian civil war and replaced by the government of Grebel.

Second Cabinet of Lyzohub (October 25 - November 14, 1918)

Pressure from the Ukrainian National Union (UNU) ( Battle of Motovilivka) and witnessing that

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

were losing ground (

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

armistice Sep.29,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

- Oct.30) forced the Skoropadsky's regime to start negotiations to broaden his base of support. The Union demanded eight ministerial portfolios, the convocation of a diet, end of censorship and restriction on freedom of speech. Although no compromise was found, five members of the Union agreed to join the Council of Ministers on October 25.

Gerbel's Cabinet (November 14 - December 14, 1918)

The final capitulation of the

on November 11, 1918 and withdrawal of the German-Austrian contingent from the territory of Ukraine forced Skopropadsky dramatically change his policy and on November 14, 1918 he proclaimed a federal union with the forces of non-Bolshevik Russia (Russian Republic). Fedir Lyzohub resigned from the government and the council was reorganized under the former minister of food supply Sergei Gerbel. The federation with Russian triggered a full-scale uprising which turned into a month-long warfare led by the

Directorate of Ukraine The Directorate, or Directory () was a provisional collegiate revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian People's Republic, initially formed on 13–14 November 1918 during a session of the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against th ...

. On December 14, 1918 the Council of Ministers surrendered its powers and Skoropadsky abdicated. Several ministers were arrested, while Skoropadsky fled to Germany.

Chekhivsky's Cabinet (December 26, 1918 - February 13, 1919)

Between December 15–25 there was a stand off between the Revolutionary Committee in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and the Temporary Council of State Affairs (TRZDS) in

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

. It took couple of weeks before the new government was formed on December 26. The head of the new cabinet became Volodymyr Chekhivsky. Chekhivsky's government together with the government of Ostapenko altogether lasted for two and a half months. During this period the Ukrainian national forces were almost completely eliminated controlling a miser territory near

Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

–

Brody Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...

. Both of the governments had also to deal with a series of military revolts against them and were unable to control the situation in the country. They were finally replaced with the Martos-Mazepa government that throughout summer of 1919 were in control of the Podillia territory near Kamyanets. During this time the Ukrainian nationalists were losing their war against Bolshevik Russia and their puppet-state

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. On February 5, 1919 the Ukrainian government was forced out of

once again and relocated to

. On February 13 a new government, consisting of non-socialist members, was formed in order to convince the representatives of the Entente to provide some military support in the fight with

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

. The same day

Volodymyr Vynnychenko Volodymyr Kyrylovych Vynnychenko (; – March 6, 1951) was a Ukrainian statesman, political activist, writer, playwright and artist who served as the first List of prime ministers of Ukraine, prime minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic.< ...

resigned from the

and emigrated abroad.

Ostapenko's Cabinet (February 13 - April 9, 1919)

The head of the new cabinet became

Serhiy Ostapenko Serhiy Stepanovych Ostapenko (; – 1937) was a Ukrainian economist, statesman, and political activist. In early 1919 he served as Chairman of the Council of People's Ministers of Ukrainian People's Republic, a position equivalent to the pre ...

who quit the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries. Along with him left the SR party Osyp Nazaruk. The unsuccessful dialogue with the representatives of the Entente led to dismissal of the Ostapenko's Cabinet.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Ukraine

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) * 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'') (Kiev 1996–7) * Hunczak, T. ''The Ukraine, 1917-1921: A Study in Revolution''.

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, MA, 1977. {{Cabinets of Ukraine History of Kyiv Political history of Ukraine Government of Ukraine

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Council of People's Ministers Ukrainian People's Republic 1918 in Ukraine