ACTIVITIES OF ANARCHIST ORGANIZATIONS ON THE TERRITORY OF CENTRAL UKRAINE 1918–1921

Abstract

The article devoted to the genesis of the anarchist movement on the territory of Central Ukraine. By Central Ukraine, we mean the historical region located between the Sinyukh and Dnieper rivers, the Southern Bug and Ros’. The analysis of the historiographic work revealed the absence of studies devoted to the emergence and development of the anarchist movement in the territory of Central Ukraine. The author used the critical method, biographical methods, the gender approach, the methods of comparative studies, and the territorial method the research. Interdisciplinary methodical optics are also applied. The anarchist movement on the territory of Central Ukraine arose before the beginning of the liberation struggle. It reached its greatest development during the revolutionary period of 1917–1921. Its centers were Yelysavetgrad, Chygyrin, and Subotiv. It was established that several types of anarchist organizations were active in Central Ukraine. 1917–1918 – units of anarchist M. Nykyforova. 1918 – 1920 – anarchist organizations of the “Nabat” Confederation. In April 1919, a congress of anarchist confederations “Nabat” was held in Yelysavetgrad, at which the issue of spreading the experience of anarchist organizations from cities to villages was first raised, following the example of the Makhnovist movement, which was popular among the peasantry of Southern Ukraine. However, this idea failed to be realized. It was established that the peasantry of Central Ukraine mainly supported the idea of Ukrainian statehood, as evidenced by the significant scale of the Uener movement uprising in this region during the period of the liberation struggle of 1917–1922. Between Subotiv and Chygyryn, there was the Chygyrin republic of anarchist direction led by chieftain S. Kotsur by1919–1920. N. Makhno arrived in Central Ukraine in the second half of 1919. This territory was the residence of the leader of the Ukrainian anarchists, its restoration, replenishment and reorganization of the Makhno army were carried out during July – September 1919. The conflict between the anarchists and the bolsheviks, their organizations were destroyed in 1920–1921. Information about the anarchist period of the region’s history, associated with M. Nykyforova, N. Makhno, S. Kotsur, is still preserved as part of the oral history of Central Ukraine, at the level of legends and folklore.