Excerpts from Hetman’s memoirs are very often added to the political portrait of
Pavlo Skoropadsky, which present, without exaggeration, his attitude both to the issue
of national identification and understanding by him of the national question. Among
his historical notes, we find an exciting inner confession: ‘... I chose the way to which
my heart was closest. This path led to Ukraine’ [5]. At the same time, Hetman never
hid his other national affiliations, with which the roots of his historical family and
personal life were connected: ‘I love the Russian language, and Ukrainians cannot
tolerate it ... I love the average Russia, Muscovy, and they find this country disgusting;
I believe in great future of Russia...’ [6]. Actually, such internal hesitation could not
but affect his political views.
A new ethnic and national course of Pavlo Skoropadsky. Right after coming
to power on April 29, 1918, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky started to curtail the state
policy in ethno-national dimension, pursued by the leaders of the Ukrainian People’s
Republic. Even in May-June 1918, Pavlo Skoropadsky and his officials used to
emphasize on the alleged inappropriateness of national ministries, established by the
Central Rada, as well as on inexpediency of revision of the state policy on national
minorities. In the first place they explained it by the equality of all citizens of Ukraine
[7]. Yet, the Laws on the Provisional Government of Ukraine defined the rights and
obligations of Ukrainian Cossacks and citizens, and emphasized the force of law that
was applied to all Ukrainian subjects without exception and foreigners who lived in
Ukraine [8]. With the Letter to All Ukrainian People Hetman Skoropadsky appealed to
the citizens and Cossacks of Ukraine ‘without a distinction of nationality and religion’
with a call to assist in constructing the Ukrainian statehood [9].
It was on July 8, 1918, when F. Lizogub, Chairman of the Ukrainian Council of
Ministers, stated that the Law on Personal-National Autonomy, adopted by the Central
Rada, ceased to exist, and National Ministries were abolished, since ‘national
privileges could only contribute to the flowering of the national struggle’. However, he
assured the Government’s assistance to the ‘cultural contest of nationalities’ [10].
On July 9, 1918, Pavlo Skoropadsky repealed the Law on Personal-National
Autonomy, and at the same time eliminated three National Ministries established by
the Central Rada: the Ministry of Jewish Affairs, the Ministry of Polish Affairs and the
Ministry of the Great Russian Affairs [11].
A number of Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Jewish political parties, mostly socialist
oriented, and national minority organisations opposed to the elimination of National
Ministries. In particular Jewish organisations - Zionists and socialists, showed
dissatisfaction with the moves of the new Government. They equated the legislation of
the Central Rada on national minorities to the achievements of the Great French
Revolution. Of all national minorities, those were Jews who benefited mostly from the
functioning of their own National Ministry.
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