Міст понад Збручем: Велика Злука у пресі Української Народної Республіки

Abstract

In the article we analyze the press publications that covered the process of realizing the idea of consolidation and its theoretical reasoning in the journals of 1918—1919 in UNR and Ukrainian State. The subject of the research is newspaper materials of such press editions as «Nova Rada» (Kyiv, 1917—1919), «Kozatska Dumka» (Berdychiv, 1917), «Vidrodzennia» (Kiev, 1918), «Vistnyk Ukrainskoi Narodnoi Respubliky » (Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kamianets-Podilsky, 1918—1919), «Respublikanski Visty» (Vinnytsia, 1918—1919), «Respublikanski Visty» (Kharkiv, 1918), «Zhyttia Podillia» (Kamianets-Podilsky, 1918—1919), «Kievskii Kommunist» (1918—1919) and others. Analysis of publications about consolidation reveals a wide range of factors that influenced the Act of Union on January 22, 1919 — historical, mental, ideological, political and informational. At the same time it reveals the inconsistency policy of the leaders of the Ukrainian Central Rada, in particular Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, of promoting the idea of the federation (which was de facto in opposition to the idea of consolidation). We have made comparative parallels of understanding the process of unification among Galician and Dnieper Ukrainians, taking into account the fact of the presence of Ukrainian lands within different empires — Russian and Austro-Hungarian, related to this fact internal contradictions among the Ukrainian political elite, open armed aggression against Ukraine. The repressions of the Russian authorities led to the destruction of the nationally-oriented Ukrainian political elite, whose numerous representatives did not know their native language. Additionally, the influence of socialist ideology caused the priority of social demands against national ones. Representatives of the Galicians, released after the revolution from the Siberian camps, have joined the government, administrative and educational institutions of Ukraine. The opponents of consolidation were the Bolsheviks, who saw the prospects of unification only under the red flag. In the journals were published texts of documents, described the process of the celebration on January 22, 1919, abstracts of V. Vynnychenko`s, S. Petliura`s, L. Tsehelsky`s and V. Olesnitsky`s speeches, published mottos for the necessity of the unity of the nation. Keywords: consolidation, Act of Union, federation, UNR, ZUNR, ukrainian press of 1918—1919.